The USGBC has released a new report, “LEED in Motion: Industrial Facilities.” The full report includes examples of how and why industrial facilities can and should use LEED.

In 2012, USGBC began collaborating with the manufacturing sector with the launch the LEED User Group: Industrial Facilities. The peer-leadership collaborative is a mechanism for market-driven feedback from industry experts. Four years later, the consensus among the participants is that LEED is a flexible and applicable leadership standard for industrial and manufacturing facilities, according to the report. While this new program is new for the USGBC and the LEED rating system in general, it hopes to serve as a model for future user groups. The 2016 members of the LEED User Group: Industrial Facilities include:

• AECOM
• BASF
• CH2M
• Colgate-Palmolive
• Diageo
• EMSI
• FCA US LLC
• GAF
• Green Building Services Inc.
• Intel Corp.
• Johnson Controls
• Kohler Co.
• Liberty Property Trust
• MARS
• Proctor & Gamble
• Toyota Motor Sales
• Transwestern Sustainability Services (TSS)
• Turner Construction Company
• United Technologies Corporation

In addition to the report, the USGBC asked some green building leaders within the sector for their take on how LEED positively impacts their work.

“We use LEED as a tool to convince owners and project teams to incorporate sustainable features into their facilities and practices that they otherwise may not have,” said Angela Rivera, managing director and senior project manager at GreenShape LLC, in a statement. “When you look at the scale of industrial projects, even a minor improvement in performance or a slight change in practices can make a huge difference. For instance, a 1 percent energy reduction typically eclipses the annual energy consumption of an average office building. When large consumers make incremental improvements, it’s an efficient way to make an impact.”

While some industries have looked at other green rating systems to save costs — LEED is still seen as the most respected and well-known green building certification system in the country.

“LEED allows projects teams not just to look at the building and the systems required to manage it, but also the process of manufacturing and supply chain distribution,” said Sean Hogan, sustainability leader and senior architectural technologist at RKD Architects, in a statement. “While significant savings can be made in the occupant use of the building, savings in production and distribution can lead to massive reductions in a corporation’s costs and carbon footprint.”

LEED in Motion: Industrial Facilities will highlight the professionals and facilities across the world who are embracing LEED, proving that factories can and must be green, according to the report. Industrial facilities play an important role in not just green building, but the overall economy. According to the report, $2.1 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) is generated by manufacturing in the U.S. In addition, there are 12.33 million manufacturing workers in the U.S. and there are 18.5 million jobs in the U.S. that are supported by some type of manufacturing (about one in sixe private-sector jobs), according to figures by the National Association of Manufacturers.