Many companies can claim LEED certification, but what does it mean? And how do you differentiate between those who are certified?

Maybe you’ve wondered, Why do companies use this label? What is that sign on the outside of that building? What does concrete have to do with the environment?

“LEED” is an acronym that stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” The United States Green Building Council created LEED as a means to evaluate the way companies design. Certification encourages companies to use sustainable practices that can be measured in a concrete way.

Essentially, we can look at LEED as a commitment. This certification is a general environmental marker (of sorts) that a company can use to show their commitment to “greener” and more responsible construction, manufacturing, architecture, and engineering. This evaluation can count for many things — whether that’s concrete, the whole structure, or something else. Really, using sustainable concrete is often one more important step for a whole new building’s LEED certification (among other factors like electricity, water, and the exact geography of the building).

Furthermore, a company seeking commercial certification needs to adhere to a strict checklist of standards and guidelines, as you can see here. We always want to work with more businesses and architects interested in these rules.

So you might be wondering what makes us different. Why are we hoping to make this a standard? What’s our rating like? Well, while there are different levels of this certification, they do all share an investment in this greener future. That’s true. However, we at Elston Materials only use blocks composed of 43% recycled materials — locally harvested and locally manufactured. The minimum recycled-product content level for LEED acknowledgment is just 10%! We are serious about improving masonry and materials practices. Certified blocks aren’t just responsible; they’re durable, clean, and available in as diverse a selection as any other type of block.

You can see just what we have to offer here, and you can read more about certification here.