One of our EBOM projects has been submitted for review, and we'd like to confirm the list of items that needs to be tracked thereafter for the recertification in the future.
- Per the EBOM reference guide, the recertification can take place as late as 5 years later. If that's the case, the performance period would be the entirety of the 5 years. Taking MRc5 - Food Purchasing for example, do all food and drink purchases for the duration of 5 years need to be tracked and documented for the recertification submittal?
- Does the period of 5 years start right after the project is submitted for review or right after the project receives LEED certification?
If any one can please shed some lights, your help would be much appreciated.
Dan Ackerstein
PrincipalAckerstein Sustainability, LLC
LEEDuser Expert
819 thumbs up
April 24, 2011 - 10:41 pm
Jason - There is not a whole lot of public guidance on recertification yet, but if I were advising a project, my answers would be:
- Yes; purchases should be tracked for the duration. EBOM is predicated on the concept that without data collection and tracking, you simply don't know whats happening in a building. The USGBC believes that the value in this tracking will outweigh the burdens. So the expectation is that once you've developed a tracking system for purchasing, waste, etc..., its permanent. And that such a system will easily allow for providing summary data at any point in time for reporting to USGBC or anyone else. That doesn't necessarily mean that the USGBC will expect you to provide documentation for all 5 years, but they reserve the right to do so.
- The 5 year clock 'should' start running at the end of your performance period. I would assume exceptions would be made for things that change via the review process, but that's the safe bet.
Lots of unanswered questions about recertification though. I wrestle with these often and look forward to hearing more about the USGBCs conclusions.
Hope that helps,
Dan
Simon Sue
SL+A INTERNATIONAL ASIA INC.411 thumbs up
April 25, 2011 - 12:09 am
Dan, thanks very much for your detailed comments. I agree with your points, and the 5-year period starting from the end of performance period would actually make more sense!
Jared Silliker
OwnerSilliker + Partners
77 thumbs up
May 25, 2011 - 7:38 pm
I'm starting some planning in this realm as well. Water and energy are musts. But on the purchasing and waste side, is anything required? Or is just based on which credits you wish to earn? For instance, if we earned MRc4 already, I suspect we need to keep documenting those purchases in order to retain the point during recertification ... yes? But could we choose to let it lapse? What about something like MERV 13 filters ... do we have to document those purchases over 5 years?
Am I missing any other big ticket items?
Dan Ackerstein
PrincipalAckerstein Sustainability, LLC
LEEDuser Expert
819 thumbs up
May 26, 2011 - 11:43 pm
Jared I think the expectation is that for any credit you earn in your initial certification, you would either maintain documentation for that credit for the next X years (X being less than or = to 5), or let it lapse. I don't think its likely that USGBC will allow you to re-earn a credit if there is a lapse in performance over the 5 year period. The mechanics of that can get messy and uncertain (for example, is performance measured over the full time period, or does it need to be measured annually and meet the threshold each year within the X year period - those two things could be very different . . . ) but in the big picture, continue tracking and documenting all the credits you've earned. Theoretically, if EBOM is well-designed, that tracking should be inherently valuable for ensuring the ongoing success of your sustainability program. . .
Hope that helps,
Dan
Jared Silliker
OwnerSilliker + Partners
77 thumbs up
May 28, 2011 - 12:18 pm
Anybody know how these details can be confirmed? Agreed that tracking is valuable, but there are also many trade-offs depending on the time required for each task. We're just getting through our initial certification, so this feels like the time to build a solid list of what should be tracked and when ...
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11474 thumbs up
June 8, 2011 - 8:39 am
Jared, what details are you unsure of that you would like to confirm?Clearly USGBC and GBCI need to provide more guidance in this area, and it's likely they will in the next couple years. However, I think Dan has a pretty good grasp on what we know right now.
Jared Silliker
OwnerSilliker + Partners
77 thumbs up
June 13, 2011 - 4:49 pm
I think I'm thinking of the many little details that you're probably also referring to with "more guidance."
Many of these revolve around performance periods. Will performance periods be as low as 3 months and variable, as in the current system? Or will they all be the same, from time of original certification until the new application? I'm guessing the latter, but some odd issues could arise. For instance ... over, or during, what time frame will alternative transportation be measured? Could it be measured within the first month, but not re-checked 4 years and 11 months later?
In other cases, I'm curious if requirements will be altered slightly to better fit re-certification. Say for MRc4, the current system only calls for a purchasing plan and minimal physical purchases ... will this evolve into tracking similar to MRc1-3?
And finally, given the many plans and policies ... will efforts be made to check that they are being followed closely? For instance, the purchasing policy essentially sets the stage for MRc1-3, which my project did not pursue the first time around. Will these credits be required under re-certification?
Given our banter to date, I'm guessing these details don't exist yet ... just figured I'd keep the dialogue going.