The LEED™ v2.0 is a Green Building/Sustainable Design rating system developed by the USGBC between the years 1995 and 1998. This rating system was developed to define, quantify and certify buildings for their Green Building/ Sustainable Design achievements and includes increasingly higher levels of accreditation known as Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

Swinerton is currently utilizing the LEED™ rating system on a number of our projects in collaboration with Clients and Design Teams. Our involvement in Green Building/Sustainable Design typically begins early in the life of a project in order to appropriately maximize LEED™ points in the various LEED™ categories (sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design).

As Project Team members, we have developed detailed spreadsheets that track specific LEED™ components for certification points, availability, constructibility issues, cost impacts, alternate funding sources, and life-cycle payback periods.

In addition to LEED™ v2.0, in January 2002, the USGBC introduced their LEED-EB™ Green Building Rating System, which applies to existing buildings, as a pilot program. (LEED™ v2.0 applies to new construction.) Our new Corporate and Regional Headquarters, located at 260 Townsend Street in San Francisco, has achieved Gold LEED-EB™ Certification under this program. Swinerton is the only contractor participant in this pilot program, and, as such, we have the unique opportunity to provide input on the final formalized LEED-EB™ rating system.