LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Homes and buildings are certified as LEED based on a rating system. This rating system encompasses a broad spectrum of criteria. Everything is considered from the location and size of the building to the materials and the process used to install them. LEED is also the only green type of certification that requires third party verification. In the United States and in a number of other countries around the world, LEED certification is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. Achieving LEED certification is the best way for you to demonstrate that your building project is truly "green." The LEED green building rating system - developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington D.C.-based, nonprofit coalition of building industry leaders - is designed to promote design and construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being. Staying true to the LEED model, the Suffolk Health and Human Services building was completed on time and under budget.

Some of the Amenities of This Project Include:

• strategically placed comprehensive signage which explain the building's sustainable features
• a lighted, landscaped park and water feature complete with a walking trail
• signed containers in the Break Room to encourage the recycling of lunchroom waste through the facility's recycling program
• ideally located parking spaces for low-emitting and hybrid vehicles.

It is the desire of the City of Suffolk to educate its residents of the benefits of green building practices in public programs, private development and residential communities in order to protect our local and regional natural resources.