GS-42 requires an audit of the cleaning company, but may or may not include the LEED project building. CIMS-GB audits must include the LEED project building. Your vendor should be familiar with the auditing requirements for their certification program and can help ensure your project meets the auditing requirements for LEED.
The green cleaning program credit (IEQc3.1 in LEED 2009) is not a part of LEED v4. The requirements of that credit have been incorporated into the prerequisite, and the expectation is that teams will implement a high-performance cleaning program based on the green cleaning policy.
Yes, routine maintenance is now covered in the scope of this credit. Any materials used during routine maintenance, such as painting touch-ups or ceiling tile repairs, must be tracked under this credit.
Yes, it can. Each purchase receives credit for each criterion met. But remember that only the percentage of the item that is sustainable that counts towards compliance. Try using the USGBC purchasing calculator, posted in the Resources tab, to determine the total contribution made by a product.
Taking corrective action doesn’t necessarily require that you make making large changes or investments. Corrective action is more likely to consist of fairly minor activities like checking and adjusting temperature setpoints, adding task lighting, or educating occupants. You should take meaningful steps to try and remedy the problems identified through the survey, but you’re not expected to make wholesale changes to building systems or infrastructure. See Step 4 under the Step-By-Step Guidance section in the Reference Guide for additional information on corrective action.
It’s wise to plan your survey with adequate time to remedy potential issues. Remember that the performance period for any prerequisite or credit can last for a maximum of 24 months, at the discretion of the project team. That gives you lots of time to address issues before the end of the shared three-month performance period.
The owner will need to buy additional RECs / carbon offsets to meet the threshold.
Yes. Provide evidence of the quantity and term purchase for the campus along with an explanation of how the green power has been or will be allocated as applicable. If any of this purchase has been allocated to a previous LEED project state how much and provide a letter allocating the quantity needed to this project. A similar approach can be taken for district energy systems on a campus.
It depends on how much renewable power is produced. Net-zero projects can automatically earn this credit as long as the RECs or offsets generated from the onsite systems are not sold or traded. Watch out for PPAs or ESCO agreements where RECs are often retained by the provider.
Yes, as long as purchased electricity represents more than 50% of the total emissions of the project, it’s possible to achieve one point with just REC purchases. If you’d like to earn the 100% threshold (2 points) and have other energy sources, you will need to look for carbon offsets as well.