Bureau Veritas and Green Business Certification, the certification body for the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED green building program, finalised the terms of their exclusive global agreement to facilitate LEED certification internationally.

LEED is the world’s foremost program for the certification of design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings, with more than 1.85 million square feet of commercial building space certified daily. There are currently more than 69,000 LEED building projects located in over 150 countries and territories, with approximately 44 percent of all square footage outside the U.S.

As part of the agreement, Bureau Veritas teams around the world will review LEED projects for conformity with GBCI’s strict standards for certification. Immediate plans for local LEED review teams have been drawn up for China, Brazil and India, where Bureau Veritas employs approximately 21,000 employees. Local review teams will enhance customer engagement and local support for LEED while advancing the goal for future site verification as part of the LEED certification process.