2021 – Sustainability and Equity with LEED for Cities and Communities – A Case of Lancaster, PA

Hosted by AIA Eastern Pennsylvania and Lehigh Valley Green Building United

Presented by Gautam Tarafdar of USGBC

WHEN: Thursday February 25th at 6:30pm
WHERE : Virtual. Streaming link will be sent via email after registering

1 AIA LU / 1 GBCI LU pending

Cost: FREE

LEED for Cities and Communities rating system brings a new level of leadership to communities around the world. This rating system offers tools to guide planning, implementation and measuring progress with validated – and actionable – data. Data that is evidence of actual performance. This system suggests sustainability strategies and policies to help cities achieve the best in performance. Communities can leverage it to be used at multiple scales and collaborate with major global initiatives. This rating system and tools place a compelling and actionable view of communitywide actionable performance directly at an urban decision maker’s fingertips.

This session will highlight ways in which it helps communities in achieving Net Zero goals for energy, emissions, water, waste and transportation while preserving equity and improving quality of life. Lessons learnt from certified and participating communities from U.S. and around the world showcase targeted actionable policies, strategies and projects in achieving goals and communicate; educate residents, visitors and business owners to enable continuous improvement; demonstrate their commitment to sustainable resource use, energy, water, transportation, circular economy, human health, social equity and economic prosperity. We will highlight the case of the City of Lancaster, PA, which was certified at Gold level to LEED for Cities and Communities rating system in July 2018.

Learning Objectives:

  • Learn key aspects of LEED for Cities and Communities rating system
  • Learn categories and credits in LEED v4.1 for Cities and Communities rating system
  • Learn what sustainability and equity policies and projects were most effective for Lancaster in achieving LEED for Cities and Communities certification
  • Learn how LEED is connecting from Buildings to Communities to Cities