Green Building refers to designing, constructing and maintaining buildings with a conscious effort to reduce or limit negative environmental impact and encourage positive environmental impact.

Sustainable building refers to designing, constructing, maintaining and operating buildings sot that future generations can enjoy the same quality of life and accesses to resources and the environment.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a green building rating system. This voluntary, consensus-based national rating system was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a non profit organization that certifies sustainable businesses, homes, hospitals, schools, and neighborhoods. USGBC is dedicated to expanding green building practices and education through its LEED® Green Building Rating System™. LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.

USGBC uses the performance-based rating system to awards points for meeting specific criteria related to green building. The McColl Pond Environmental Learning Center is attempting the Gold level of certification. This means that the building meets high standards in environmentally-friendly construction. The ELC is also the first LEED certified building in Scott County.