According to GBCI, both of these innovation credits can be earned on a single project. While the Green Building Education credit focuses on educating occupants about the benefits of operations and maintenance policies and procedures that the project has already implemented, the Occupant Engagement credit focuses on improving the performance of the building by enabling energy efficient behavior in building occupants. Therefore, a single project can earn two Innovation points for successfully documenting both options.

No. An acoustical consultant is not required to earn this credit. However, an acoustical consultant can help guide the design team through the LEED process and to the desired acoustical outcomes.

It is common for the same company to complete both enhanced commissioning and envelope commissioning on the same project. Many commissioning firms have both MEP and building envelope specialists. The credit does not exclude the same individual from performing the fundamental, enhanced, and building envelope commissioning scopes—as long as they are experienced in the commissioning of these systems.

BICS likely does not qualify as an equivalent program as of October 2018 because it doesn’t include an inspection or verification process to confirm that certified contractors are implementing what the standard requires. In its current form, BICS should be thought of more as a training program, rather than a certification system. However, the program’s standards may change over time to include an auditing or verification component, which would help support equivalency under this prerequisite.