As a service to the industry, we track various proxies that we can use to distill sustainable building trends. We publish this data weekly via our social media channels. Obviously, there are various ways to think about and define “sustainable.” If we define sustainability as small and / or alternative living spaces, we can track the number of permits issued for Small Efficiency Dwelling Units (SEDUs) and Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in the City of Seattle.
We can also define sustainable projects as those that receive certification from various third-party entities. We pulled data from the following third-party certification systems, from the following sources:
LEED (all types, all levels) - https://www.usgbc.org/projects
LEED v4.1 (all types, all levels; filter v4.1) - https://www.usgbc.org/projects
LEED v4.1 Platinum (all types; filter v4.1 and Platinum) - https://www.usgbc.org/projects
WELL Certified Projects (bottom of page) - https://www.wellcertified.com/
WELL Registered Projects (bottom of page) - https://www.wellcertified.com/
WELL v2 Certified Gold (filter for WELL v2 Certification, Gold Certification) - https://www.wellcertified.com/directories/projects
WELL v2 Certified Platinum (filter for WELL v2 Certification, Platinum Certification) - https://www.wellcertified.com/directories/projects
WELL v2 Registered (filter for WELL v2 Certification, Registered) - https://www.wellcertified.com/directories/projects
Energy Star (all property types, in 2020, excluding data centers) - https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/reference/find-energy-star-certified-buildings-and-plants/registry-energy-star-certified-buildings
BuiltGreen 4-Star (filter for 4-Star) - https://www.builtgreen.net/BuiltGreenMap__c.aspx
BuiltGreen 5-Star (filter for 5-Star) - https://www.builtgreen.net/BuiltGreenMap__c.aspx
BuiltGreen Emerald Star (filter for Emerald Star) - https://www.builtgreen.net/BuiltGreenMap__c.aspx
All Building Permits (City of Seattle, issued or in progress) - https://data.seattle.gov/Permitting/Building-Permits/76t5-zqzr/data
SEDU Permits (filter for SEDU Permits) - https://data.seattle.gov/Permitting/Building-Permits/76t5-zqzr/data
DADU Permits (filter for ADU Permits) - https://data.seattle.gov/Permitting/Building-Permits/76t5-zqzr/data
We are transparent about these data sources because we do not have any control over this data and cannot verify its accuracy or robustness; nor do we have any control or information regarding how often it is updated. Many of these entities do not have to disclose this data, so we select from what is publicly available. We report the data as it is reported by the relevant entity; we cannot warrant or guarantee its completeness or accuracy. For additional or specific information, contact the cited entity directly.
Fitwel has noted that they update the numbers on their website on a quarterly basis. These numbers are calculated from the user data from the Fitwel Portal, which is constantly updated as users add new projects and undergo the certification process.
If you have questions, comments, suggestions revisions or other data sources, please feel free to contact us.