The Masonry Society (TMS) recently became a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to help provide technical expertise and knowledge related to masonry, its characteristics, and how it is manufactured, designed, constructed, and in many cases reused. Associated with TMS joining the USGBC, TMS also created a Sustainability Subcommittee to help form positions to take to the USGBC for consideration.

The USGBC is a diverse coalition that works to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Recently, the USGBC’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ has caught the attention of numerous designers who hope to provide more sustainable building systems.

LEED is intended to provide a framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. It emphasizes state of the art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

LEED was created to:

• define "green building" by establishing a common standard of measurement


• promote integrated, whole-building design practices


• recognize environmental leadership in the building industry


• stimulate green competition


• raise consumer awareness of green building benefits


• transform the building market

LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council representing all segments of the building industry developed LEED and continue to contribute to its evolution. LEED standards are currently available for:

• new construction and major renovation projects (LEED-NC)


• existing building operations (LEED-EB, Pilot version)


• commercial interiors projects (LEED-CI, Pilot version)


• core and shell projects (LEED-CS, Pilot version)

TMS Responds Vol 4, No. 1 (June 2004) contains additional information on LEED and how masonry contributes to LEED credits.
More at www.masonrysociety.org