USGBC provides information for LEED updates

Registration is now open for LEED v4.1 Building Design and Construction (BD+C), Interior Design and Construction (ID+C) and Operations and Maintenance (O+M) beta projects.  To guide participants in the latest update to its rating system , the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released a number of resources, including beta guides, rating systems and educational videos for support.

USGBC is also hosting a series of live, online ask the expert sessions, where attendees will be able to connect directly with USGBC and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) subject experts and ask questions. Viewers may ask questions live during the session or submit them in advance.

Information sessions are scheduled for the following:

• Feb. 13 at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST for all LEED v4.1 rating systems
• Feb. 27 at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST for LEED v4.1 O+M
• March 6 at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST for LEED v4.1 BD+C and ID+C

To register for a session, click on the time for the corresponding session in the links above to go to the sign-up page.

USGBC has released answers to two of the questions common questions it’s already received.

"What are the major changes in LEED v4.1?"

• For Existing Buildings: USGBC has introduced performance-based prerequisites for Location and Transportation, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality (in addition to the performance prerequisites that were already in Water Efficiency and Energy and Atmosphere). Points earned from these five performance-based prerequisites account for 90 of the points a project can earn. For the first time, USGBC is also offering a rating system for existing interior spaces.
• For Design and Construction: Highlights include an upgrade to ASHRAE 90.1-2016 and new energy metrics that include both cost and greenhouse gas emissions. USGBC has restructured Materials and Resources credits that include options acknowledging efforts at varying levels.
• For Interior Design and Construction: LEED v4.1 ID+C includes many of the updates made in LEED v4.1 BD+C, as well as several that focus on the realities of interior spaces. A new option within the Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control prerequisite 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. (To learn more, read the summary of changes at the beginning of each of the LEED v4.1 Beta Guides. For LEED v4.1 O+M, there’s also an illustration showing how the credits map from LEED v4 to LEED v4.1.)

“Is there a limit to the number of LEED v4.1 credits I can use on my LEED v4 project?”

• USGBC says there is no limit. LEED v4 project teams can use as many LEED 4.1 credits and prerequisites as they would like. Credits must be substituted in full, and special implementation guidance is available for select credits.