Bureau Veritas, GBCI sign pact for LEED certification

Bureau Veritas and Green Business Certification Inc., the certification body for the US Green Building Council’s LEED green building programme, recently finalised the terms of their exclusive global agreement to facilitate LEED certification internationally.

As part of the agreement, Bureau Veritas teams around the world will review LEED projects for conformity with GBCI standards for certification. Immediate plans for local LEED review teams have been drawn up for China, Brazil and India where Bureau Veritas employs approximately 21,000 people. Local review teams will enhance customer engagement and local support for LEED while advancing the goal for future site verification as part of the LEED certification process.

“GBCI and Bureau Veritas will be able to offer local touch points, local reviews, possible on site verifications and other resources for green building teams on the ground,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, Chief Operating Officer, USGBC, and President of GBCI.

LEED is the world’s foremost programme for the certification of design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings, with more than 1.8 million square feet of commercial building space certified daily. There are currently more than 69,000 LEED building projects located in over 150 countries and territories, with approximately 44 per cent of all square footage outside the US.