1. What Is LEED?
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a voluntary, consensus-based green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) since 2000. Administered by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) since 2008, LEED offers a globally recognized pathway to healthier, more energy- and resource-efficient buildings.
Purpose & Impact
LEED certification offers a framework for healthy, efficient, and cost-effective green buildings. Here are reasons why it’s worth investing in LEED:
- Reduced energy use, carbon emissions, and waste: A University of California–Berkeley study found that, compared to conventionally constructed buildings, LEED-certified existing buildings reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with water consumption by about 50%, with solid waste by about 48%, and with transportation by about 5%. By 2030, LEED projects will have diverted more than 540 million tons of waste from landfills.
- Happier and healthier occupants: LEED buildings prioritize the health and well-being of occupants, creating healthier and more productive environments. The requirements for cleaner indoor air quality, increased daylighting, access to outdoor views, and use of low-emitting materials all contribute to healthier and happier building users. According to the U.S. Green Building Council (2018), 85% of employees in LEED-certified buildings report improved productivity and happiness due to quality outdoor views and natural sunlight, and 80% of these employees say enhanced air quality in LEED buildings improves their physical health and comfort.
- Financial and strategic value: LEED-certified buildings are consistently more profitable than noncertified spaces in terms of rent and reduced vacancy. LEED buildings use, on average, 25% less energy than conventional buildings. LEED certification may qualify for tax breaks and is an integral requirement of many green funding mechanisms. Certification provides recognition, marketability, and operational savings. In addition, it shows leadership in an evolving market and commitment to high performance. According to USGBC’s Impact Report, certified buildings and spaces have 11.11% higher rent premiums and 2% higher occupancy rates compared to non-certified spaces and buildings.
Rating Systems
LEED includes multiple rating systems tailored to a variety of project types:
- New Construction & Major Renovations (BD+C)
- Commercial Interiors (ID+C)
- Existing Buildings – Operations & Maintenance (O+M)
- Homes (single- and multi-family)
- Neighborhood Development (ND)
- LEED for Cities & Communities
Certification Process
- Determine the appropriate LEED rating system and version (LEED v5, LEED v4.1, or LEED v4). Note that USGBC recently announced registration close and certification sunset dates for v4 and v4.1. Review the minimum program requirements and prerequisites for credit categories related to your chosen rating system.
- Depending on the selected version, register the project in Arc (LEED v5) or LEED Online (LEED v4.1 and LEED v4).
- Choose the credits that align with your project’s goals and build your LEED project scorecard. Learn more about the credits in the LEED credit library.
- New Construction: Identify and document compliance credits throughout the entire design and construction phases.
- Existing Buildings: Collect performance data for applicable categories as well as documentation for additional credits selected by project team.
- For both New Construction and Existing Buildings, it is helpful to assign credits to team members to better manage the implementation of your sustainability strategies.
- Submit documentation for review in Arc or LEED Online.
Built environment specialists, like those at 3R, can assist you throughout the entire certification process to simplify and streamline your LEED certification experience!
Certification Levels
Projects go through a two-round review process by GBCI and are awarded points that correspond to a level of LEED certification:
- Certified (40-49 points earned)
- Silver (50-59 points earned)
- Gold (60-79 points earned)
- Platinum (80+ points earned)
History and Launch of LEED v5
The first version of LEED launched in 1998 and was piloted. After a successful pilot program, LEED for New Construction publicly launched in March 2000.
Over the past 25 years, various versions of LEED have been released, each more refined than the last. In April of 2025, LEED v5 launched, focusing on impact areas that touch decarbonization, human and ecological health, and resilience, and further defining what it means to be a high-performance building today, creating greater investment potential.
USGBC plan is dedicated to continuous improvements and is moving to a five-year update cycle, so LEED v5 is expected to be the active standard until v6 in 2030.
2. LEED v5
LEED v5 introduces a systems-based, impact-driven framework focused on:
- Near-zero decarbonization
- Improved quality of life, health, resilience, equity
- Ecological conservation and restoration
- Transparency, performance tracking, reporting
All LEED v5 rating systems introduce a host of new prerequisites and credits. Additionally, there are increased thresholds for achieving Platinum-level certification.
