The LEED system, Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a means of categorising green buildings according to a classification standard developed by the US. Green Building Council. (USGBC)
It consists of a series of guidelines regarding the use of strategies aimed at improving the sustainability of buildings of every kind. It is based on the incorporation of aspects relating to energy efficiency, the use of alternative energy sources, improving the quality of the internal environment, efficient water consumption, the sustainable development of open spaces on parcels of land and the selection of materials.
It promotes the global adoption of environmentally-friendly and sustainable construction practices through universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria, representing the most widely recognised green building certification system on an international level.