This credit is fairly straightforward and easy to achieve if you are newly creating all the hardscapes. You may comply by applying prescriptive design measures outlined by LEED to 50% of your site’s hardscape, or by covering 50% of your project's parking spaces.

There can be added costs and labor if your project needs to modify existing hardscapes to meet the prescriptive goals of the credit: for example, taking out a black asphalt parking lot to install a more reflective material.

This credit offers multiple options for residential and non-residential projects. These strategies help to reduce the number of cars on the road, cut down on the sprawl of parking facilities, and decrease the negative environmental impacts of parking infrastructure, including stormwater runoff and the urban heat island effect. 

This credit is focused on limiting environmental impacts from automobile use. It targets commuting specifically, but also addresses company vehicle fleets, maintenance vehicles, and buses.

Projects that have substantial parking area may find the requirements of this credit to be low-hanging fruit, because they should easily be able to designate preferred parking for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles, which is one option. There are two other options for compliance, both of varying difficulty and requiring varying levels of commitment from the project owner.

Site selection is the key factor in determining how easily a project can qualify for this credit. If your project is located in a densely populated area that is well-served by public transportation, it should be very easy to meet the requirements.

An all-around good idea

Facilitating access to public transportation not only brings environmental benefits in the form of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and fewer cars on the road, but it can also reduce commuting costs for building occupants and help attract new hires and retain employees.