North Carolina stands among the leading states for green building, ranking seventh overall, according the U.S. Green Building Council.
The per-capita list is based on 2010 U.S. Census data and includes commercial and institutional green building projects that were certified throughout 2013.
In 2013, North Carolina certified 133 projects representing more than 17.1 million square feet or 1.80 square feet per resident.
The top state for LEED green building was Illinois followed by Maryland, then Virginia.
Collectively, 1,777 commercial and institutional projects became LEED certified within the top 10 states in 2013, representing 226.8 million square feet of real estate. Worldwide, 4,642 projects were certified in 2013, representing 596.8 million square feet.
Notable North Carolina projects cited by the Green Building Council include:
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Genomic Sciences Building, LEED Gold
- Facebook Forest City Datacenter in Forest City, built by USGBC Platinum member DPR Construction, LEED Gold
- Durham County Justice Building in Durham, LEED Gold
- City of Raleigh Transit Operations Facility, LEED Platinum
The Green Building Council counts 345 member organizations with headquarters in North Carolina, employing more than 1 million people and grossing more than $245 billion in annual revenue. In addition, the council says there are more than 4,800 LEED credentialed professionals in the state.
