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A program launched this week by the U.S. Green Building Council aims to help owners of groups of buildings streamline the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification process.

The LEED volume program was introduced in 2010 for new construction, but the new Operations & Maintenance track extends the volume program to existing buildings. Both tracks within the volume program can only be used by owners who want to certify groups of least 25 buildings at once.

The program helps high-volume markets – like retail, government, higher education – make green improvements to their entire building portfolio.

In the volume program, owners create a set of rules that would apply to every building in a group. Once the USGBC approves those rules, the owner can certify the entire bundle of buildings at once, making the process faster and cheaper.

The Operations & Maintenance track is for existing properties of any age that conform to a set of policies and operations that reduce waste, water usage or other unsustainable practices.

Before its formal launch this week, the Operations & Maintenance track was available as a pilot program for five years. During the pilot phase, the track was shaped based on the experiences of 11 commercial real estate firms, national retailers, hospitality providers, colleges and universities, local and state governments and federal agencies.

Early participants reported significant improvements in their company’s practices, including Cushman & Wakefield, which reported large reductions in water usage and waste production.