Vegas high-rise condos seek LEED certification.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It's a Green Building Rating System designed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nationally recognized benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Okay, that very official-sounding part is out of the way now. For more specifics from the Council, click here.

MGM Mirage's CityCenter project is seeking LEED certification for the mammoth mixed-use, including condominiums, construction undertaking on the Strip. Let's look at a few of the highlights they hope will earn them that designation. Some of the polished wood accents actually come from old barns across the rural U.S. Carpeting is mostly made from recycled materials, windows are energy-efficient glass and a portion of the debris from the torn-down casino that made way for this development is being reused. 

It's only recently that companies have begun seriously sniffing around the LEED standards and more and more are seeing its benefits. A green design today costs perhaps 5% more than the traditional one, but as the technologies around the concept improve and economies of scale kick in, that gap is going to narrow. Besides, the savings from lower energy and water bills will pay for the extra outlay in a few years. Isn't this what we can call win-win?