NRDC SF | LEED Gold | Photo: Jasper Sanidad Photography
LEED helps buildings to focus on efficiency and leadership to deliver the triple bottom line returns of people, planet and profit. LEED v4.1, raises the bar on building standards to address energy efficiency, water conservation, site selection, material selection, day lighting and waste reduction.
LEED is the world’s leading green building project and performance management system, delivering a comprehensive framework for green building design, construction, operations and performance:
- The rigorous focus on material selection, human comfort, air quality and human health features of a building rightly prioritizes the most important asset of the building: human beings.
- The specific focus on social equity ensures that buildings are not considered in isolation of their communities but prioritize access and inclusiveness for all.
- To ensure a building is resilient from natural and unnatural disturbances a comprehensive set of design and construction strategies has been established in LEED v4.1.
LEED v4.1:
- Ensures that all building stakeholders – developer, property manager, occupant and the community benefit from sustainable design, construction, operations and performance.
- Supports projects to implement sustainable and healthy building practices to realize environmental, economic, social and community benefits for decades to come.
- Emphasizes integrative design to ensure better design, translation of design into high quality construction, optimize operations and high performance of a building.
- Helps buildings deliver higher quality beyond market practices by incorporating innovative design, technologies, construction and material selection strategies.
- Focuses on both performance oriented sustainable strategies and outcomes.
- Helps buildings consume fewer resources, reduce operating costs, increase value and create safer and healthier environments for its occupants.
- Helps buildings reduce their GHG/carbon emissions.
- Helps buildings use toxin free materials to deliver cleaner indoor air to improve productivity, focus and reduce respiratory illnesses of its occupants.
- Prioritizes sustainable materials, helping manufacturers to design, produce and deliver building materials that reduce a building’s environmental impact. LEED v4.1 also helps manufacturers reduce energy, water, waste during manufacturing, carbon footprint during distribution and transportation and overall carbon emissions through the entire production lifecycle.
Explore education
USGBC is your starting point for engaging with LEED v4.1 educational content while earning continuing education.ÌýAccess on-demand LEED v4.1 education available for each LEED rating system. Visit the USGBC events calendar to view live and virtual LEED v4.1 events.
LEED v4.1 Interior Design + Construction
LEED v4.1 for Interior Design and Construction includes many of the updates made in LEED v4.1 BD+C as well as several that focus on the realities of interior spaces. This rating system is for interior spaces that are a complete interior fit-out. In addition, at least 60% of the project’s gross floor area must be complete by the time of certification.
- Commercial interiors. Interior spaces dedicated to functions other than retail or hospitality.
- Retail. Interior spaces used to conduct the retail sale of consumer product goods. Includes both direct customer service areas (showroom) and preparation or storage areas that support customer service.
- Hospitality. Interior spaces dedicated to hotels, motels, inns or other businesses within the service industry that provide transitional or short-term lodging, with or without food.
Updates
- A new option within the Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control prerequisite that acknowledges potential limitations with addressing smoking in areas outside of the interior project’s control — smoking is still prohibited in the entire LEED project space
- Acknowledgment for projects located within a LEED-certified building
- Lower entry points for both the Daylight and Acoustic Performance credits to encourage more projects to consider daylight and acoustic performance during design
- Greater focus on improving indoor air quality through more approachable air testing options and use of the latest standards for ventilation
Resources
LEED v4.1 Residential
LEED v4.1 presents a new approach to residential projects, that pulls the most relevant language from the BD+C and all residential focused rating systems and merges it with the priorities of the residential market. With the release of the new multifamily options in LEED v4.1, Residential BD+C becomes the required rating system for all single family and multifamily projects. Residential projects using LEED v4.1 may not use LEED BD+C.
Residential BD+C addresses residential buildings that are new construction or major renovation. At least 60% of the project’s gross floor area must be complete by the time of certification (except for LEED Residential BD+C: Multifamily Core and Shell Homes). Must include the entire building’s gross floor area in the project.
- Single Family Homes. New single-family homes that are attached or detached, and multifamily buildings with up to four units.
- Multifamily Homes. Applicable to any predominantly multifamily building with two or more units and any number of stories.
- Multifamily Homes Core and Shell. Multifamily buildings that are new construction or major renovation for the exterior shell and core mechanical, electrical and plumbing units, but not a complete interior fit-out. It is the appropriate rating system to use if more than 40% of the gross floor area is incomplete at the time of certification.
LEED v4.1 Residential BD+C Multifamily Homes and Multifamily Homes Core and Shell are now available for registration in LEED Online for all countries except the United States and Canada. Projects in the United States and Canada can continue to use the LEED v4 rating systems available to residential projects and substitute credits from LEED v4.1 Residential.
Updates
- One single program that consolidates all residential rating systems and guidance into three categories: Single Family Homes, Multifamily Core and Shell and Multifamily
- Credits that have the highest value to consumers, such as energy and water savings; improved comfort, durability and health; and green materials are prioritized
- Options added to existing credits lower both hard and soft costs to achieve certification
- Multiple approaches for credit compliance are available as appropriate
Resources
Single family homes:
- LEED v4.1 Single Family workbook
- LEED v4.1 Residential Single Family Scorecard
- LEED v4 Homes and Multifamily Midrise and LEED v4.1 Residential Single Family Verification and Submittals
- LEED Credit Library
Multifamily homes:
LEED recertification
LEED recertification is an important step in protecting your building asset. Recertification helps you maintain and improve your building, while keeping your sustainability investment in place. Recertification is available to all occupied and in-use projects that have previously achieved certification under LEED — including BD+C and ID+C, regardless of their initial rating system or version.
This new guidance presents a simple and data-driven pathway, reassuring projects that they are meeting ever-changing goals and staying on the cutting edge.
Step 1: Review the LEED v4.1 O+M Guide, which details the requirements and process.
Step 2: Contact us to activate your project’s recertification.
Once you’ve successfully competed recertification, your project will earn LEED for Operations and Maintenance (LEED O+M) certification under the newest available version of the rating system. Currently that is LEED v4.1.