Revise credit intent to read as "To encourage projects to achieve exceptional or innovative performance to benefit human and environmental health and equity. To foster LEED expertise throughout building design, construction, and operation and collaboration toward project priorities."
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Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
To achieve all five innovation points, a project team must achieve at least one pilot credit, at least one innovation credit and no more than two exemplary performance credits.
Option 1. Innovation (1 point)
Achieve significant, measurable environmental performance using a strategy not addressed in the LEED green building rating system. Identify the following:- the intent of the proposed innovation credit;
- proposed requirements for compliance;
- proposed submittals to demonstrate compliance; and
- the design approach or strategies used to meet the requirements.
Option 2. Pilot (1 point)
Achieve one pilot credit from USGBC’s LEED Pilot Credit Library. AND/OROption 3. Additional Strategies
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.
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Frequently asked questions
See all forum discussions about this credit »Addenda
4/9/2021 – Updated: 4/20/2021
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
10/5/2018
LEED Interpretation
Inquiry:
If a project pursues a pilot alternative compliance path (ACP), can it be exempted from the following pilot credit requirement for the Innovation credit?
“To achieve all five innovation points, a project team must achieve at least one pilot credit, at least one innovation credit and no more than two exemplary performance credits.”
Ruling:
If projects achieve a pilot ACP, they are exempted from the requirement to achieve at least one pilot credit. To achieve all five points in the Innovation credit under this approach, projects may select one of the following point combinations:
• 4 innovation and 1 exemplary performance
• 3 innovation and 2 exemplary performance
***Updated 7.10.2020 to clarify that projects must achieve a pilot ACP to be exempted***
*** Updated 3.29.2023 to include applicability for v4.1 projects***
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
Documentation toolkit
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LEEDuser tip sheets, written by our team of LEED experts, fill gaps in knowledge we’ve observed between the LEED Reference Guide, LEED Online, and LEED Interpretations. We update them regularly so that our members get the most relevant guidance for current issues on their projects.
( does not provide premium access to LEEDuser)
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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
To achieve all five innovation points, a project team must achieve at least one pilot credit, at least one innovation credit and no more than two exemplary performance credits.
Option 1. Innovation (1 point)
Achieve significant, measurable environmental performance using a strategy not addressed in the LEED green building rating system. Identify the following:- the intent of the proposed innovation credit;
- proposed requirements for compliance;
- proposed submittals to demonstrate compliance; and
- the design approach or strategies used to meet the requirements.
