First public comment draft of LEED v5 BD+C/ID+C: Integrative Process

Overall I like the three prereqs in this category! I think they strike a good balance between being open-ended enough to cover a broad range of project types, and being rigorous enough that project teams have to do something substantive to earn them. The subject matter of the prereqs are the basic things I think every project needs to address. 

One concern I have is where specific document requirements are in the credit language e.g. "Complete the LEED Project Team Checklist for Social Impact." I would like to see a reduction in documentation created solely for LEED. For example, if a campus or large corporate developer already has done social impact audits, the team should be able to provide relevant sections from those documents plus an annotated site plan showing how the goals were worked into the design. I think it would be especially important for project teams where some of this assessment work has already been done to be rewarded for that and not need to re-write to fit a prescribed format. 

One other thing that jumped out at me: "Engage in research and consultation with key stakeholders and community members" as part of the Social Equity prereq. I am not sure this is a good fit for a LEED prereq. Community and stakeholder outreach should ideally take place early in the process, often before LEED is under consideration, so the outreach done might not be in line with what this prerq asks for. There are also so many gray areas here (who are the right stakeholders, what is enough outreach, did the input have enough of an effect on design choices) that I'm not sure how it can be fairly and consistently evaluated in the LEED review process. I think the credit requirements inherently push project teams to do this outreach and research which is great, but enforcing it as a standalone requirement would be very difficult especially in terms of maintaining consistent LEED reviews. 

Where did the most important credit in the V4 scorecard go? The site assessment credit is the starting point of any project to understand the context in which a project is embedded and to explore what the opportunities and challenges are and how that informs the design process. i would advocate for including this as a prerequisite in the integrative process category

Instead of growing the application of an integrative process from what was an initial introduction of this process, it seems that there is less emphasis on an integrative process. There is even no mention anymore of the role of an integrative process facilitator. I would advocate for a stronger presence of an integrative process.

I don't think it's a good idea to create this amount of additional paperwork. It is one of the big push backs against LEED from the industry for what they see as pointless paperwork. This is going to become additional forms the LEED consultants fill out that have zero impact on the project developement.

Addition of Climate Resilience Assessment and Social Equity Assessment as Prerequisite is bold- however, how will you ensure Equity in housing units across the US?

How will you be using Artificial Intelligence to ensure progress in these two prerequisites?

Comments from a few of us:

• The 3 required prerequisites :
  • Creating a 25- year carbon assessment is an amazing add but the reality is that a lot of buildings change hands after construction or within a few years. It will be difficult to convince a client that does not plan to hold a building that this is of value. Interiors specifically should be adjusted to align with length of lease (10 year typical). Need guidance on operational carbon for ID&C b/c equipment may be replaced faster than 25 years. Can you provide example carbon assessment templates?
  • CRA -  Climate Risk Assessment would be a better title since you can't assess the resilience until the building is designed. This credit will need much more guidance and possible links to maps and resources so teams know what risks they need to assess. The resources from the Assessment and Planning for Resilience pilot would be a good start, but more guidance on specifics will be important. If a team receives a comment that they didn't assess the correct risks, it will be way too late in the project to assess and correct for risk.  Links to existing risk assessments methods or creating your own risk assessment guide is required.
  • I agree with several other comments that this type of prerequisite could turn more people and/or locations away from pursuing LEED. DEI and Social Equity has become bad words in certain parts of the country. I agree that this is an important part of the design conversation - but I would move this to a point based credit. Also, we need clarity on what the Y/N mean - is it if you reviewed it or if it has an impact? 
• Integrative Design Process - need guidance on scope of information needed for submittal.

Examples of the Assessment prerequisites will be key to helping teams to address what needs to be included and the information to be collected and shared with the LEED evaluation team. The overall concepts presented align to needed action. It would be great to see alignment with existing/developing certifcations (eg. SEAM) for alternative compliance.