Northern Colorado accounts for 13 percent of the state’s most energy- efficient buildings, according to data from the U.S. Green Building Council.
In Colorado there are 576 certified LEED (which stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) projects. 75 of those buildings are in Larimer and Weld counties.
Fort Collins has the lion’s share, says Northern Colorado Business Report publisher Jeff Nuttall.
"The Business Report calculated that Fort Collins has 14 square feet of certified LEED projects per resident of the city," Nuttall says. "That’s higher than any other city in Northern Colorado. There are 42 projects in Fort Collins totaling 2.1 million square feet."
Nuttall says Loveland comes in second, with 11 projects at 827,000 square feet.
One of the largest is Medical Center of the Rockies, which opened in 2007 and is certified as LEED gold. The University of Colorado Health hospital used environmentally friendly paint and carpet, and reused concrete and asphalt from the property, rather than sending it to the landfill.
Neither city comes close to catching Denver or Boulder in terms of square footage per capita though. Denver has 149 certified LEED projects, and Boulder has 45.
As part of the LEED program, buildings receive credit for factors such as reducing impacts on water and ecosystems, improving energy efficiency, recycling building materials, and reducing waste.