The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced that the total footprint of commercial projects certified under its LEED green building program surpassed two billion square feet. An additional seven billion square feet is currently in the pipeline across the globe as registered projects.

"In communities around the globe, leaders from every sector of the building industry are reinventing their local landscapes with buildings that enliven and bolster the health of our environment, communities and local economies," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC. "The journey to this milestone has energized our economy-funneling $554 billion annually into the U.S. economy alone-and has helped support 7.9 million jobs across the U.S."

As the most widely recognized and used green building program, LEED is certifying two million square feet of commercial building space each day in more than 130 countries. Today, nearly 50,000 commercial projects are currently participating in LEED, comprising nine billion square feet of construction space. Additionally, nearly 23,000 homes across the U.S. have earned certification through the LEED for Homes program, with nearly 86,000 additional units in the pipeline. That's more than 159,000 registered and certified projects in LEED.

Since the beginning of July, over 300 projects have earned LEED certification in more than 20 countries worldwide. Notable projects include a LEED Platinum commercial interior for Google in Mumbai; the Vestas Technology Center in Lem, Denmark; Ernst and Young Plaza in Los Angeles, Calif., which earned LEED Platinum for the operations and maintenance of an existing building; and Warrensburg Elementary, a LEED Gold school in Warrensburg, Mo.