US green building certifications move beyond LEED

For over two decades, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has been the benchmark for green buildings in the US. But a new wave of certifications is rapidly changing the landscape, especially as investors, regulators, and tenants shift their priorities towards health, carbon, resilience, and transparent data.

Fitwel is fast becoming the go-to certification for health and wellness in buildings. While the WELL Building Standard remains the premium choice, Fitwel, developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and managed by the Center for Active Design, has carved out a distinct space as the accessible, cost-effective standard. Asset managers prefer it for it’s lower cost, faster process and focus on operational strategies rather than expensive renovations. Most importantly, Fitwel supports the social dimension of ESG, which is now a top priority in the post-pandemic world.

When it comes to carbon emissions, the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) Zero Carbon certification is emerging as the alternative for owners who want results, not just checklists. Unlike LEED, which critics say can be achieved through design credits alone, Zero Carbon certification requires buildings to verify 12 months of net-zero operations, powered by renewable energy. For institutional investors with net-zero goals, this is the "hard" decarbonisation metric that strengthens their environmental credentials under ESG.

Resilience has moved from a buzzword to a financial necessity. RELi, originally from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and now independent, is the first U.S. standard to take climate risk head-on, addressing everything from hurricanes, wildfires and flooding to grid stability. Unlike LEED, RELi directly addresses these risks. As a result, RELi uptake is rising in climate-vulnerable regions as insurance, municipal requirements and asset preservation drive adoption.

Portfolio-level ESG is also evolving. Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM USA), the American version of the UK standard, was once a niche player but now aligns more naturally with the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), a global ESG benchmark for real estate. BREEAM, in contrast to LEED, is designed for existing assets. It emphasises management, resilience and data aggregation, making it a top pick for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and pension funds, reporting on thousands of buildings.

The market is also shifting from static certifications to dynamic performance tracking. ARC Skoru, developed by USGBC, is one such example, being a platform for real-time energy, water, waste and human experience data. In the PropTech age, ARC serves as the digital backbone, acting as an API layer that lets smart building systems continuously verify ESG performance instead of relying on a one-time “plaque.”

LEED remains the entry point for U.S. green building, but the market leaders are using multiple certifications: Fitwel for health, ILFI Zero Carbon for decarbonisation, RELi for resilience and BREEAM or ARC for portfolio-scale tracking. This reflects a broader market shift away from static, design-based ratings and towards living, operational certifications that deliver real ESG results.