A comparative analysis of gold leadership in energy and environmental design for new construction 2009 certified projects in Finland, Sweden, Turkey, and Spain

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is currently intensively applied in several European countries. The aims of the present study were to compare the difference between (i) two countries from the same region (i.e., Finland vs. Sweden or Turkey vs. Spain) and (ii) two European regions (northern Europe [Finland and Sweden] vs. [Turkey and Spain]) when the LEED- New Construction (NC) 2009 Certified rating level certified projects were analyzed. We found that, in the northern and southern parts of Europe, LEED- NC 2009 credit achievements in terms of Sustainable Sites (SS), Water Efficiency (WE), Materials and Resources (MR), and Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) were similar, whereas credit achievements in Energy and Atmosphere (EA) were different. High achievements were revealed in WE and SS, with values of 80-100% and 70-75%, respectively; intermediate achievements were revealed in EQ, with values of 40-60%; and low achievements were revealed in MR (20-40%). EA achievements were intermediate (60-65%) in northern Europe, while they were low in southern Europe (40%). This evidence can help recognize the categories that are performed with a high number of points and those that are performed with a low number of points.