Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) was established in January 2008 with the support of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) as an independent supervisory organization that monitors the certification of projects according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.
USGBC offers the LEED rating system and other industry-shaping resources to aid in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in new and existing buildings. LEED is the world’s most widely used green building program, created by USGBC as a leadership standard defining best practices for healthy, high-performing green buildings.
A new record was set in 2023 for adding the most LEED-certified gross square footage (GSF) of green building space in a single year as the world saw alarming climate impacts including record-setting temperatures and storms of increasing intensity. In total, there were more than 6,000 LEED-certified commercial projects worldwide, representing 1.36 billion GSF.
The annual ranking highlights countries and regions outside the United States that are making significant strides in sustainable building design, construction and operation.
The Top 10 list ranks countries based on the total number of LEED-certified projects between January 1 and December 31, 2023. The US is not included in the ranking, but remains the world's largest market for LEED, with more than 51.65 million sqm certified in 2023.
Once again, China topped the list in 2023, with 1,563 LEED-certified projects, comprising more than 24.5 million square meters. Canada ranked second with 280 projects, representing nearly 8 million square meters. India rounded out the top three with more than 7.2 million sq m.
Turkey entered the ranking in fourth place with 36 LEED-certified projects comprising more than 2.9 million sq m. Among the country's highest-profile projects is the Okmeydani Teaching and Research Hospital in Istanbul.
