Path 3: Proposed building values exceeding 5% in one category.

Gaston Michaud

Mechanical Engineer

ENEX

LEEDuser Basic Member

15 thumbs up

Project location :

Costa Rica

July 18, 2023

Hi everyone,

We have a project that has several design optimizations and is reusing most of the furniture and some walls. The LCA shows the proposed construction with a 20% reduction in GWP, more than 10% reduction in four other categories, but an increase of 46% in ozone depletion.

After checking the LEED v4.1 INTERIOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION Reference Guide, it seems that there is no issue with a category exceeding the baseline results, but the LEED Online form v4.1 states that the proposed case must not exceed by more than 5% in any category. Could this be an error in the form? Has anyone had this discussion with a reviewer?

Thanks!

Post a reply

Sarah Buffaloe

Associate, Built Ecology

WSP USA

LEEDuser Expert

6 thumbs up

Tue, 08/08/2023 - 17:55

Hello Gaston! I actually think this is a form error. The 5% increase limitation is a BD+C requirement, however, for ID+C the rating system under Option 3, Path 3, there is no 5% limitation. The langauge says: "For Path 3, no more than one impact category assessed as part of the life-cycle assessment may increase compared with the baseline interiors project." This means that that increase in ODP is okay, as long as it's the only impact measure that increased. I recommend filling in the form with your information and writing an explination in the Special Circumstances. If you want reasurance of this error you can reach out to LEED Coach ahead of the submission to confirm. Good Luck!