Congratulations on your decision to pursue LEED certification for your project! Updated Sept. 25, 2017 You’re on your way to increasing the value and environmental integrity of your project. This guide will lead you through the process. LEED certification involves four main steps:.

1. Leed 2009 Reference Guide Development Request For Core And Shell

Register your project by completing key forms and submitting payment. Apply for LEED certification by submitting your completed certification application through and paying a certification review fee. Review. Your LEED application is reviewed by Green Business Certification Inc. Certify. Receive the certification decision. If you’ve earned LEED certification: congratulations! If you need assistance at any time, please.

Note: Are you working on projects using LEED Volume? Check out our, which works in conjunction with this guide to give you a full picture of the LEED Volume Program. Register Registration is an important step in the LEED certification process, signifying your intent to pursue LEED certification. Before you begin, you’ll want to make sure that your project meets all of the LEED Minimum Program Requirements, the minimum characteristics that make a project appropriate for pursuing LEED. Congratulations on your decision to pursue LEED certification for your project! You’re on your way to increasing the value and environmental integrity of your project. This guide will lead you through the process.

LEED certification involves four main steps:. Register your project by completing key forms and submitting payment. Apply for LEED certification by submitting your completed certification application through and paying a certification review fee. Review. Your LEED application is reviewed by GBCI. Certify. Receive the certification decision. If you’ve earned LEED certification: congratulations! If you need assistance at any time, please.

Note: Are you working on projects within the LEED Volume Program? Check out our, which works in conjunction with this guide to give you a full picture of the LEED Volume Program.

Register Registration is an important step in the LEED certification process, signifying your intent to pursue LEED certification. Before you begin, you’ll want to make sure that your project meets all of the LEED Minimum Program Requirements, the minimum characteristics that make a project appropriate for pursuing LEED. Apply Now comes the fun part: you’re ready to collect and submit the appropriate documentation via so that GBCI may review your project. Working with your project team, you will identify to pursue and assign them to project team members.

Your team will then collect information, perform calculations and analysis, and prepare documentation demonstrating your achievement of the prerequisites and your selected credits. And make sure to perform a rigorous quality check of your entire application before submitting for review. We suggest that you open each form and check that you have included all required information, and open each file upload to verify that you have uploaded the correct document.

Cross-check credits and prerequisites to make sure that you have reported common data points, such as gross square footage, occupancy and total material cost consistently. Want more tips? Here are some characteristics common among high quality submissions:. Relevant prerequisite/credit information is clearly highlighted within the submission. File attachments are clearly and intuitively labeled.

Only required documentation is submitted (if only a few pages are needed to provide the required credit/prerequisite information, no need to submit more!). Concise narratives are used to describe project-specific circumstances (these are really helpful for the GBCI reviewer) All finished? Ready, set, submit! Don’t forget to pay your certification review fee - and remember, your review will commence once your payment has cleared our system. Important considerations LEED O+M projects You may choose to extend the performance period for any prerequisite or credit to a maximum of 24 months preceding your certification application, in case you need more time to establish performance.

All performance periods must overlap and come to a conclusion within one month of each other. Please be sure to submit your completed application for review within 60 days of the conclusion of the performance period. The recertification performance period includes the entire time since the previous certification and must be at least a year in length, but may be up to five years in length. You’ll need to track and record building performance data throughout the entire recertification performance period.

Campus Projects Campus credit approach: If your team is pursuing this approach, be sure to document all campus credit information within the master site. Campus group project approach: For this approach, your team’s group project documentation must demonstrate that the group of projects collectively meets the credit requirements using a “group credit.” You may use our group project certification independently or in combination with campus credits documented under a master site review, through the campus credit approach above. Review After you’ve submitted your application and paid the review fee, GBCI will conduct a thorough technical review. But don’t kick back yet – you’ll need to be an active participant throughout the process. While the type of review you’ll undergo will vary depending on the specific needs of your project and the rating system under which you are certifying (more on that below), the process is the same: Part 1: Preliminary Review. You will first submit your application for a preliminary review. GBCI will check your application for completeness and compliance with the selected rating system and attempted credits.

