Massachusetts tops states with most LEED-certified buildings.
Description
One Boston Wharf office tower, Gillette Stadium propel it to lead annual ranking.
A Boston office tower and a professional football stadium helped propel Massachusetts to the top position in a yearly ranking of states with the most LEED-certified building space.
The U.S. Green Building Council manages the LEED program, short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, that awards certifications at different levels to buildings for criteria such as energy efficiency and the use of renewable construction materials. The private, nonprofit council each year ranks the 50 states by square footage of LEED-certified buildings per capita.
Massachusetts vaulted to the top position in 2024, up from No. 3 in 2023, with 4.95 square feet of LEED-certified building space per capita. Illinois and New York rounded out the top three in the 2024 rankings. The District of Columbia has the most LEED-certified square footage of any U.S. jurisdiction at 33.35 gross square feet per capita, but the U.S. Green Building Council does not include the district in its rankings.
This Penske Truck Leasing maintenance facility in Illinois was granted new LEED certification in 2024. (U.S. Green Building Council)
“More than ever, governments and organizations are seeking to build more resilient, healthy, affordable and sustainable cities and communities that address immediate and future needs,” Peter Templeton, CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council, said in a statement.
Several properties in Massachusetts gained new LEED certifications in 2024, spanning many different property types. WS Development’s One Boston Wharf was granted LEED certification in 2024. The office tower, occupied mostly by Amazon, was one of 132 projects in the state that received some level of LEED certification in 2024, along with Gillette Stadium, home of the NFL’s New England Patriots in Foxborough; 300 Third Ave., an office building with laboratory space in Waltham developed by Lincoln Property; and a citizenM hotel in Boston.
In Illinois, a Penske Truck Leasing retail and service facility in Channahon was among the properties that obtained new LEED certification. The 22,752-square-foot Penske building is the first commercial truck leasing and maintenance property in the United States to achieve LEED Gold status, the second-highest tier.
In New York, which ranked No. 1 on the list last year, projects that obtained LEED certification in 2024 included a renovated academic building at the State University of New York at Buffalo, the Hudson Commons office building, and jeweler Swarovski’s flagship store in Manhattan.
