LEED and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), were established by the UN General Assembly in 2015, designed to be achieved by the year 2030. Winning international commitment to the goals was a major victory, as developed nations have prospered (after decades of destroying their natural resources), to develop their emerging economies in ways that do not harm the planet yet promote justice and equality.

But have you considered how LEED aligns and promotes the SDGs? At WAWA, we agree with the World Green Building Council (WGBC) in how it depicts green building. But we have some additional thoughts. Each individual green building itself can promote a number of the goals, but also, green building as an industry can achieve significant impact considering its scale.

How LEED relates to each goal directly and/or indirectly.

1. Good Health and Well-being – Green buildings can improve people's health and wellbeing." In addition to reducing harmful chemicals and increasing ventilation and daylighting, we include spaces for physical activity such as gyms, walking paths and stairs; places for emotional and mental health, such as meditation rooms, lactation rooms, and places for quiet work; and strategies to integrate nature in living spaces , including views to the outdoors, green/vegetated walls.
2. Quality Education – Green buildings do not directly contribute to quality education but indirectly can provide a suitable studying environment (good acoustic, natural light, healthy space…) while helping free the funds necessary for improving access to it. We also note that sustainability should be part of the educational curriculum.
3. Clean Water and Sanitation – LEED promotes the conservation of potable water and the health of water systems so as to ensure clean water for all.
4. Affordable and Clean Energy – Use renewable energy, becoming cheaper to run." At WAWA, we consider this one of the foundational principles of green design. The promotion of clean energy that is affordable is a climate action and climate justice issue.
5. Decent Work and Economic Growth – According to the WGBC, "building green infrastructure creates jobs and helps boost the economy." We couldn't have said it better ourselves!
6. Gender Equality – LEED now includes pilot credits that address a number of social equity issues, such as gender inclusion and diversity in the development / design team, project owner / developer organization, construction team, and operations team, as well as a gender approach in the project design and the community engagement process.
7. Zero Hunger – As stated above, financial savings goes a long way to alleviate hunger. In addition, the better use of natural resources, including land and water, can play an important role to end hunger.
8. Reduced Poverty – We believe that LEED green buildings promote energy and water savings that can relieve the financial burden placed on individuals, households, businesses, organizations, and local governments for their utility bills and related costs. This savings can go toward alleviating poverty through individual savings, community programs, and social welfare.
9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – Green building design can spur innovation & contribute to climate resilient infrastructure." Concerning LEED in Israel, we are applying smart building integration to WAWA's LEED projects, such as with Intel PTK1, hailed as one of the smartest office buildings in the world and a LEED Platinum project.
10. Reduced Inequalities – Like with gender equality, the LEED social equity pilot credits are promoting the inclusion, leadership, compensation, and celebration of minority and underrepresented groups.
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities –"green buildings are the fabric of sustainable cities and communities."(WGBC), You cannot achieve sustainability without green buildings. In fact, LEED recently introduced a rating system – "LEED for Cities & Communities"(LFC).
12. Responsible Consumption and Production – Green buildings use 'circular' principles where resources aren't wasted. WAWA supports the transition to a circular economy by which materials and products at the end of life are used for creating new materials and products. This helps preserve our precious resources and supports a healthy economy.
13. Climate Action – Green buildings produce fewer emissions, helping to combat climate change. LEED is part of the solution to this critical global challenge. Climate change is considered one of the most urgent global issues of the 21^st
14. Life Below Water – A current global issue is the plastic pollution crisis evident in our oceans. LEED and green building promote a switch to eco-friendly materials and circular economy while also increase strategies for better management of water systems and resources.
15. Life on Land – Green buildings can improve biodiversity, save water resources & help to protect forests. LEED also promotes infill development, rather than developing on land that is previously undeveloped. This helps conserve land for ecosystems and habitat, which humans can enjoy as landscape and natural uses.
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Also indirectly related to green building, we acknowledge that green building has a role to play in reducing environmental conflicts and resource wars through the better management of resources and in building a stronger economy at the local and global scales, which helps to prevent environmental refugees displaced by climate change events and the violence that can—and is predicted to—accompany the negative impacts of climate change.

Partnerships for the Goals – Through building green we create strong, global partnerships. And there you have it! 

Written by: Jennifer Sheffield