GBCI will respond with its preliminary review within 20-25 business days, indicating which prerequisites and credits are anticipated to be awarded during final review, pending further information or denied. Your team can accept the preliminary review results as final if you are satisfied, submit new or revised documentation, or attempt additional credits before submitting for final review. Part 2: Final Review (optional).

The final review stage allows you to submit supplementary information or amend the application. GBCI suggests you submit these clarifications within 25 business days after receiving the preliminary review results. GBCI will then review revised or newly submitted prerequisites and credits, and reconsider any anticipated credits or prerequisites for which information has changed since the return of the preliminary review. GBCI will respond with a final LEED certification review report within 20-25 business days, marking prerequisites and attempted credits as either awarded or denied. Like the preliminary review, you can either accept the review results as final, or revise your application and resubmit, this time as an appeal. Part 3: Appeal Review (optional, appeal fees apply). The appeal review stage provides one additional round of review and allows you to submit supplementary information, amend the application or add new credits not previously attempted.

GBCI will review the pending or newly submitted prerequisites and credits, and reconsider any anticipated credits or prerequisites for which information has changed since the return of the final review. The fee associated with appeals varies depending on the level of complexity of the credits or prerequisites involved in the appeal. GBCI will respond with an appeal LEED certification review report within 20-25 business days, marking prerequisites and attempted credits as either awarded or denied. Like the final review, you can either accept the appeal review results as final, or submit a further appeal. There is no cap on the number of appeals you may submit. Standard review (all rating systems) Through the standard review path, you will submit your entire application (all credits and prerequisites) once you’ve completed your project. Split review (LEED BD+C and LEED ID+C rating systems) You may choose to pursue split review if you are certifying under a design and construction rating system.

To do this, you’ll submit part of your application at the conclusion of your project’s design phase (design credits and prerequisites), and the rest at the conclusion of construction (construction credits and prerequisites), completing two rounds of reviews. The split review is designed to help your team determine if your project is on track to achieve LEED certification at its preferred level.

Please note that only credits and prerequisites identified as design credits can be submitted during the design review, and that your application must be submitted before your project is substantially completed. Precertification review (LEED for BD+C: Core & Shell projects only) This is an optional review pathway available for a fee for LEED BD+C: Core & Shell projects that is focused on your intended design and construction strategies. We offer precertification to help your project attract tenants and help you determine which credits and prerequisites your project is likely to achieve during the full review. Expedited review In a time crunch? Contact GBCI at least five business days (please allow longer if you are paying by check) prior to submitting an application to request an expedited review to cut your review time in half (reduced from 20-25 business days to10-12 business days per review phase). Please note that there is an additional charge for this service, and GBCI’s ability to fulfill your request depends on their current review capacity. If GBCI can accommodate your request, they will confirm availability and provide a custom review schedule for your project.

Submitting an inquiry Having difficulty fulfilling a rating system prerequisite or credit? Have you thought of an alternative way to interpret a credit or path to fulfill it? We’ve established inquiries so that you can gain clarification before you register your project or as you’re working through your LEED application. All inquiries are filed through (unless you haven’t registered yet – in which case, please reach out to GBCI) and should address only one credit or prerequisite.

Here are your options: Credit Interpretation Ruling (CIR): A CIR allows you to obtain technical guidance related to a particular credit or facet of the LEED rating system. Our review team will let you know if your interpretation of a particular credit or prerequisite is consistent with published rating system requirements. When it comes time to submit your application for review, you will need to provide documentation demonstrating fulfillment of the CIR and indicate the approved CIR within your application for certification. You may file an appeal if you are not satisfied with the result of your CIR using the process above. Keep in mind, also, that CIRs are not precedent setting; your project team can only utilize the ruling for the project under which the CIR was submitted. LEED Interpretation: Administered by USGBC, LEED Interpretations focus on the evolution of the LEED rating system and are published periodically in the form of official addenda. They are developed through a deliberative process involving LEED committees and are not conducted within the standard 20-25 business day timelines.

