Make sure you are tracking all of your purchases or you may raise a red flag for LEED reviewers. For example, it is unusual to have no paper products purchased over even the shortest performance period in a commercial office building. If you didn’t include any paper purchases, your documentation would raise suspicion of being incomplete.

Building maintenance and facilities staff may need to be educated on selecting, planting, and caring for native species. Project teams may also seek the expertise of local nurseries, landscape architects and landscaping contractors.

Make sure to retain cut sheets that clearly quantify the product’s environmental benefits. Vague environmental claims do not make appropriate LEED documentation.

Peform restoration activities and initiate an ongoing maintenance plan.

The LEED Reference Guide does note some specific appropriate restoration and maintenance activities that support the credit intent, such as:

Establishing new native and adaptive plants
Constructing habitats
Harvesting and propagating seeds or spores
Eliminating or controlling invasive and non-native species
Preventing and mitigating pollutants
Monitoring biodiversity of flora and fauna.

Products which meet multiple sustainability criteria will count for more than their actual cost.  The cost value for these products will be automatically translated to a weighted sustainable cost in the LEED Online credit form.

The LEED Reference Guide does not clearly stipulate the level of support of off-site habitat necessary to earn the credit, but agreements should provide a meaningful, ongoing benefit to the property and natural habitat over time. For example, a once-a-year trash pick-up event would not be considered adequate to meet the intent of this credit.

Protecting or restoring areas within a wildlife corridor can be particularly meaningful. Wildlife corridors are areas of habitat connecting wildlife populations that would otherwise be separated from development. Contact local conservancies or land trusts for help identifying candidate areas of existing habitat that might benefit from your support. 

For many projects, choosing the off-site option affords an opportunity to support a more ecologically significant habitat. Supporting a portion of a large, contiguous, natural area is important for the conservation of complex ecosystems and may provide more value in some ways than creating an island of native plants in a dense urban environment. Consult with local ecologists for advice on the most valuable approach.

If you pursue the off-site option, negotiate a contract stipulating support through financial or service commitments. A contract with the owner of any contributing off-site area must cover activities happening during a compliant PP, but can be retroactively put into place.