Fifty-one spaces at Destiny USA have achieved formal LEED certification status from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) with The Cheesecake Factory and Lucky Brand both achieving LEED certification this month. Destiny USA achieved certification in February 2012 and established a precedent that all new stores within the expansion were lease obligated to obtain LEED certification. Destiny USA was formally recognized as the largest LEED Gold certified commercial building in the world on February 6, 2012 from the USGBC. USGBC president Rick Fedrizzi presented Destiny USA owner and founder Bob Congel with the award, stating the project was "a tremendous model for other retail and commercial enterprises for whom sustainable construction and development are operational imperatives." "Destiny USA's retailers and venues are continuing to build the standard that LEED built and certified stores are efficient, effective and a building trend in the US and across the globe," Lauren Staniec, Destiny USA's director of sustainability, said. "We are so proud to be the home of more than 50 certified locations, with many of them achieving certification levels higher than the lease-required." Twenty-seven stores have gone above and beyond the required LEED level with 22 tenants achieving LEED Silver, four achieving LEED Gold and one, PUMA, achieving LEED Platinum.