LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a certification program that was put in place by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBG). The USGBG, a nonprofit organization founded in 1993, created LEED to encourage commercial builders to incorporate more green practices and to get more people talking about energy efficiency, recycled components, and healthy buildings that feature natural lighting and materials low in toxins. (Carlson) LEED certification process has a total of 110 points in seven categories, including energy and atmosphere, sustainable sites (minimizing impacts on ecosystems), indoor environmental quality, materials and resources, water efficiency, innovation in design and bonus credits. Buildings can earn basic certification or a silver, gold, or platinum designation depending on how many of the possible credits they rack up. Hotels also save a lot of money in energy savings by becoming LEED certified. The 147 room Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina was the first LEED certified platinum building in the hospitality industry, (Fleming, 2009). The hotel used everything from recycled table tops, to 100 solar panels on the roof. The solar panels generated 60% of the hotels hot water, and the owner, Dennis Quaintance, is able to sell $20,000 of energy to the local energy company every year. Quaintance has another hotel a mile a way, and he now saves $140,000 a year in energy savings at the Proximity hotel compared to the one down the street. The state and federal tax credits paid for the 100 solar panels, and the North Carolina State Energy Office gave the hotel a $500,000 loan with a 3% interest rate, (Fleming,2009). Going green does have its perks, and the state and federal governments are willing to help. Government agencies are not the only businesses booking at green hotels, the national Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Funders Association had their annual meeting at the Proximity primarily because of its LEED status. The proximity also has a tour that guests can take where they can learn about the hotels sustainable features, and almost 9,000 people have taken the tour, (Fleming, 2009). There are many people interested in new sustainable features and the hotels that are implementing them are saving and making money. A few years ago there was only one LEED certified hotel. Currently, there are over five hundred hotels that could possibly become certified in the next few years. This data speaks volumes on the impact hotels are having on our environment.