Criterion was founded in 1979 on the nexus of urban planning, resource efficiency, and environmental stewardship. From an initial focus on community energy planning and renewable energy development, the firm's work has grown into a comprehensive sustainability practice supporting designers and policy makers throughout North America.

Criterion's green planning has reduced the water and energy use, and carbon footprints of some of North America's premier developments, including Portland's River District, Sacramento's North Natomas, Atlantic Station in Atlanta, Tucson's Civano, and Coquitlam in Vancouver. Criterion's analyses of land-use, urban design, and transportation strategies for these and other communities have proven to be critical inputs in achieving growth that is measurably more sustainable. In the last decade alone, Criterion-planned projects have saved over eight billion pounds of global warming emissions through urban design and renewable resource development.

LEED for Neighborhood Development is the U.S. Green Building Council rating system that integrates the principles of smart growth, new urbanism, and green building technologies. Criterion's selection by the USGBC to be the prime certification reviewer for LEED-ND reflects the firm's history of environmentally responsible community development. Criterion staff served on the LEED-ND Core Committee at its inception, and the firm has provided technical assistance to USGBC throughout the rating system development process. In its current role as prime certification reviewer, Criterion evaluates neighborhood projects with LEED-ND pilot standards to determine levels of LEED certification. The firm is also conducting a technical assessment of the pilot rating system and making recommendations for improving ND prerequisites and credits.

In addition to its work for the USGBC, Criterion offers local government, neighborhood developers, and design teams the following LEED-ND related services:

• Prequalification reviews and project assessments.
  
  
• Eligible land searches.
  
  
• Design strategies and compliance modeling.
  
  
• Application assistance and submittals preparation.
  

• A national perspective on green rating.
  
  
• Vancouver B.C. Climate Change Plan- Mitigation Strategy.
  
  
• Rating green regions.

• Planning for Climate Change.
  
  
• Chula Vista Global Warming Reduction Plan (guidelines).
  
  
• Chula Vista Global Warming Reduction Plan (full plan). 2003 recipient of EPA Climate Protection Award.

• Cool Spots: Neighborhoods of Low Carbon Convergence.
  
  
• Tampa Florida Carbon Footprint Reduction (INDEX case study).
  
  
• Using green ratings to improve neighborhood design.
  
  
• The Value of Smart Growth in Adapting to Climate Change (INDEX support for US EPA).

• Analysis of LEED-ND pilot project locations.
  
  
• A method for identifying lands eligible for LEED-ND.