LEED certifications are awarded to any kind of building or construction project, big or small, commercial, industrial or residential.
Winning certification not only demonstrates your commitment to fight climate change, but can also reduce operating costs, improve energy efficiency and even secure tax benefits from local government.
HOW TO GET LEED CERTIFICATION FOR BUILDINGS
Before undergoing the process for LEED certification, certain steps are required to ensure a green building is up to code.
Firstly, your building must meet certain minimum characteristics relating to location and size to ensure it can be considered; make sure you tick them all off on your LEED certification checklist. Secondly, you must identify the rating system most appropriate for your building—there are five different systems broken down by types of building.
Then, there are four main steps your project must undergo to get LEED certification.
1. Registration
All projects pursuing certification must register on the LEED online platform, where you can submit important forms and complete payment. You must also assemble your Project Team, which will take on certain roles during the LEED certification process.
2. Application
Gather all relevant documentation, perform calculations and analysis and make sure you’ve met all the prerequisites for the LEED Credits your building is pursuing. You must then perform a rigorous quality check to make sure you are accurately reporting common data points such as floor area, occupancy and total materials cost.
3. Review
Having submitted your application, your team will then play an active role in the review process. The review will check your application for completeness, determining which credits your building meets. If your building fails any prerequisites, you will be given an opportunity to submit revised documentation.
4. Certification
If your project has met all the relevant requirements, it will receive a certification. There are four levels of certification—Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum—depending on the number of points it has attained during the review.
Each step involves rigorous testing of every aspect of your building, but receiving LEED certification represents an enormous boost to your reputation as an active and effective participant in the fight against climate change.
With buildings contributing as much of 40% of global carbon dioxide emissions, this is more important than ever.
To know more about LEED Certification, click here