A new report on the rate of growth of green building in the region was released yesterday and the numbers are very positive. Focusing on LEED-certified projects Green Building Trends shows that 171 projects amounting to nearly 23 million square feet of green building were constructed in metro Washington from 2003-2009.

As the report notes green building is a concept that focuses not only on the design and construction of a building but how it will operate after completion (i.e. energy efficiency) and its location (near transit connections). Sixty-four percent of the green buildings constructed during the six-year period the report examines were located within a half-mile of a Metro station.

While the total number of green building projects increased each year the major upsurge began in 2007 and has progressively increased since. The District had the most projects (72) and most overall square footage (12.5 million) of green building in the region Northern Virginia had 59 projects and 6.6 million square feet and Suburban Maryland had 40 projects and 3.8 million square feet of green building.

Region Forward includes a target that by 2020 all new construction in metro Washington attain LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) “Silver” or equivalent certification.