LEED Green Power credits

You are here: Home » Our services » LEED Green Power credits

The CarbonNeutral Company is an active member of the USGBC and has helped hundreds of companies  around the world meet their carbon reduction targets.

In 2010, Haworth Inc. became the first company to use carbon offsets to achieve green power credits for LEED-NC (New construction certification).   Since then we have worked with a number of project teams who have chosen this innovative approach. 

Reducing carbon emissions from energy used in the built environment has become one of the USGBC’s top priorities. To help tackle this massive source of emissions – estimated at 40% of all US emissions - the use of renewable energy has been given high importance within the LEED rating system. 

Green power credits are awarded when:

• Renewable energy is generated on-site or purchased from a green power provider
• Carbon offsets or renewable energy credits (RECS) are purchased.

To achieve maximum Green Power credits, project design teams need to incorporate both options into their LEED project strategies. When choosing between carbon offsets and RECs, it is important to be aware that only one of these delivers credible, unambiguous greenhouse gas reductions - carbon offsets.

Approved by the USGBC for use in LEED projects, carbon offsets from renewable energy are one of the most efficient, robust and internationally recognized greenhouse gas reduction opportunities. They are additional, independently verified and tracked through registries to prevent double counting.This overcomes many of the issues associated with RECs and gives project managers assurance that the emission reductions are real, measurable, permanent, have global benefit and can withstand stakeholder scrutiny. Alongside the emission reductions, carbon offsets facilitate sustainable development and poverty alleviation in emerging economies. 

To learn more about the benefits of carbon offsets and how they differ from RECs, view our webcast: ‘Why carbon offsets are a better choice than RECs for LEED projects’

You can also find out more about our other services here:
Carbon offsets, carbon offset videos, carbon reduction target, carbon management, carbon plan, carbon marketing, selling carbon, CarbonNeutral® and PAS 2060 certification, The CarbonNeutral Company blog, carbon calculator, business white papers and our free newsletter.