Determine the building footprint and the likely locations of other site features:

surface walkways, patios, surface parking, and utilities less than 12 inches in diameter;
primary roadway curbs and main utility branch trenches;
constructed areas with permeable surfaces such as pervious paving areas, stormwater detention facilities, and playing fields.

Case 1: Greenfield Sites

Projects that are part greenfield and part previously developed need to work out a hybrid plan whereby you follow Case 1 requirements in the greenfield area and Case 2 requirements in the previously developed area. Case 2 requires you to protect a specific percentage of the site. In a hybrid situation, use the area of the previously developed portion of the site, not the total site area, to follow these requirements.

Every two square feet of off-site area protected or restored off-site is equivalent to one square foot of protected or restored onsite habitat. There are no constraints on the geographical proximity of the LEED project location and the off-site habitat area. Improvement and maintenance of off-site areas must be documented through a contract with the property owner.  

Assess onsite approaches to meeting credit requirements.

Work with the key operations staff members and vendors (such as the landscaping vendor, snow removal vendor, and construction contractors) to determine which of their current practices qualify as environmental best-management practices.

Check for codes that may limit your options or force you to obtain a variance. Plumbing codes often restrict or regulate the following water-saving technologies: 

waterless urinals
graywater reuse
onsite wastewater treatment and reuse
rainwater reuse
composting toilets. 

After completing the inventory, review the product specs to determine which pieces, if any, of the current equipment meet the credit criteria.

Your equipment inventory needs to include the name of the equipment, the model number, the name of the manufacturer, and the quantity of each type used onsite. This can be challenging if vendors don’t use the same equipment consistently. If this is the case, you should try to work with your vendor to identify the equipment necessary for maintaining the project building and request that they use only those pieces of equipment when working at your building.

Conduct an inventory of all of the equipment, products, and practices relevant to the operational elements of building exterior and hardscape management.