Businesses and organizations seeking to construct energy- and water-efficient new buildings under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards can earn incentives from an MLGW grant to the U.S. Green Building Council-Tennessee Chapter.
The MLGW/USGBC LEED Incentive increases awareness and adoption of energy-efficient and environmentally responsible construction practices in local commercial facilities.
To apply for these funds, qualified project teams must submit an application, the project’s Final LEED Scorecard and detailed Review, and an educational document highlighting the project’s sustainable attributes.
LEED Incentive Eligibility Requirements
- Project must be located in the MLGW service territory (Shelby County, TN).
- Project must achieve LEED Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification.
- Project must be LEED certified under the LEED for New Construction, LEED for Core & Shell, or LEED for Commercial Interiors Rating Systems, Version 2009 or later.
- Project must achieve the minimum specified points in energy and water categories

Previous MLGW LEED Incentive Recipients
Eight local green building projects have received incentives funded by the MLGW/USGBC LEED Incentive. These buildings and their owners, designers and construction teams are all leaders in commercial green building in Shelby County:
- Independent Bank, 2009, LEED Silver. i-Bank’s 2,485-square-foot branch on Poplar Avenue in Germantown became the first LEED-recognized building in Shelby County. Based on building size and LEED Silver status, i-Bank was awarded $10,000.
- Big River Engineering & Manufacturing, 2010, LEED Silver. Big River turned a 1950s building shell on Fourth Street, which previously served as a horse stable for the Memphis Police Department, into an energy-efficient, high-tech medical instrument manufacturing facility designed to use 20% less energy and 40% less water. This project was the third LEED-recognized building in Shelby County. The project earned LEED Silver and a $10,000 award. Learn more.
- Court Square Annex 2, 2011, LEED Gold. The five-story, mixed-use building filled the void in Court Square Center created by the 2006 fire that leveled the existing structure. In addition to many energy, water and environmental measures, the project was able to divert 99% of the demolition rubble and construction remnants from landfills. Court Square Annex 2 was the first LEED Gold building in Shelby County and earned a $15,000 award.
- FedEx Family House, 2012, LEED Gold. This 33,850-square-foot building provides accommodations for out-of-town families with a child being treated at LeBonheur. FedEx Family House was designed and built to use 23% less energy and 44% less water. The project earned a $15,000 award for its LEED Gold status.
- Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare, 2012, LEED Gold. This 208,000-square-foot hospital expansion on the Germantown campus houses the Women’s and Children’s Pavilion. With substantial reductions in energy and water use among its many green attributes, the building earned a $25,000 award for its LEED Gold certification.
- Smith & Nephew Innovation Center, 2013, LEED Gold. This 60,817-square-foot build-out of an unoccupied wing of the Smith & Nephew building houses the new Innovation Center, where medical professionals learn about new technologies and techniques, including demonstrations of surgical procedures in an operating room setting. The building features advanced HVAC equipment that has been commissioned for optimal performance, EnergyStar equipment and appliances, and long-term tracking of energy use, plus consumes 40% less water. The project earned LEED Gold and a $10,000 award.
- NovaCopy, 2016, LEED Gold. This 27,736-square-foot building houses copier and managed IT service sales and support as well as warehousing space. The building features a variable refrigerant heat pump system with individual controls for each office, controlled lighting and plumbing designed to use 40% less water. NovaCopy also is the first MLGW LEED Incentive recipient to include onsite solar generation, with a 51 kW solar array on its roof. NovaCopy consumes the solar power onsite and sells any excess to TVA (MLGW’s power provider) through a Self-Generation with Distributed Power Providers arrangement. The project earned LEED Gold and a $5,000 award. .
- LeBonheur Children’s Hospital Faculty Office Building, 2018, LEED Silver. This 51,787-square-foot building features energy-efficient systems and equipment to reduce energy use by 24%, low-flow devices designed to use 41% less water and building commissioning to ensure systems run optimally, among other elements. The project earned LEED Silver and a $5,000 award.
The MLGW LEED Incentive Grant is a companion program to MLGW’s successful residential green building program, EcoBUILD. Since 2004, MLGW has certified more than 700 EcoBUILD homes, representing more than one million square feet of living space. EcoBUILD utilizes a voluntary prescriptive list of green building standards—including more efficient materials, emphasis on proper installation techniques and inspections—combined with performance testing, to deliver energy savings of 30% or more, compared to typical local construction. EcoBUILD can be utilized by any builder, for any floorplan, on any lot in Shelby County.