From bamboo flooring and carpeting to energy-efficient HVAC systems,numerous environmentally sustainable products have beenmade available recently. This signals a major change from just a fewyears ago when sustainable design was in its infancy in New YorkCity. Still, accumulating enough points for a US Green BuildingCouncil LEED certification remains a challenge.

LEED was created by the USGBC to establish a common standardof measurement for what constitutes a "green" building, evaluatingseveral areas including sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. Within these areas, points are awarded, and the number of points a project earns determines the level of certification the building will be awarded. There are four progressive levels of certification:Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

"Five years ago there almost no awareness of any of these issues,"says Dale E. Peterson, principal, Mancini Duffy. "Now, there aremany projects going through the USGBC LEED rating system. Designteams, contractors and manufactures are all developing a body ofexpertise. Many products now are being tailored towards theserequirements. There's been, absolutely, huge growth."