Many project teams are reluctant to attempt this credit because conventionally engineered solutions don’t always meet LEED requirements. Don’t be deterred. The best and easiest way to improve the quality of stormwater is to let water permeate the ground through increased landscaping and reduced impervious areas. As long as your soil type has a good infiltration rate, letting stormwater seep into the ground will treat 100% of the pollutants associated with the stormwater runoff. Let natural infiltration do as much of the work possible before using more expensive mechanical methods.

Interior smoking is not allowed in many building types, and for those projects, this prerequisite should be easy and not add costs. It may even be the only legal option. To comply, you may need to establish a nonsmoking policy in and around the building (including entrances and balconies), and install appropriate signage.

Under this prerequisite, school projects must prohibit all smoking inside buildings. Designated interior smoking areas are not allowed. You may designate exterior smoking areas as long as they are 25 feet or more from entrances, operable windows, and ventilation system intakes.

You aren’t required to prohibit smoking during construction, but is good practice and will contribute to compliance with other indoor environmental quality credits, including IEQc3.1 and IEQc3.2, Construction IAQ Management Plan.

This prerequisite establishes a baseline for providing a minimum amount of outdoor air to buildings in order to maintain good indoor air quality and keep occupants comfortable and healthy. The prerequisite references ASHRAE 62.1-2007 (with errata but without addenda) and is often more stringent than local building codes, although it is not likely to entail any added costs.

This prerequisite establishes a baseline for providing a minimum amount of outdoor air to buildings in order to maintain good indoor air quality and keep occupants comfortable and healthy. The prerequisite references ASHRAE 62.1-2007 (with errata but without addenda) and is often more stringent than local building codes, although it is not likely to entail any added costs.

This prerequisite establishes a baseline for providing a minimum amount of outdoor air to buildings in order to maintain good indoor air quality and keep occupants comfortable and healthy. This prerequisite references ASHRAE 62.1-2007 (with errata but without addenda) and is often more stringent than local building codes, although it is not likely to entail any added costs.

You may find, on a renovation of an existing building, that many interior elements, such as walls, ceilings and doors, are in perfectly good condition and do not need to be replaced. This credit awards you 1–2 points for refinishing and reusing 40%–60% of these elements. The calculation for this credit is a function of the total interior elements present upon construction completion, including both the existing and the new non-structural building components used in the project.

You may find on a renovation of an existing building that some interior elements, such as walls, ceilings and doors, are in perfectly good condition and do not need to be replaced. This credit awards you one point for refinishing and reusing 50% of these elements. Projects are only eligible for this credit if the gross built area of the final building is less than two times the existing built area.

You can earn this credit simply by eliminating turf grass, planting native and adaptive species, and not installing an irrigation system. If those measures go too far for your project, you can still achieve the credit as long as you have some flexibility with plant species selection, and irrigation system design and controls.