| Prerequisites for LEED
Certification
By
Charlie Popeck
Establishing a viable,
realistic LEED credit strategy is the first step towards a successful, low-cost
LEED certified project. The credit strategy should be crafted as early as possible
because it will serve as an outline for the design and construction team throughout
the project, keeping everyone focused on the targeted LEED prerequisites, credits
and points throughout the design and construction process.
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The credit strategy is usually developed during a brainstorming
session called a "charrette", where everyone who is involved in the
project, including the design and construction team, future occupants of the building,
and even the facility management staff is encouraged to attend. From a LEED perspective,
the Project Checklist form, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, is the
basic tool that is widely used for the purpose of developing the credit strategy.
There are different variations of the Project Checklist, but all should contain
the same basic information including:
A list of all six LEED categories
All prerequisites, credits and points
A short description of each
prerequisite, credit and point
Checkboxes for marking each prerequisite,
credit and point as targeted or not targeted
A point summary showing
the total number of points targeted for the project
The Project Checklist
is carefully reviewed with the team as the charrette progresses, and every prerequisite,
credit and point is evaluated for its applicability to the specific project.
There
are seven prerequisites included in the LEED Green Building Rating System, all
of which must be achieved before even a single point can be earned towards certification.
Because the prerequisites are so important, I suggest that you become familiar
with each and every one of them, because if you can't get them all, LEED certification
is impossible. The prerequisites for LEED certification include:
Sustainable
Sites Category-Erosion & Sedimentation Control
Energy & Atmosphere
Category-Fundamental Building Systems Commissioning
Energy & Atmosphere
Category-CFC Reduction in HVAC&R Equipment
Materials & Resources
Category-Storage & Collection of Recyclables
Indoor Environmental
Quality Category-Minimum IAQ Performance
Indoor Environmental Quality
Category-Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control
The prerequisites do not count
as points towards LEED certification, so once the team has determined that all
prerequisites can be satisfied its time to review the Project
Checklist
from the top in an effort to target the LEED points that make the most sense for
your project. Remember…the earlier you start the LEED planning process the
lower your first costs for a LEED certified building will be. The LEED Project
Checklist is a simple tool that can be utilized early on to identify which LEED
points make the most sense for your project. If at all possible, the owner should
be convinced to proceed with LEED certification in the early planning stages of
a project for the highest success rate and the lowest first cost.
Charlie
Popeck is the President of Green Ideas Environmental Building Consultants. Green
Ideas specializes in helping Design, Construction
and Facility Management
teams
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