SPECIAL REPORT
LEEDuser expert
Trista Little
LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador
WSP USA
Sustainability Manager
SPECIAL REPORT
LEEDuser’s viewpoint
Frank advice from LEED experts
LEED is changing all the time, and every project is unique. Even seasoned professionals can miss a critical detail and lose a credit or even a prerequisite at the last minute. Our expert advice guides our LEEDuser Premium members and saves you valuable time.
Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intent
To conserve existing natural areas and restore damaged areas to provide habitat and promote biodiversity.
Requirements
Option 1. On-Site Restoration (2 points)
Establishment
Have in place native or adapted vegetation on 20% of the total site area (including the building footprint), a minimum of 5,000 square feet (465 square meters), to provide habitat and promote biodiversity.
Performance
None.
OR
Option 2. Financial support (1 point)
Establishment
Provide financial support equivalent to at least $0.05 per square foot (US$0.50 per square meter) for the total site area (including the building footprint).
Financial support must be provided annually to a nationally or locally recognized land trust or conservation organization within the same EPA Level III ecoregion or the project’s state (or within 100 miles [160 kilometers] for projects outside the U.S.). For U.S. projects, the land trust must be accredited by the Land Trust Alliance.
Performance
Provide the specified financial support annually.
Pilot Alternative Compliance Path Available
This credit has a pilot ACP available in the LEED Pilot Credit Library. See Site development - protect or restore habitat - alternative compliance path for more information.
What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »Documentation toolkit
The motherlode of cheat sheets
LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
Get the inside scoop
Our editors have written a detailed analysis of nearly every LEED credit, and LEEDuser premium members get full access. We’ll tell you whether the credit is easy to accomplish or better left alone, and we provide insider tips on how to document it successfully.
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intent
To conserve existing natural areas and restore damaged areas to provide habitat and promote biodiversity.
Requirements
Option 1. On-Site Restoration (2 points)
Establishment
Have in place native or adapted vegetation on 20% of the total site area (including the building footprint), a minimum of 5,000 square feet (465 square meters), to provide habitat and promote biodiversity.
Performance
None.
OR
Option 2. Financial support (1 point)
Establishment
Provide financial support equivalent to at least $0.05 per square foot (US$0.50 per square meter) for the total site area (including the building footprint).
Financial support must be provided annually to a nationally or locally recognized land trust or conservation organization within the same EPA Level III ecoregion or the project’s state (or within 100 miles [160 kilometers] for projects outside the U.S.). For U.S. projects, the land trust must be accredited by the Land Trust Alliance.
Performance
Provide the specified financial support annually.
Pilot Alternative Compliance Path Available
This credit has a pilot ACP available in the LEED Pilot Credit Library. See Site development - protect or restore habitat - alternative compliance path for more information.
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:
- Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
- Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
- Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
- Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
- Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
- Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.
LEEDuser expert
Trista Little
LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador
WSP USA
Sustainability Manager