Like Project CIRs, LEED Interpretations provide answers to technical inquiries about applying LEED in situations not already addressed by the rating systems, reference guides and MPRs. They differ from Project CIRs in that, as USGBC issued addenda, these rulings are precedent-setting and applicable to all projects registered in the future. As in the case with all addenda, projects registered before a LEED Interpretation is published may voluntarily elect to follow these revisions. You can access published LEED Interpretations online in our searchable.

Important considerations Deadline for submitting for review For LEED BD+C and LEED ID+C rating systems, you will need to submit for your construction phase review (preliminary standard review or preliminary construction review) no later than two years after your project is substantially completed (the date on which your building receives a certificate of occupancy or similar official indication that it is fit and ready for use). LEED O+M projects are required to submit for review within 60 days of the end of their performance period. If you decide you no longer want to pursue LEED certification for your project, we understand. Please contact GBCI so that they can close your application and maintain accurate records. Campus projects Campus credit approach: We recommend that you complete the master site review prior to submitting any associated, individual or group projects for review, since the campus credits earned through the master site review will then become available to your individual or group projects associated with it. Review processes for the master site and the individual or group projects proceed as outlined above.

You have the option to select standard or split reviews for design and construction rating systems. Appeals If you feel that the results of a review appeal or a CIR appeal are incorrect and wish to challenge those results, you may do so by contacting GBCI. Briggs and stratton 17.5 hp engine service manual. Upgrading your version of LEED Online We’re constantly working to improve the LEED certification experience for you, and upgrades to that provide a smoother user experience are a key part of those efforts. Check below to see which upgrades are available. We recently launched LEED Online for Campus, created specifically for campus projects. If you’re currently registered as such a project and utilizing LEED Online version 3, please contact GBCI and they will guide you through the process of re-registering in LEED Online for Campus.

Once the upgrade has been completed, GBCI will issue a refund of the registration fee associated with the project that was cancelled out in LEED Online version 3. Unfortunately, if you’ve already submitted your campus project for review, you’ll need to stick with the version of LEED Online that you registered with – your project cannot be transferred. Certify You’ve made it to the finish line: accepting your certification is the final step in the LEED review process. Once your final application review is complete, your project team can either accept or appeal GBCI’s final certification report. If you’ve achieved certification: congratulations from all of us at USGBC and GBCI! Once you’ve accepted the final certification report, the project will be deemed “closed out” –meaning that you will no longer be able to appeal the certification level or review decisions for specific credits or prerequisites, so please double (or triple) check that you have achieved all prerequisites and targeted credits before accepting the final certification.

Certification Levels While all LEED-certified projects are a cut above the rest, each is assigned one of four levels of certification to acknowledge the degree of achievement. The number of points that your project earns determines the level of LEED certification that your project will receive. LEED Certified™: 40-49 points earned. LEED Silver®: 50-59 points earned. LEED Gold®: 60-79 points earned. LEED Platinum®: 80+ points earned Promote your project Once you’ve earned certification, it’s likely that you’ll want to tell the world. LEED certification benefits your business’s bottom line and underscores your sustainability efforts.

It’s a cause for celebration! Our for LEED-certified projects can help you do that. You’ll also receive a formal certificate of recognition, and can choose to order LEED plaques and certificates. (Psst did you know that USGBC Platinum-level members receive 20 hours of dedicated public relations support from USGBC’s in-house communications team?

Learn more about.) Project information: How USGBC handles your data Your work with LEED is something to be celebrated – and communicated to the world at large. Achieving LEED certification gives you the opportunity to share your project strategies, photos and insight, and play a pivotal role in educating other project teams. How is USGBC utilizing your project data? We use your project data for the greater good: to educate and provide resources for LEED project teams and others around the world, showcase your strategies, and share the size and power of the green building movement. LEED-registered and certified projects are, by default, considered “public” projects, and thereby included in USGBC’s public LEED project directory. A listing in this directory allows the general public and members of the media to look up your project listing and its related details. Fees LEED certification provides an exceptional value for your money: So, how much will it cost to certify your project?

