This credit involves a review and analysis of your building’s operational expenses. The goal is to better understand the financial impact on overall operating costs of improvements made during the LEED performance period.

It’s not intended to compare buildings to one another, or to demonstrate that your LEED investments generated specific paybacks. It’s simply valuable for you to understand how your building performs over time. Internal consistency with your accounting methods is more important than whether you categorize expenses in the same way other projects do.

This credit is fairly straightforward: the existing building selected by your LEED-CI project will either have LEED certification or other green features in place, or it won’t. (If your project hasn’t yet selected a building, consider looking for a building that will perform well under this credit.) 

It’s worth considering this credit, because in the best case (Option 1), you can earn five points just for locating in a building certified under another LEED rating system.

The basic strategies for achieving this credit are: 

Even if your building is technically compliant, this credit is very difficult because the documentation requirements are extremely demanding. The only exception is projects that have previously earned a Daylight and Views credit through one of the other LEED rating systems—all you’ll need to do is provide your LEED scorecard verifying that you achieved the credit.

This credit provides a variety of options for using your project’s roof to reduce your contribution to the urban heat island effect, while also potentially reducing your building’s cooling load.

Typically, projects have already determined their site plan by the time the team begins considering LEED certification; if this is the case, you either have the credit or you don’t.

If your project location has not yet been determined, you can use the credit requirements as an environmental screening process when choosing your site. If the site is determined but the site plan isn’t set, consider whether the placement of buildings, roads, and other hardscapes on the site will tip you to compliance or non-compliance.

Good IAQ and comfort begin with proper design and construction techniques, and continue through effective operations and maintenance. Exposure to mold and bacteria can cause allergic reactions and general health problems, ruin building materials, and create unpleasant odors. Even if you decide not to pursue this credit, taking steps to prevent mold is a really good idea.

Earning this credit doesn’t depend on using water efficiently. It simply requires you to install meters to measure overall water use and subsystem water use. As the saying goes, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

In addition to installing meters, you’ll have to collect meter data at least on weekly intervals, and establish processes for using that information to optimize water performance. Meters that you own must also be calibrated according to manufacturer’s recommendations.