Applying learning experience in the components of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, the design challenge requires participants to compete in local competitions, and the top winner of each moves on to compete for a national award at USGBC's annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo. Awards include green building scholarships, as well as travel and registration to Greenbuild, where finalists' entries are displayed and final judging occurs.

Organized in partnership with Salvation Army's EnviRenew Initiative, the 2010 Natural Design Competition will focus its sights on the rebuilding effort in New Orleans, Louisiana. Competitors will be divided into students and young professionals groups and will design a LEED for Homes project that is priced affordably and is functional for elderly occupants.

Up to four designs will be selected from the local competition finalists to be showcased at Greenbuild 2010 and, for the first time, the designers will see their projects built in New Orleans' Broadmoor neighborhood. Once the homes are built, they will enter a measurement and verification phase in which they will be graded on energy efficiency, water reuse, and indoor air quality among other categories. The design team whose home performs best during measurement and verification will be awarded the final grand prize.