LEED® – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – is a voluntary building certification system that is applied in more than 150 countries worldwide. The LEED standard was created in America by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a non-profit association founded in 1993, which today counts more than 20,000 members and aims to promote and develop a global approach to sustainability, by recognising excellence in key areas of human and environmental health.
LEED® standards, developed by USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) indicate the requirements for constructing environmentally sustainable buildings, both in terms of energy and consumption of all environmental resources involved in the construction process.
The competitive advantages for anyone who adopts the LEED® standards, whether professionals or companies are primarily recognisable in the final high quality of the building, in the significant savings in operating costs that these buildings allow when compared with traditional buildings, and in the certification by a third party. LEED® certification, in fact, provides the market with a common approach and a measurable standard for each of the factors taken into consideration.
The LEED® rating system is structured in a set of protocols depending on the type of building to be certified.
The approach of all these protocols is the same, in the sense that they are all organised in the same areas or chapters, which are:
All these areas/chapters are defined by scores (credits). The sum of these determines the certification level, a rating that can range from Base to Platinum.
The LEED® rating system certifies the building, it does not certify individual products or components of the building, but these can contribute to meeting the requirements of the protocol and consequently to the building achieving the corresponding scores.
CAP Arreghini has selected a series of products that contribute to meeting certain credits of the LEED® international sustainability rating system. Each product possesses the necessary credits that define its added value in order to be recommended for the construction of “ecological” structures with materials belonging to the LEED® standard.
K81 Topcap Satin, K81 Topcap Lucido, Esterno Quarzo, Sil96 Active, Sil96 Quarzo Active, Siloxcap Active, Primer Top, Gradiente Active, Absolutecap, Ecocap, Kartocap, Capwhite, Unifix Grosso, Primer Cap Universale, Chromocap, Powercap, Unifercap W, Classic W, Classic, Special W Matt, Eco W 500, Grassello, Marmorino, Travertino, Mania.
To optimise the environmental performance of its products and reduce atmospheric emissions (VOCs), the company has subjected certain products to new tests at accredited laboratories to increase the reduction of potential smell, irritant, and/or harmful contaminants within the building even further, guaranteeing the comfort and well-being of installation personnel and also the building occupants. Furthermore, these products also contribute to fulfilling the credits of the LEED® system thanks to the fact that they carry the EPD® declaration.