The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program has become a benchmark for sustainability. Yet most buildings are not LEED certified. The goal of this research study is to assess the LEED certification process as a business model of sustainability for the building market and is based on selected case studies with participatory action research. The case studies involve the LEED certification of 112 projects within the United States from 2004 to 2013 and include ten platinum-level projects. The results of this study determined the percentages and levels of projects which actually attained LEED certification. Seventy-seven of the 112 projects, or 69%, actually achieved LEED certification. Twelve were certified, 32 achieved silver level, 23 reached gold level and another 10 realized platinum level certification. The crucial success factors which facilitated attainment of LEED certification included taking ownership of sustainability, prior LEED project experience, additional training, incorporating LEED goals early, and establishing financial stewardship. One opportunity for improvement of LEED certification is for the rating systems to provide more realistic, consensus-based sustainability goals.
