New entrants to the LEED market are always welcome. Green building isn’t a luxury just for rich nations; it’s for everyone who cares about the environment.

Year in and year out, we keep seeing the same countries—the United States, Canada, China, India, and Brazil, for instance—consistently ranking in the top ten list for LEED market.  China, currently the world’s second largest market for LEED, has a total of 118.34 million GSM of LEED-certified and –registered space, with over 2,000 LEED projects.

Mexico joins the LEED party with its first ever LEED v4 Platinum Building. (Photo from USGBC)

While LEED steadily grows in those progressive markets at such an energetic pace, elsewhere around the world LEED has yet to take root.

And so the LEED Earth campaign was born.  Launched last June 2013 by the U.S. Green Building Council, the LEED Earth campaign comes with the intention of inspiring other countries to take green building a lot more seriously.

Under the LEED Earth campaign, over 100 qualifying countries can take advantage of free LEED certification for their first ever green building projects.  A second qualifier in the program is that any country considering to certify its first Platinum project using LEED’s newest version, currently LEED v4, can avail of free certification.

Green Building Isn’t Is for Everyone

Says Rick Fedrizzi, CEO, president, and founder of USGBC:

“LEED is a global language and can become a catalyst for incremental change toward a sustainable future. USGBC is committed to bringing LEED to every country in the world while continuing to foster innovation and achievement in existing global markets.”

Penetrating new markets is indeed a very ambitious goal because of the many challenges it poses.  Green building, for one, isn’t a one-size-fits-all program.  It must be flexible enough to cater to various locales, climates, and even political atmosphere.

Bringing in the concept of green building where none previously exists can also be difficult, especially in nations beset with corruption, poverty, violence, inequality, and many others.  More often than not, sustainability and the environment humbly take the backseat.  For a developed country such as China, where the government is deeply involved with all constructions, green building can fully thrive.

But how do you even begin talking about high-performance walls and toxic-free furniture in a country beleaguered with many long-standing socio-political issues?  How can struggling countries begin to incentivize green building projects when they don’t even have a decent program for providing livelihood and health care to their citizens to begin with?

Poverty is No Excuse

Then again, poverty is no excuse.  We’re all in this together.  It’s good that the big developed nations have taken the initiative to adopt green building.  But it would be a whole lot better if the entire world also joined in.  Remember, buildings pose a huge impact on the environment.

Right now, the goal is to change status quo and influence everyone’s mindset: sustainability isn’t just a luxury afforded by rich nations.  The environment is everyone’s concern.  When developing countries start to listen and learn to reprioritize, that’s already a huge step towards something positive.  That’s the humble goal of LEED Earth.

For those interested in participating in the LEED Earth program, they still have until June 5, 2016 to join, register, and have their    project certified.  Learn more about LEED Earth.