This credit involves implementing the prerequisite policy you developed and demonstrating actual waste diversion achievement over the performance period. 

Waste from three major sources must be tracked: routine maintenance activity, renovation activity, and furniture/furnishings. Waste generated by tenant FMR (facility maintenance and renovation) activities must be tracked too, so spend some time determining whether any tenants plan to do maintenance or renovations during the performance period, and work with them to set up goals and tracking systems.

This credit comprehensively addresses practices for maintaining your project site. Because this credit covers so much ground, it’s important for teams to thoroughly review all requirements and get a clear understanding of who is responsible for overseeing the different operational areas.

In some instances, a single requirement may be especially challenging to meet, and may end up being a deal-breaker for pursuing the credit. For example, projects that experience harsh winters may have trouble meeting the deicer requirement.

This credit has two compliance options, which means your team has some flexibility in how it chooses to demonstrate compliance.

Option 1 deals directly with your exterior fixtures (both luminaires and illuminated signage) and the lamps you use. Option 2 assesses your building’s contribution to light pollution through nighttime illumination measurements taken around the project boundary.

This prerequisite assesses the total potable water used by a project. This includes both water used in the building and water used to irrigate any landscaping.

The big question for this credit is how your team will demonstrate compliance. Though this credit is similar to the LEED 2009 credit that addresses landscape irrigation use, the v4 iteration stipulates different compliance paths depending on the conditions of your building’s systems. 

Find out what’s behind options 1, 2, and 3

The first and easiest path is when landscaping does not require irrigation. If not, the credit is yours via Option 1.

To earn one point under this credit you must have permanently installed water meters in place for at least two water subsystems. It’s common for projects to meet this requirement by submetering irrigation systems and cooling towers.

Reaching the two-point threshold is more difficult, however. At least four water subsystems must be metered, and it is less common for buildings to have submetering in place for the remaining water subsystem options:

Projects that already meet the credit requirements are best suited for this credit, as it may be costly and time consuming to make the modifications necessary to earn it. The credit assesses the project’s entire site paving area and entire roof area, to encourage teams to consider the site as a whole. This is a change from v4, which offered individual compliance paths for nonroof, roof, and parking under cover.

Questions to consider

If you answer at least one of the following questions with a “yes,” then it’s worth investigating this credit further.

Question 1: Does your project site include stormwater management strategies such as downspout disconnection, rainwater harvesting, rain gardens, bioretention, bioswales, pervious hardscapes, or a green roof?

If yes, proceed to question 2. If no, you won’t be able to achieve this credit unless you undertake site renovations.

Question 2: Do your stormwater management strategies combine to receive stormwater flow from at least 25% of the impermeable site area?

To meet this prerequisite, teams must assess the efficiency of the installed indoor plumbing fixtures, including lavatory faucets, toilets, urinals, kitchen sinks, and showerheads. They must determine how much potable water is consumed relative to a LEED baseline case.

Perform the calculation using a calculator developed by USGBC. Teams should become very familiar with the calculator, the information needed to complete it, and the various rules for using it in order to accurately assess performance.

This credit seeks to reduce light pollution that can block our view of the night sky and cause human health problems as well as ecological problems for many birds, insects, and other animals. Light pollution often represents nighttime lighting that isn’t needed and that may cause light trespass and contrast, reducing visibility.