Registration fee: There is a flat registration fee calculated on a per-project (building) basis that you’ll pay up front at the time of registration. If we haven’t received your payment within 60 days of your registration, we’ll assume you changed your mind and go ahead and cancel the registration. Certification fee: The certification fee is charged on a per-project (building) basis and based on the size of the project and the rating system under which the project is registered. Certification fees are due when you submit your application for review. After all that work you did to submit your documentation, don’t forget to send your payment! Remember, GBCI will not begin your review until payment in full has been received and cleared our system (thank you!). Also, please note that certification fees are based on the fees published at the time the project is submitted for review.

Other fees: Other fees related to expedited reviews, appeals, and other optional aspects of the LEED certification process may apply, should you pursue these avenues. Member discounts: benefit from discounted LEED registration and certification fees. Discounts are available based on the membership status of either the owner or the project administrator for a given LEED project. Visit the fee charts page below for more information on available discounts.

Resources & Tools USGBC offers a number of resources and tools to support you during the process of LEED certification. General resources LEED Online:, Legal agreements:, BD+C specific LEED v4 LEED 2009 Supplements:, Rating System Document:, Checklist:, LEED v2.2 (New Construction) LEED v2.1 LEED v2.0 Reference Guide (New Construction) (Schools) (Core and Shell) Rating System Document Checklist ID+C specific LEED v4 LEED 2009 Rating System Document:, Checklist:, LEED v2 O+M specific LEED v4 LEED 2009 LEED v2.

See our ongoing coverage of. Here is a review of key to date. The following covers BD&C systems: NC, CS, and Schools. The addenda mix important changes in with some pretty irrelevant edits such as taking out an extra period—we all knew it was extra to begin with, right? Here’s a summary of those important adjustments.

Our LEEDuser pages and guidance reflect these changes. You may also want to check our review of key. Through 2014 The July 2014 release contained nothing noteworthy. B efitting the trend of LEED 2009 seeing less significant addenda over time, there weren't any earth-shattering addenda in the April 2014 release, either.

Here are three Healthcare items:. Bonus! In Healthcare, projects that comply with all five material groups are eligible for exemplary performance credit. For in Healthcare (and equivalent credit in Retail), c orrect metric conversion of commercial clothes washers 34 liters/cf/cycle to 1,200 liters/m3/cycle. Also in, a correction to the equipment performance requirements table for steam cookers. Key January 2014 Addenda Officially there were no addenda in January 2014 (and I've been told to expect none in the second quarter either), but there is a key change to the global alternative compliance paths that doesn't really fit anywhere else so I'll mention it here.

A revision was made to the —to the Implementation section of the Reference Guide, not to the credit language. T his revision provides more options for credit compliance in locations where product manufacturing data is not readily available. The guidance introduces new strategies to achieve the credit requirements by including more guidance related to in-place testing, lab testing, and using data from a previous project to achieve the credit.

The guidance also includes an expanded list of resources for global teams to reference when pursuing these credits. You rely on LEEDuser. Can we rely on you?

LEEDuser is supported by our premium members, not by advertisers. Key October 2013 Addenda I wouldn't really call any of these 'key,' but for the sake of thoroughness, USGBC published 17 addenda (now also being called 'corrections') in October, #100001805, including:. Revised metric equivalencies.

The addition of Option 3 in Retail NC, EAc5 Measurement and Verification. Updated Table 1.

In Retail NC, EAc1 Optimize Energy Performance. Removed “two points” requirement in Key April 2013 Addenda There were no addenda release for January 2013, and this release was small.

There are a couple noteworthy items, however. ITE option: The ITE study option was added for mixed-use projects in SSc4.4.

