Does LEED certification save energy? Evidence from retrofitted federal buildings

This paper examines the causal impact of LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification on energy consumption among federally owned buildings that were retrofitted over the period 1990-2019. Using a difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach, the paper has two findings. First, despite energy savings being an explicit federal goal, LEEDcertified retrofits of federal buildings did not have statistically significant energy savings on average. Second, LEED buildings with higher energy scores had greater energy efficiency post certification, and the improvements were economically meaningful. The absence of energy savings on average appears to be driven by three factors - trade-offs across energy and other areas in acquiring points for certification, possible changes in energy use after the official performance period for LEED certification ended, and improvements in the energy efficiency of all federal buildings.

Automated summary

This paper analyzes the impact of LEED certification on energy consumption of federally owned buildings that underwent retrofits between 1990 and 2019. Through a difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach, two main findings emerge. First, despite federal goals for energy savings, LEED-certified retrofits did not result in statistically significant energy savings on average. Second, LEED buildings with higher energy scores demonstrated greater energy efficiency after certification, with economically meaningful improvements. The lack of average energy savings may be attributed to trade-offs in acquiring certification points, changes in energy use after the certification period, and overall energy efficiency improvements in federal buildings.