The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will soon announce the latest evolution for the LEED rating system, known as LEED v5. WSP is anticipating improvements in decarbonization, ecosystem conservation and restoration, equity, health and resilience. For companies and organizations committed to developing and operating green buildings, LEED v5 may become a powerful new tool to reach these goals.
Below, WSP engineers and sustainability experts share the aspects of LEED v5 that they are most excited to explore with clients and partners around the country for a healthier, more equitable future.
We are hearing from clients, often within the commercial real estate and manufacturing sectors, that there is a desire to scale up sustainability efforts and utilize LEED as a tool for managing portfolios of buildings rather than simply focusing on a single facility. One driver for this approach is reducing Scope 3, or indirect, greenhouse gas emissions for lower total environmental impact.
In the past, WSP’s Built Ecology team has had success using LEED’s “Volume” framework to support clients that need enterprise-level solutions for several buildings. Training for Portfolio Performance certification will be rolled out at USGBC’s Greenbuild conference this week, which points toward emphasis on managing more buildings at scale.
Focusing on social values
LEED v5 goes beyond previous versions to make a more direct connection between buildings, the people who live and work within them and the surrounding community. Particularly, the “Human Impact Assessment” prerequisite for both new construction and existing buildings recognizes that building owners and operators play a part in the working conditions and quality of life associated with occupants and neighbors. Requiring that owners examine the demographics, infrastructure and environment surrounding their property is a critical step towards making sure that the benefits of LEED-rated buildings are not limited to project boundaries.
Long-term decarbonization planning
While LEED v5 endeavors to do more to reward swift decarbonization of our built environment, it will also place a new emphasis on the need for comprehensive planning that helps owners map the pathway to long-term decarbonization. The “Operations and Maintenance” rating system is useful in revealing short-term cost savings, paybacks and energy efficiency strategies, but doesn’t examine a building’s operational carbon projections, or the trajectory of reductions needed over time. Realistic carbon reduction plans that identify the actions an owner must take are critical to success. LEED v5 has new recognition for long-term decarbonization planning for buildings to help owners establish critical roadmaps for effective emissions reductions on the pathway to low-carbon or carbon-neutral operations. In alignment with policy moves across the U.S., this planning may support owners whose buildings are subject to state or local building performance standards.
Acknowledging climate resilience
LEED v5 takes the next step to identify and mitigate risks associated with natural hazards for climate resilience. This prerequisite is part of both New Construction and Existing Buildings programs and promotes an assessment of past, present and projected future hazards due to climate change, leading to a resilient design to ensure long term safety and sustainability. The design that evolves from the climate resilience assessment will inform the operations and maintenance of the project, thus helping bridge the gap between new and existing buildings.
Trend toward performance verification
People spend more than 90% of their time indoors, and exposure to harmful pollutants brought inside can lead to short- and long-term health impacts. To support better indoor air quality management, LEED v5 has introduced “Performance Verification” testing as a new credit. This credit focuses on both pre-occupancy testing for particulate matter, inorganic gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and post-occupancy monitoring of carbon dioxide, particulate matter, total VOCs, temperature and relative humidity post occupancy — an important step in improving spaces where people spend the most time.
Learn how WSP’s Built Ecology team can guide your sustainability projects to success.
