Hello,
I've ready pretty much everything that is available on AGMBC - the guide itself, forunm, FAQs - but there's so much gray area! I've also called GBCI and most times they just say they "can't answer the question, I have to contact GBCI over email", and the answer never arrives and my cliente is pressuring me. So I will break down my doubts into a few questions. This is A LEED NC Project.
1st. Question
We have a campus with 5 buildings, it's an industrial plant. I've registered the 5 buildings + master site within a block, believing that I was doing the registration for a group that would receive a single certification. But appearently, LEED Online is not yet offering this option, but will be sometime within the 1st quarter of 2012, is that right? If this answer to this question is a Yes, should we wait for this capability to come out in LEED Online, and somehow turn the registration (is that even possible?) into a Group Project that will receive one single certification?
2nd. Question
Another crucial question is: There's "1.4 Table 1A" (AGMBC, Part I, p.14 https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=7987) and "Table 1. AGMBC Applicability for credits and prerequisites in LEED 2009 Design & Construction rating Systems" (AGMBC, Part II, p.3 https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=10484). But they diverge in the list of campus credits! For instance: Table 1A (Part I) doesn't list SSc2, SSc3, SSc41, SS8, and EAc2 as elegible to submit as a campus credit, but Table 1 (Part II) does. Which tabel should I consider?
3rd.
In the end, can I count on the campus credits to streamline our documentation right now or not? Is LEED Online ready for it now or it will only come along with the full capability for group credits?
I greatly appreciate any comments on any of those issues!
Marcio Alberto Casado Pereira
181 thumbs up
February 28, 2012 - 10:21 am
On the 1st question: "turn the EXISTING registration (is that even possible) in a group project that will receive one single certification?".
Melissa Merryweather
DirectorGreen Consult-Asia
245 thumbs up
February 28, 2012 - 10:25 am
Hi--just to comment on the first question, as far as I am aware the single certification option is still pending. No release date (except 1st Q of 2012) has been announced. We've been waiting almost 18 months to start the process for a factory with 10 buildings; it makes no sense for us to certify each building. It sounds like your project is similar in that regard. Hopefully our wait is nearly over!
Marcio Alberto Casado Pereira
181 thumbs up
February 28, 2012 - 10:32 am
Thanks Melissa!
We would wait, but the thing is that our whole study was done based on LEED 2009, we are afraid to wait for the new capibility of LEED Online and then be obligated to register under LEED 2012, which will be more stringent and for sure undermine certification for this particilar project.
How are you dealing with this, is your project registered yet?
Melissa Merryweather
DirectorGreen Consult-Asia
245 thumbs up
February 28, 2012 - 10:57 am
We're in exactly the same boat. We started this project in 2009, the project has now been built, but we have been in a holding pattern for over a year, with data that we hope is going to be relevant. We'll have to re-register because we registered initially as one project (we immediately realized this was not possible). We just have to hope that we get a suitable window of opportunity between this release and the requirement to move to the new 2012 version. An awful lot of work went into it!
Eric Anderson
Technical Customer Service SpecialistGBCI
170 thumbs up
February 28, 2012 - 11:04 am
Hello Marcio,
Thanks for your comments. Please be assured that you will have an opportunity to register under the 2009 version(s) of the LEED Rating Systems using the Group Certification approach of the AGMBC BEFORE the use of the 2012 versions of the LEED rating systems becomes mandatory. You may refer to the LEED 2012 development timeline on the USGBC website (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2360) for more information, but, in summary, LEED 2012 will not be available, much less mandatory, until later in the year. Group Certification functionality is still being targeted for release in this first quarter of 2012.
Nevertheless, to play it safe you may still register these projects now and then roll them into a single Group Certification project as described in the AGMBC FAQ document (https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=9224), which states:
If I registered individual LEED 2009 projects before the release of the group certification functionality (formerly Part 2) in the AGMBC, can I use those registrations to register a project for group certification?
Project teams can combine individual project registrations into a group project registration. The fees paid for the individual registrations can be applied to the cost of the group registration. If teams have paid more registration fees than are necessary to cover the cost of the group registration, the additional fees can be applied to additional registrations.).
Marcio Alberto Casado Pereira
181 thumbs up
February 28, 2012 - 11:48 am
Thanks Eric!
I've read this FAQ answer, but it wasn't quite clarifying to me...
Our project is already registered as a block (5 individual buildings + Master site). We benefited from the 20% off fee for multiple bldgs. projects and all http://www.gbci.org/main-nav/building-certification/fees/multiple-buildi.... But the Group Registration will have a different fee structure that we don't know how is gonna work yet, right? So I'm pretty sure the 2 registration final fees - as individual block projects and as a group - will diverge. The answer you posted says "the additional fees can be applied to additional registrations". But what if I don't want to add any other building to the block? Is a reimbursment possible? Or can I apply this fee to a completely different project, a single LEED NC (not multiple buildings) for instance?
Finally, I'm meeting my client in a couple days and he will ask me: should we proceed with payment and leave it as individual projects within the block because we will be able to change to Group later on and have any extrapaid money back OR shall we just wait for LEED Online to be ready for Group Certification?
Second, how about the diverging tables in the AGMBC, which one should I use - 1.4 Table 1A (AGMBC, Part I, p.14) or Table 1 (AGMBC, Part II, p.3).
Thank you!
Eric Anderson
Technical Customer Service SpecialistGBCI
170 thumbs up
February 28, 2012 - 5:10 pm
The exact Group Certification fee structure has not yet been finalized, nor have all the policies for crediting registration fees that exceed those necessary for Group Certification. While I can certainly understand that you are anxious to know how you might be able to apply these credits, unfortunately, I cannot yet tell you exactly how that will work at this time.
As to the issue of which Table to use, as indicated on the AGMBC page of the USGBC website (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2326), projects registered prior to 10/31/11 may elect to use the older (Part 1) version of the table, but all projects are actually encouraged, as well as permitted, to use the newer version (which is located here for D+C rating systems: https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=10484).
Marcio Alberto Casado Pereira
181 thumbs up
February 29, 2012 - 7:57 am
Thank you very much Eric!
This really helps a lot!! Now I can explain my cliente exactly where we are.
Melissa, hope that was helpful to you as well!
Melissa Merryweather
DirectorGreen Consult-Asia
245 thumbs up
February 29, 2012 - 7:55 pm
Yes, thanks!