Already in place for non-residential projects, this option allows projects that have no minimum local zoning requirements to meet the credit requirements by providing 25% fewer parking spaces than the applicable standard listed in the 2003 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) “Parking Generation” study. Development footprint redefined: The development footprint is the total area of the building footprint and area affected by development or by project site activity., access roads, parking lots, nonbuilding facilities, and the building itself are all included in the development footprint. It was previously defined as 'The development footprint is the area affected by development or by project site activity., access roads, parking lots, nonbuilding facilities, and the building itself are all included in the development footprint.' emphasis added Key October 2012 Addenda This addenda release has been very quiet, with LEED's technical staff and volunteers focused on the fifth draft of LEED v4. The LEED Reference Guide had been self-contradictory about whether it was required to install prior to testing or flush-out for. With the insertion of a single word ('optionally') USGBC has clarified that furniture and furnishing installation is optional in both cases.

(Note,.). Several glossary definitions were updated.

None of these appear especially meaningful as far as affecting LEED requirements—rather, they simply provide clearer, more technically rigorous definitions. The affected terms (roll over for definitions) are: attendance boundary, brownfield, blackwater, baseline building performance, chain-of-custody, heat island effect, post-consumer material, solar reflectance (SR), urea formaldehyde, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Key July 2012 Addenda The main feature of the July 2012 addenda release was the integration of into the LEED credit language. While most of the changes involve recognition of non-U.S.

Standards, there are some broader changes such as scrapping of a single 500-mile limit for MRc5. Equivalents to definitions of flood plains, prime agricultural lands, etc, are now recognized in the Site Selection credit language. In another change to this credit, the definition of what buildings are exempt from the parkland prohibitition are broadened somewhat, in a common-sense manner. Equivalents to definitions of brownfields, and site assessments, are recognized.: Bus rapid transit stations and commuter ferry terminals are recognized under Option 1, which was previously reserved for rail. (This change affects all projects, not just non-U.S. Ones.) In a new Option 3 available only to international projects, proximity to ride-share stations can contribute to the credit.: Has been restructured with the previous language relabeled as Option 1: Design Storms, and a new Option 2: Percentile Rainfall Events being added.

This new option doesn't appear to alter the intent or likely implenentation strategies for this credit—rather, it presents a new set of options for performing the necessary calculations and documentation.: Option to base calculations on the 'the month with the highest irrigation demand.' . /: Non-U.S. Projects may use an alternative standard to ASHRAE Standard 90.1‐2007 if it is approved by USGBC as an equivalent standard using the process located at www.usgbc.org/leedisglobal.: Green Power no longer has to be certified, but the project must demonstrate equivalence with on the basis of: 1) current performance standards, and 2) independent, third‐party verification that those standards are being met by the supplier over time.: The familiar 500-mile radius is now Option 1 of this credit. There is a new Option 2, borne out of the International ACPs but affecting all projects, in which miles that projects travel by sea, rail, or inland waterway count less than miles traveled over land.

The 500 mile total travel distance can be calculated using a weighted average: (Distance by rail/3) + (Distance by inland waterway/2) + (Distance by sea/15) + (Distance by all other means) ≤ 500 miles.,: For these IEQ credits, allowance has been given to alternative standars for ventilation effectiveness, air filtration, product emissions, etc. The intent and key requirements of the credits are unchanged, but non-U.S. Projects will have more latitude in using locally relevant standards.

Key April 2012 Addenda USGBC introduced very few addenda in April 2012, and those are not especially noteworthy. But here are a couple interesting ones. Must use EAc1 modeling for EAc6: If an energy model was used to document compliance with, the data from the energy model must be used as the basis for determining the electricity consumption for. ' defined: have automatic fixture sensors or metering controls.

Part-time students: Part-time students must be included in calculations. Key November 2011 Addenda This set of addenda is all about definitions. ' defined: Of particular relevance to, and, previously developed has been given a more specific definition. You can hold your mouse over the words in the last sentence to see the full definition, but the upshot is that simple grading of a site, or historical or agicultural uses, no longer constitute development. It was never clear that they did, but the previous definition left that open. Link to cleaner cars updated: This useful link has been updated for SSc4.3:.

