Illinois led the nation in building space certified as environmentally friendly for the second straight year, a national report indicates.
The U.S. Green Building Council's report Wednesday named the top ten states for buildings certified as "LEED," which stands for leadership in building design.
Green buildings have a sustainable design, use less energy and water and reduce carbon emissions.
Illinois had 174 projects certified as LEED space in 2014 -- more than 42 million square feet. Colorado was a distant second with 16 million square feet in 102 projects.
Brian Imus is executive director of the council's Illinois chapter. He says Illinois "has long been a green building trend setter." He says Illinois is positioned to be a "leading exporter of sustainable technology and design to emerging markets."
Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, Hawaii, California, Georgia, Minnesota, Arizona and New York rounded out the top 10, with the final two having a tie.
Notable Illinois projects certified last year include NBC Tower in Chicago, a facility at Argonne National Laboratory in suburban Chicago, Ridgewood High School in Norridge and Maudelle Tanner Brown Bousfield Hall at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
