The U.S. Green Building Council and Green Business Certification Inc. have released their annual Top 10 Countries and Regions for LEED rankings for 2024, underscoring growing global momentum in sustainable building design, construction and operations. The list highlights countries outside the United States with the most net square metres of space certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) system, a benchmark for sustainable buildings worldwide.
The Chinese Mainland topped the 2024 rankings with more than 25.6 million square metres of LEED-certified space across 1,860 projects, reaffirming its dominant position in international green building. Canada placed second with over 10 million square metres, while India retained third place with around 8.5 million square metres of certified space.
Other countries making the top 10 included South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Hong Kong SAR, Italy, Brazil and Turkey, reflecting a diverse range of markets advancing sustainable construction practices.
Analysts pointed to notable trends within the data, including an increase in LEED for Operations and Maintenance (O+M) projects, which focus on improving performance in existing buildings. In China, nearly half of the 2024 certified projects were attributed to one global corporate partner, while Turkey reported that more than one-third of its certified projects were for existing buildings. Brazil achieved a milestone with the Portobello Jardim Social shop becoming the first project in the world to certify under the LEED v5 for O+M beta program, and Mexico saw its first LEED v5 Platinum office and industrial manufacturing projects.
LEED continues to be one of the most widely adopted green building rating systems in the world. Recent data show more than 195,000 LEED-certified projects spanning over 186 countries and territories, representing billions of square feet of sustainable space and contributing to significant reductions in carbon emissions and environmental impact.
The latest rankings come as the USGBC moves toward the broader rollout of LEED v5, the newest iteration of the rating system designed to further advance high-performance, climate-responsive buildings.
Observers said the rankings provide valuable insight into how global markets are adopting ESG-aligned construction practices, with commercial developers, investors and policymakers increasingly using LEED certification as a metric to demonstrate environmental performance, energy efficiency and resilience in the built environment.
