Washington, D.C. has emerged as a leader in green office space.
The nation’s capital outperformed the top U.S. office markets for its share of LEED-certified offices in its market, according to a new ranking of green office markets from CommercialCafe. The listings platform analyzed green buildings in metros with a population of at least 150,000, and top metros had populations north of 500,000.
More than 71 percent of Washington, D.C.’s office stock — 95 million square feet — is LEED-certified, with 53 percent of those properties holding platinum or gold LEED certifications — the highest levels. This is likely due to the federal government often prioritizing leasing green office space, according to the report.
San Francisco ranks second among the top metros with LEED-certified offices, with just under 69 percent of its office stock — about 73 million square feet — holding this green-building standard. San Francisco is also the market with the greatest share of its LEED-certified properties — 24 percent of them — with a platinum designation. Of LEED buildings in the city, 64 percent, totalling 67 million square feet, are either platinum- or gold-certified, according to the ranking.
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New York City has 289 million square feet of LEED-certified square footage, which is the highest total among the nation’s top office markets. This represents about 51 percent of the Big Apple’s office stock.
Among secondary markets, or cities with less than 500,000 residents, Oakland, California took the top slot with the greatest share of LEED-certified office square footage. Just over 47 percent, or 8.9 million square feet, of the office space in that city is LEED-certified.
The U.S. Green Building Council launched the LEED program in 2000 with the goal of incentivizing sustainable development. As of 2024, there are more than 195,000 Leed projects — from offices to residential properties to schools — across 186 counties, with 29 billion square feet of LEED-certified space. Buildings with LEED certification tend to use 25 percent less energy, emit 34 percent less carbon dioxide and use 11 percent less water, according to the council.