Reading through this forum I still don't think I see a clear consensus on recert vs. new cert. I have a client who was originally certified in 2011 EBOM and they are up for recertification. However, they have not been tracking & there is a new property manager who is not privy to the information/documentation from the initial certification. We are thinking it will be best if they just submit as a new certification since they will not have the required data tracked since the initial cert. in 2011. Has anyone else taken this approach to submit a new certification instead of a recert. and gotten any feedback on this approach?
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Barry Giles
Founder & CEO, LEED Fellow, BREEAM FellowBuildingWise LLC
LEEDuser Expert
338 thumbs up
February 3, 2016 - 11:59 am
Contact the GBCI. The current thinking is that in this situation GBCI seems to allow 3 months data as sufficient.
Christopher Davis
Sr. Sustainability Project ManagerCodeGreen Solutions
43 thumbs up
February 3, 2016 - 3:27 pm
Our approach is almost always to pursue a true Recertification, in no small part because it's in line with the intent and goals of the O+M program. We've had success even in buildings where the property manager changes. Note that for most of the credits that actually require ongoing performance data (quite a few credits don't), you only need data for the most recent 25% of the Recert performance period, or about 15 months. These are mostly credits related to site maintenance, waste diversion, janitorial purchasing and pest control, for which isn't often possible to collect vendor records to cover this time period. For any new credits (except those related to construction projects) you'll only need a three-month performance period. For Establishment credits (like heat island or daylight and views) you can generally just say "no changes have occurred" and call it a day. Keep in mind that if you start over, you won't be eligible for the 4 points of SSc1.
Barry Giles
Founder & CEO, LEED Fellow, BREEAM FellowBuildingWise LLC
LEEDuser Expert
338 thumbs up
February 3, 2016 - 3:38 pm
Chris, very true, but in this instance they are only a 'few months' off of the end of the performance period....not 15 months that the 25% dictates. Going back now and trying to resurrect data from last year sounds like it might not work.
It's a difficult balancing act especially if the building has not maintained the credits over the longer term.
Jessica Hawley
Sustainability Consultant62 thumbs up
March 1, 2016 - 11:11 am
As a follow up to this, I finally got a response back from GBCI, posted below. Looks like they will only accept three months for the new credits, and the others fall to the most recent 25%:
From GBCI Reply: "Please refer to this recertification guidance document (http://www.usgbc.org/articles/recertification-guidance-existing-buildings). Note on page 8 that a project team may provide data for the most recent 25% of the recertification period. Please note that the project team must provide data for the most recent 12 months for EAp2/EAc1.
The 3-month performance period applies to credits that were not achieved in the initial certification period (new credits)."
Barry Giles
Founder & CEO, LEED Fellow, BREEAM FellowBuildingWise LLC
LEEDuser Expert
338 thumbs up
March 1, 2016 - 12:41 pm
So, with no supporting data from at least the last 25% of the performance period you're really stuck and will need to 'run the clock out', register as a new project and start again. Hopefully the clock runs out before V3 dies in October otherwise you'll be forced into V4. Good luck