Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification is the most prominent voluntary environmental program for built environments. It has four tiers: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Certified. As of 2015, in the United States, 14% of certified buildings are in the Certified tier, 33% in the Silver tier, 45% in the Gold tier and 8% in the Platinum tier. Why is the Gold tier the most popular although it is neither the least expensive option nor the most environmentally friendly one? To investigate this subject, we conducted interviews with owners of 144 properties across 27 US states and Washington, DC. We find that program design, specifically requirements/points for certifying to a specific tier, influences benefits–costs for certifying to different tiers. Other factors driving tier choice include the region in which the property is located, prior experience of the builder/owner with a particular LEED tier, the availability of subcontractors and the norms for leasing time frames. Finally, the nomenclature of different LEED tiers also shapes the value perception. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.