Canada ranks #2 in the world for LEED in 2023
Green buildings are part of climate action and supporting healthy, resilient communities
CAGBC Staff on February 6, 2024
- Theme
- Green Building
Ottawa, ON – Today, the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC) announced that Canada ranks second in the world on the annual list of Top 10 Countries and Regions for LEED in 2023.
Released by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), the ranking highlights countries and regions outside the United States that are making significant strides in healthy, sustainable building design, construction and operations. In 2023, Canada certified a total of 280 LEED green building projects representing nearly eight million gross square meters (GSM) of space.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. It is developed by U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and administered by CAGBC in Canada.
“Canada has made a strong commitment to green building, recognizing its ability to drive innovation and grow the economy, along with improved environmental performance, resiliency and health outcomes,” said Thomas Mueller, President and CEO of CAGBC. “Canada has embraced LEED as the best system to provide guidance and verification on making meaningful progress on sustainability and decarbonization. However, much more work needs to be done to scale green building construction and retrofit across the industry.”
Within the top 10 report, Mainland China was ranked first while India, Turkey and Brazil rounded out the top five countries on the list, respectively. These countries represent the ever-growing international demand for certified LEED green buildings that help reduce emissions and support health and well-being.
The list ranks countries based on the total LEED-certified commercial space in 2023. The U.S. is not included in the list but remains the world’s largest market for LEED with 51 million GSM certified space in 2023.
The full ranking is as follows:
| Top 10 Countries & Regions for LEED in 2023 | ||||
| Rank | Country/Region | Project count | Square Feet | Square Meters |
| 1 | Mainland China | 1,563 | 264,287,540.13 | 24,553,139.67 |
| 2 | Canada | 280 | 85,421,062.41 | 7,935,884.06 |
| 3 | India | 248 | 77,891,785.74 | 7,236,390.69 |
| 4 | Turkey | 36 | 31,335,904.56 | 2,911,203.61 |
| 5 | Brazil | 119 | 28,042,859.15 | 2,605,269.39 |
| 6 | Saudi Arabia | 57 | 23,341,412.46 | 2,168,490.27 |
| 7 | Spain | 169 | 21,543,484.55 | 2,001,457.14 |
| 8 | Italy | 135 | 21,350,455.74 | 1,983,524.16 |
| 9 | South Korea | 67 | 20,219,534.97 | 1,878,458.08 |
| 10 | Mexico | 86 | 17,394,234.77 | 1,615,978.85 |
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