You can have a wonderful environmental education program, but if it doesn't talk about the LEED building, it will get rejected. Just had a long discussion with a LEED reviewer after a denied credit, who said as much. We have an education program that reaches tens of thousands of people and educates them about how to be responsible shoreline owners at a popular recreation lake, touching on erosion control, protection of natural areas, and many other items, but if there aren't signs and a building tour (or a classroom unit focusing on the LEED building as a teaching tool, etc.) educational program ID credits will be summarily rejected. There isn't anything in writing that comes out and says this is an ID requirement, but that's apparently the line the reviewers hold.
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Jon Clifford
LEED-AP BD+CGREENSQUARE
LEEDuser Expert
323 thumbs up
June 4, 2015 - 10:46 pm
For something in writing, check out the Innovation Catalog on the USGBC LEED Credit Website (http://www.usgbc.org/node/4831014?return=/credits/new-construction/v2009...). This guidance includes requirements such as “Must include comprehensive information about the LEED strategies used in the building/tenant space.”
These requirements differ somewhat from those spelled out in the original, 2001 LEED Interpretation that introduced Education as an ID strategy. I am not sure how long this version has been on the website, but it seems to reflect the approach that Reviewers are taking now.
Meredith Elbaum
Executive DirectorBuilt Environment Plus
9 thumbs up
January 28, 2016 - 2:39 pm
We had Green Building Education approved as a Master Site Credit. We took a campus wide approach to education with green campus tours and materials.
We've had the credit awarded on our Master Site Projects and had it awarded, with the same campus wide approach materials as master site, on a project within the same campus boundary but not part of the master site.
And we just recently had the credit denied on another project within the same boundary (same materials provided) saying that the education needs to be "project specific."
The projects are all part of the same block. How can it be approved on one project and not the other? Isn't this the entire purpose of being able to take campus wide approach to credits? Isn't this one of the reasons projects are in blocks?
We have an email into LEED Coach.
Sarah Wood
Senior Sustainability SpecialistJacobs
July 18, 2023 - 9:29 pm
Curious if anyone has had more recent experience with the Green Building Education as Master Site credit/approach & what happened with Meredith's project. I have a similar question - considering pursuing this credit via the Master Site and applying it to two building projects within the site.