In the world of design and construction, sustainability is becoming an increasing concern. With 35% of global energy use and 38% of global carbon emissions coming from the construction and building operation industry, FSB knows there is a critical need to address energy usage, project efficiency and environmental sustainability within every project. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system is a renowned standard and achieving certification under this system can be a statement of a building’s commitment to balancing environmental responsibility and resource efficiency. Whenever we discuss LEED (or any other green building certification program) with a developer, owner, or city official, the biggest detraction is always cost. Here at FSB, we’re pulling back the curtain and showing the real costs and benefits associated with LEED and green building certification.

Why FSB?

In 2023 alone, FSB developed green certifications on over 1.6M SF of built area totaling almost $2B in construction budget. As a regional leader in sustainable building design and certification, we know the market and how LEED impacts both the project’s finances and building’s energy savings.

We are the LEED^® campus administrator for a manufacturing campus with 25 buildings that are certified or in the process of LEED certification. These buildings span a wide range of building types including airline hangars, office spaces, canteens, and distribution centers. Because FSB designed most of the buildings on this campus as the architect and engineer of record, we have a unique perspective on the design, energy modeling, system integration, and construction administration requirements to pull off a successful LEED job.

We regularly provide architectural and engineering design, commissioning, and LEED services to a wide variety of clients throughout the U.S. This experience has afforded FSB with in-depth market knowledge and strong contractor relationships.

How Much Does LEED^® Cost?

While this is a complicated question, we’ll list all the costs and break them down individually. There are a few costs that are a certainty with LEED projects and some that have varying aspects. Then, we’ll wrap up with some cost savings and benefits.

Cost Types

1. Registration/Review Costs
2. Design Costs
3. Construction Costs
4. Consulting/Documentation Costs

LEED Registration & Review Costs

If you want to get your building LEED registered and certified, there’s a set fee for registration and one for review based on the building’s square footage. As of March 2024, the fees are as follows:

Registration Fee
$1,700 one time fee ($1,350 if firm is USGBC member organization)

Design Review
$0.053/SF (rate decreases if building >250,000 SF)

Construction Review
$0.018/SF (rate decreases if building >250,000 SF)

⮞ This means for a 40,000 SF office building, the total for LEED registration and review would be $4,540.

LEED Design Costs

LEED is a system that certifies your building based on points achieved by the building’s design and construction. There are 50 different credits that are reviewed, with the highest possible score being 110 points. A project only needs 40 points to be Certified. However, you can also go for Silver, Gold or Platinum certification by earning 50, 60 or 80 points respectively.

There are a lot of variables when determining the construction cost of a project, from the kind of building materials to the building’s engineering systems and interior finishes. Plus, a lot of these variables can help you score points for LEED certification.

So, what’s the best way to get the score you want? There is no easy answer, but FSB factors this decision-making into our design process, helping you achieve the desired level of certification while meeting your project’s needs and goals. We know there is no one-size-fits-all approach; that’s why FSB partners with you to develop the best solution for your project.

LEED Construction Costs

While design is baked into FSB’s process, there are also construction costs to consider for LEED certification.

Here are a few of the LEED requirements:

1. Develop and follow an Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan, which involves preventing the blockage of storm drains and preventing erosion during construction. It is a standard EPA plan developed by your civil engineer and implemented by your contractor.
2. Divert construction and demolition waste away from landfills towards reuse or recycling opportunities can garner you a couple of points. This typically involves coordinating with Waste Management to recycle materials when possible and getting some extra roll-off dumpsters and labor to throw the right items in the right bins. By mandate your contractor must have a concept plan but you can achieve a point for diverting 50% of the site waste or two (2) points for 75% of site waste.
3. Utilize occupant-friendly products. LEED grants up to nine (9) points for specifying paints, adhesives, floorings, ceilings, insulations, and other interior products that are certified not to be harmful to the building’s occupants. These products are nearly identical in cost to “standard” products which can be detrimental to an individual’s long-term health. While these finishes are selected during the design process, you should reiterate these choices with your contractor to ensure your selections are not substituted for a harmful alternative.
4. Take advantage of commissioning services. Commissioning (Cx) is a quality assurance process that ensures a building’s systems are designed, installed, functionally tested, and capable of being operated and maintained according to your operational needs. It is started during the design phase and continues through construction, occupancy, and operations. LEED’s requirements involve a third-party commissioning agent (CxA) to review drawings and test the systems to ensure they meet design specifications. This, plus MEP commissioning services, will get you three (3) LEED points. An additional point can be earned if the third-party agent develops trending plans and maintenance monitoring for those systems; and two more points if they also test the building envelope’s seal. While each of these services can have an added cost, commissioning helps ensure your building operates efficiently, has fewer problems, and provides occupants with a healthy environment.

