since its introduction in 2000, the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system has not only grown to include more than 107,511 projects in the U.S. and 129 other countries, but the system has transformed local and state environmental laws. Whereas achieving top-level Platinum or Gold LEED ratings once meant energy efficiencies some 10 percent or even 25 percent beyond code stipulations, state and local jurisdictions are now setting standards that match these stringent requirements-for better and for worse.
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