LEED v4 Update

If you’ve been worrying about taking the LEED exam or registering a project before the new version of LEED comes out, you can breathe a sigh of relief. The date for the release of the LEED v4 (formerly titled 2012) has been pushed back an entire year, much to the delight of many members of the green building community.

The USGBC planned to release the 2012 update to the LEED green building rating system in November 2012, but the new schedule allows for more public comment as well as time for project teams to pilot test the new rating system and hopefully work out the bugs. The balloting period is currently scheduled to begin next June, 2013.

LEED v4 is a technical update (as opposed to the LEED 2009 administrative update) which means the green building bar is being raised in many ways and, of course, some controversy comes along with it.

Some of the major changes and highlights of the LEED 2012 (now called v4) 4th Public Comment Draft include:

• Increases in technical rigor including changes in referenced standards and minimum thresholds • Adding new market sectors such as data center, warehouse and distribution facilities, hospitality, existing schools and retail and LEED for Homes Midrise building types
• Revised point distribution and credit weightings based on the USGBC’s priorities. Reducing contributions to global climate change is identified as the USGBC community’s highest priority.
• A global version of LEED that is flexible for use around the world and focused on performance based metrics • Significant changes in the Material and Resources credit category concentrated on project teams “doing more with less” materials and incorporating a life cycle approach to materials
• Addition of a new credit category “Location and Transportation” that incorporates many of the Sustainable Sites credits and awards buildings for locating in a LEED for Neighborhood Development project
• A change in the LEED AP Innovation Credit. Under the 2012 rating system a LEED AP’s specialty (BD+C, O+M, ID+C, H, ND) has to match the rating system that the project is registered under in order to earn the credit 

Everblue will keep you informed on the proposed changes to the rating system with a “LEEDv4 Technical Update Sneak Peak” course as well as periodic updates based on the most current draft of the rating system. You can purchase this course separately or view it as a part of Everblue’s CMP 2.0 package.

If you’re ready to dig into the details of specific credits in specific rating systems, you can find the draft versions on the USGBC’s LEED 2012 web page.

It looks like we're in for some big changes, stay tuned!

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