LEED Expertise Helps Successfully Navigate the Process

LEED administration and documentation make up the bulk of the cost for a project’s LEED certification. Having an individual or firm with experience in LEED certification and all it entails significantly contributes to the project’s overall success, and ultimately its certification. This expertise gives you an advocate who can help provide recommendations, give guidance, and make sure the intended energy efficiency measures are not lost during the design and construction process.

In addition to helping ensure compliance with LEED criteria, this individual or firm may also a) develop an energy model showing utility savings; b) develop lighting studies showing the daylighting impact on occupants; and/or c) compile and document utility/carbon savings to be reported to regulatory authorities or corporate officials.

By combining FSB’s design and LEED services, or our commissioning and LEED services, you get even more value. Acting on the owner’s behalf, FSB can help ensure the consistency of LEED design and energy efficiency measures throughout the project.

• Expertise: Trained and experienced in sustainable design and LEED certification requirements, FSB can provide valuable expertise and guidance to the project team on how to achieve LEED certification goals.
• Coordination: FSB can help coordinate efforts among the various project team members, such as architects, engineers and contractors, to ensure sustainable design strategies are integrated into the project from the outset.
• Documentation: FSB can help ensure the necessary documentation of sustainable design features and strategies is collected and organized according to LEED requirements.
• Compliance: FSB can help ensure the project meets all necessary LEED prerequisites and credits, assisting to streamline the certification process and avoid potential delays or issues.
• Cost Savings: By identifying cost-effective sustainable design strategies and materials early in the design process, FSB can help the project team achieve LEED certification goals within budget.
• Quality Control: FSB can help make sure the sustainable design features are implemented correctly and meet LEED requirements, establishing the building’s long-term performance and sustainability.

FSB can help you with architectural and engineering design, commissioning, and LEED services — but the same firm can’t do both the design and commissioning.

LEED Benefits Outweigh the Costs

As with anything of value, there are costs associated with achieving LEED certification. Now that we’ve laid out what those costs are, let’s look at the return on your investment.

• Energy Savings. Because LEED buildings must consume less energy than baseline average peers, you will have lower utility bills which results in long-term savings. Think of it as earning interest on your initial investment. To even be evaluated for LEED, the building must have an energy model compared to an ASHRAE 90.1 standard baseline building energy model and must show a minimum of 10% energy savings. Since 30% of the LEED points available come from increasing energy efficiency, there is typically a large push to include and retain energy efficiency measures.
• Operational Efficiency. Buildings designed and built according to LEED requirements can save money through operational efficiency. The USGBC touts overall savings of $1.2B in energy, $54.2M in waste, $149.5M in water, and $715.3M in avoided building maintenance from 2015 to 2018.
• Increased Market Value. LEED certification is recognized globally as a symbol of sustainability and high performance, which can enhance a building’s marketability and appeal to tenants, investors and buyers. LEED-certified assets had a 21.4% higher average market sale price per square foot than average competitors’ from 2018 to 2021. Additionally, LEED properties have a higher occupancy rate and can garner 3% to 4% more in rent, even when considering age, location and renovation history of similar buildings.
• Regulatory Compliance. As more stringent energy policies are adopted to counter climate change, LEED requirements can help you achieve regulatory compliance while codes and standards may be in flux. Because LEED specifications are a known quantity, they can be reliably planned for and used as a basis to comply with future standards. LEED certification can help buildings comply with environmental regulations and demonstrate a commitment to sustainability to stakeholders and the community.
• Tax Benefits. There are some direct tax benefits tied to LEED certification, including federal tax deductions and credits through the Inflation Reduction Act.

FSB can help your project achieve LEED certification, demonstrate your building’s environmental performance and provide validation of your building’s sustainability features. Not only does pursuing LEED certification encourage innovation in building design and construction practices, but it advances sustainable building strategies. We’d love to chat with you about sustainable design, LEED certification and how we can best serve your project needs. Contact Caleb Deck at 405-840-2931 or cdeck@fsb‑ae.com for more information.