USGBC Releases LEED in Motion: Industrial Facilities

Washington, DC, June 15, 2016—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released its LEED in Motion: Industrial Facilities, which highlights the collaborative efforts across the manufacturing sector to design and implement LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and prioritize environmental stewardship for industrial facilities.

Currently, there are more than 1,755 LEED-certified industrial facilities worldwide totaling more than 496 million square feet and an additional 2,710 projects registered totaling nearly 737 million square feet.

The report also showcases the most impressive LEED-certified industrial facilities in the world.

Industrial facilities, which include manufacturing buildings, warehouses, distribution centers and industrial campuses, operate on a vastly larger scale than homes, office buildings or even a university campus. The manufacturing sector alone is responsible for 30% of the nation’s total energy consumption and uses an estimated 15,900 million gallons of water per day, which is roughly 4% of total daily water use. Through LEED certification, the world's most widely used green building rating program, industrial facilities are more resource efficient and high-performing, which translates to increased asset value and millions of dollars in savings for owners and operators.

The manufacturing sector, which impacts every aspect of daily life, is essential to the global marketplace and a significant economic driver worldwide. In the U.S. alone, the manufacturing industry contributed $2.1 trillion in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014 and, according to the National Association of Manufacturers, for every $1 spent in manufacturing, an additional $1.40 is added to the economy. The sector also provides 12.33 million jobs and indirectly supports an additional 18.5 million jobs. USGBC's recent Green Building Economic Impact Study found that across industries, green construction jobs are poised to create more than 3.3 million U.S. jobs and $190.3 billion in labor earnings by 2018.