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Does LEED Certification Save Energy? Evidence from Federal Buildings Karen Clay, Edson R. Severnini & Xiaochen Sun Share Twitter LinkedIn Email Working Paper 28612 DOI 10.3386/w28612 Issue Date March 2021 In the absence of first-best climate policy, energy efficiency has figured prominently among strategies to reduce carbon emissions. One of the most sought-after green certification in the building sector is the internationally recognized Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED). This paper examines the effects of LEED certification on energy efficiency in federally owned buildings. Using propensity score matching and difference in differences models, we find no effect of LEED certification on average energy consumption. This reflects the fact that energy use is one of a number of attributes that receives scores under the LEED program. Buildings with above average energy scores have greater energy efficiency post-certification. Some other attributes, notably higher water scores, decrease energy efficiency post-certification. Trade-offs across LEED attributes account for the absence of energy savings on average. If energy efficiency is the primary policy goal, LEED certification may not be the most effective means to reach that goal. * Acknowledgements and Disclosures We are grateful for invaluable comments and suggestions from Andrea La Nauze, Vivian Loftness, Kathleen Segerson, Yujie Xu, seminar participants at Carnegie Mellon University, and conference participants at the Association for Mentoring and Inclusion in Economics (AMIE)'s Workshop in Applied Microeconomics. We also gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. * Download Citation (*) MARC ( ) RIS ( ) BibTeKh Download Citation Data Related Topics Development and Growth Innovation and R&D Environmental and Resource Economics Energy Environment Programs Environment and Energy Economics More from NBER In addition to working papers, the NBER disseminates affiliates' latest findings through a range of free periodicals -- the NBER Reporter, the NBER Digest, the Bulletin on Retirement and Disability, and the Bulletin on Health -- as well as online conference reports, video lectures, and interviews. Economics of Digitization Figure 1 The Economics of Digitization * Article * Author: Shane Greenstein The NBER Economics of Digitization Project, established in 2010 with support from the Alfred P. 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