LEED v5 O+M
LEED v5 for existing buildings (O+M) combines the performance-based approach of v4 with dynamic assessments, policies, and actions that encourage building owners to think holistically about their building’s operations. The increased emphasis on resilience can be seen through a new prerequisite, Climate Resilience Assessment. This prerequisite connects to a multitude of credits throughout the rating system, which enable projects to build on their findings in the assessment and implement resilience strategies to better serve their building and its occupants.
In addition, the new standard also includes a prerequisite related to improved quality of life, and equity, called Human Impact Assessment. This prerequisite is a valuation of occupant/community health and equity impacts of operations; new social-sustainability dimension.
To earn platinum-level certification under LEED v5 O+M, project teams are required to earn minimum thresholds of points under four different credits to show that they are highly efficient and produce very low emissions.
LEED v5 BD+C and ID+C
LEED v5 for new construction (BD+C, ID+C) has similarly introduced comprehensive changes to the rating system, with major emphasis on carbon reduction and human and ecological impact. The theme of carbon is throughout, with two new prerequisites, Carbon Assessment and Operational Carbon Projection and Decarbonization Plan, which offer project teams insight into carbon projections for their building.
Improved quality of life has been addressed by new preliminary requirements, Human Impact Assessment and Climate Resilience Assessment, as well as additional credits throughout the rating system.
Similar to O+M, LEED v5 BD+C and ID+C have increased standards for platinum-level certification. Projects must achieve minimum thresholds outlined for four credits, including Eac4: Renewable Energy, in which they must demonstrate that 100% of the site’s energy use comes from renewable sources.
Why LEED v5 over v4?
LEED v4 and v4.1 projects can continue to register until June 2026, with certification sunset dates extending through 2032. Opting for LEED v5 early offers several benefits.
- Recognition: Organizations that are already on their sustainability journey for their buildings or portfolios will likely find that v5 best aligns with their values and goals and publicly demonstrates to stakeholders their commitment. Furthermore, those projects pursuing certification now will serve as an example and pave the way for future buildings.
- Risk mitigation: The new prerequisite requirements put emphasis on beneficial practices, such as the Climate Resilience Assessment, which encourages project teams to think about the natural hazards their building is most at risk of experiencing. Incorporating this assessment into future planning naturally aligns with continuous improvement of building design and operations.
How to get started
To get started with certifying your project under LEED v5, it is helpful to begin by looking through the applicable scorecard for your project and determining which credits most align with your organization’s goals and objectives. For new construction, it is best to integrate the LEED process early and often into design.
Focusing on implementing LEED throughout the entire project will also help the project to be well-positioned to earn LEED O+M down the road. For example, emphasizing air quality and ventilation during building design will likely have a positive impact on occupant experience during operations.
USGBC has published information on some of the earliest projects to be certified under v5 (Portobello Shop Jardim Social, Citigroup Center) that may be useful to reference when thinking about your project’s priorities.
3R can support you
The first step is to gather your team of stakeholders within your company. Part of getting the certification is taking a hard look at your operation and maintenance procedures and comparing them against what the standard says are best practices. That requires getting the buy-in from all individuals involved to ensure you are not generating additional work for anyone. If this feels overwhelming, there are consultants like 3R that can offer expert support throughout the entire certification process.
3R is uniquely positioned because of our deep experience with sustainable building practices and the LEED rating systems. Our team has successfully led a multitude of buildings through the LEED certification process, including projects where we were engaged mid-submittal to rectify outstanding issues and finalize documentation.
We can guide your team through the technical credits and prerequisites and compile documentation to showcase your building’s design and/or operations. Our expertise in energy, water, and waste, among other material topics, enables us to ensure that the LEED process is aligned with your greater organizational goals and becomes an integrated part of your operations and maintenance systems.
If your team isn’t ready for LEED v5, 3R offers support in other ways. We can assist your team in connecting your building’s performance data (e.g. energy, water, waste) to an ongoing tracking platform. With this insight, we can make recommendations on how to improve the building’s operations, getting you closer to being ready for LEED v5.
Additionally, we can help get your portfolio integrated into USGBC’s PERFORM, a new platform designed to allow users to set goals and track progress across their building stock. And if your team is considering LEED but finds that v4 or v4.1 better align with your building, we encourage you to reach out soon to ensure your project gets registered before the upcoming deadlines. CONTACT US.
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