Achieving LEED® Certification

LEED is a nationally-accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The rating system assigns points in six main categories: Site Selection, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation & Design Process. Buildings can earn Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum level certification, depending on the quantity and quality of measures pursued.

SWA has offered LEED services since 2000, when the U.S. Green Building Council first began to certify projects under this groundbreaking green building rating system. As the program has matured, the U.S. Green Building Council continues to release more sophisticated rating systems for various building types, accounting for the needs, limitations and potential of different spaces.

LEED® for Homes™

LEED for Homes has proven to be an extremely versatile and affordable green rating system. It is applicable not only to high-performing single family and production homes, but also to attached and townhouse projects, as well as low-rise multifamily projects up to four stories in height.

As a LEED for Homes Provider and Rater, SWA is the design, technical, and verification support to builders and project teams. SWA has acted as the LEED for Homes Provider and Rater on over 300 completed single-family and multifamily housing units in six states and is actively engaged in supporting over 3,000 additional units in eight states.

The benefit of the LEED rating process is that it ensures that buildings are designed and constructed for maximum efficiency and the least amount of waste. It also guarantees oversight of even the most complex building processes and step-by-step verification that all specifications have been implemented properly.

LEED® for Homes Multifamily Mid-Rise™

The LEED for Homes rating system was originally designed for single-family and low-rise multifamily residential development. As LEED’s popularity and influence has grown, demand from residential projects in the 4-6 story market has led the U.S. Green Building Council to develop an adaptation specifically for multifamily mid-rise buildings. Developers across the spectrum, from those building affordable housing to those catering to a luxury market, have used SWA’s expertise to realize high-performing, durable, and comfortable homes for tenants that also benefit owners and managers through reduced operation and maintenance costs.