HOUSTON, July 8 (Xinhua) -- A new report showed that the office buildings in Houston are among the top five greenest in the United States.
According to a study by CBRE Group and the Netherland's Maastricht University, the certified green buildings accounted for 53 percent of the Houston office space in 2016.
"Green" office buildings in the United States are defined as those that hold either a U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star label or a U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and the LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement.
After placing second last year, the Chicago market claimed the top spot with 66 percent of its space qualified as green certified according to the fourth annual Green Building Adoption Index study by CBRE and Maastricht University.
San Francisco slipped to second, while Atlanta, Houston and Minneapolis again claimed spots in the top five in the 2017 report.