Schools SSc9 clarified: In case you were wondering, projects where no future development is planned are not eligible for this. WEp1/WEc3 calcs clarified: USGBC has offered additional guidance on key / calcs, with special relevance to hospitality. 'For the purposes of the credit calculations, assume that hotel guests use the fixtures and fittings in their room, employees use back of house and / or common areas, and transient guests use common area restrooms.' And: 'For hospitality projects, and transient occupants are calculated per the typical methodology for the respective occupancy types. Hotel guests may be determined based on the number and size of units in the project. Generally, assume 1.5 occupants per guest room and multiply the resulting total by 60% (average hotel occupancy per AH&LA information) to determine the total number of hotel guests.

Alternatively, occupants may be derived from actual historical occupancy numbers. Fixture use assumptions for hotel guests follow the fixture assumptions for residential occupants. Accordingly, lavatories located in guest rooms are considered to be private lavatories. Additionally, day use guests at the hotel should be included in the value for transient / visitor occupants. Per typical fixture use assumptions, this category of occupants assumes zero shower uses throughout the day. Example: 123-room hotelTotal Hotel Guests = 123.1.5. 60%Total Hotel Guests = 111.'

. 'Occupied ' and 'Nonoccupied' defined: USGBC has defined occupied spaces and nonoccupied spaces formally (roll over the words for definitions), as relevant to, and. Occupied space is the general category into which other 'occupied' space types fall—see below. 'Densely occupied ' definition reworded: The definition was changed from 'Densely occupied space is an area' to 'Densely occupied spaces are areas.'

Better wording, not a change in meaning. 'Multi-occupant ' redefined: In this case, USGBC has replaced a more detailed definition of multi-occupant spaces, as relevant to, with something more vague.

Here is the old definition: 'Conference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control.

Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations.' . 'Individual occupant' redefined: With relevance to, have been broadened.

The old definition: 'In individual occupant spaces, occupants perform distinct tasks from one another. Such spaces may be contained within multi-occupant spaces and should be treated separately where possible. May be regularly or non-regularly occupied.' . 'Nonregularly occupied ' defined: As relevant to and, previously nonregularly occupied space has been redefined with a focus on the concept rather than a list of examples.

Leed 2009 Reference Guide Development Request For Core And Shell

The old version: 'Corridors, hallways, lobbies, break rooms, copy rooms, office supply closets, kitchens, restrooms, and stairwells.' Now, the definition reads, 'Non-regularly occupied spaces are spaces that occupants pass through, or spaces used in pursuit of focused activities for less than one hour per person per day (on average).' . 'Regularly occupied' defined: Similarly, regularly occupied spaces have been defined as a more general concept rather than the older, office-centric definition: 'Regularly occupied spaces are areas where workers are seated or standing as they work inside a building.

In residential applications, these areas are all spaces except bathrooms, utility areas, and closets or other storage rooms. In schools, they are areas where students, teachers, or administrators are seated or standing as they work or study inside a building. redefined: Of relevance to, core learning spaces and ancilliary learning spaces have been redefined. These definitions have been fleshed out a bit, so we have a better sense of the logic behind the definitions, and examples are given. For example, ancillary learning spaces were defined as 'Spaces for informal learning. These spaces include, but are not limited to, corridors, cafeterias, gymnasia and indoor swimming pools.' Now the definition (roll over the text) is more elaborate.

January 20, 2014 - 5:30 pm Tristan - Your comment above 'and I've been told to expect none in the second quarter either)' seems unusual because my understanding from Theresa Backhus was that Addenda (now Corrections) were only to be posted in April and October (twice a year instead of quarterly). Can you check with your sources to confirm that if we miss April 2014, will no corrections be posted until October? See Comment from Theresa Backhus under the January 2013 LEED Addenda and Interpretations Update: January 2013 -. July 26, 2012 - 4:34 pm Are LEED rules being followed? These changes since v2009 was issued sure don't feel like errors and corrections. It just feels like LEED is now treated as a living document. 'Substantive revisions to LEED may go through pilot testing but must undergo public comment and USGBC member ballot.

Substantive revisions are considered anything other than simple errors and corrections to LEED.' 'LEED Addenda.These are meant to clarify, correct, interpret and provide alternative language to aid in the implementation of LEED.'