About

"The LEED for New Construction Rating System is designed to guide and distinguish high-performance commercial and institutional projects, including office buildings, high-rise residential buildings, government buildings, recreational facilities, manufacturing plants and laboratories."

Possible Points

Sustainable Sites (26 possible points)

Buildings can have many different effects on ecosystems. Projects must be sensitive to agricultural lands, jeopardizing existing wildlife habitats, and contributing to erosion. The building site also affects the ecosystem based on the end user's travel options to and from the building site. Teams taking on building projects should be aware of impacts of development on land consumption, ecosystem, natural resources, and energy use. Creating a sustainable building location is a key measure in sustainable design. see also LEED-CI 2009 SS credits

• SS Prerequisite 1: Construction activity Pollution Prevention - Required
• SS Credit 1: Site Selection – 1 point
• SS Credit 2: Development Density and Community Connectivity – 5 points
• SS Credit 3: Brownfield redevelopment – 1 point
• SS Credit 4.1 alternative transportation—Public transportation access- 6 points
• SS Credit 4.2 alternative transportation—Bicycle storage and Changing rooms- 1 point
• SS Credit 4.3 alternative transportation—Low-Emitting and fuel-Efficient vehicles- 3 points
• SS Credit 4.4 alternative transportation—Parking Capacity- 2 points
• SS Credit 5.1 site Development—Protect or restore Habitat- 1 point
• SS Credit 5.2 site Development—Maximize open space- 1 point
• SS Credit 6.1 stormwater Design—Quantity Control- 1 point
• SS Credit 6.2 stormwater Design—Quality Control- 1 point
• SS Credit 7.1 Heat island Effect—Nonroof- 1 point
• SS Credit 7.2 Heat island Effect—roof- 1 point
• SS Credit 8 Light Pollution reduction- 1 point

Water efficiency (10 possible points)

Consuming large volumes of water causes more maintenance and lifecycle costs for building operations and consumer costs. Facilities that use water efficiently, reduce costs through lowering water use fees, lowering sewage volumes, and lowering capacity charges and limits. Water efficiency in commercial buildings reduces water uses by at least thirty percent. see also LEED-CI 2009 WE credits

• WE Prerequisite 1: water use reduction – Required
• WE Credit 1: Water Efficient Landscaping – 2-4 points
• WE Credit 2: Innovative Wastewater Technologies – 2 points
• WE Credit 3: Water Use Reduction – 2-4 points

Energy and atmosphere (35 possible points)

Buildings consume most of the energy and electricity produced annually in the United States. Fossil-based electricity and natural gas both have impacts on the environment. Green buildings reduce the amount of energy needed and use more benign forms. see also LEED-CI 2009 EA credits

• EA Prerequisite 1 fundamental Commissioning of Building Energy systems- required
• EA Prerequisite 2 Minimum Energy Performance- required
• EA Prerequisite 3 fundamental refrigerant Management- required
• EA Credit 1 optimize Energy Performance- 1–19 point(s)
• EA Credit 2 on-site renewable Energy- 1–7 point(s)
• EA Credit 3 Enhanced Commissioning- 2 points
• EA Credit 4 Enhanced refrigerant Management- 2 points
• EA Credit 5 Measurement and verification- 3 points
• EA Credit 6 Green Power- 2 points

Materials and resources (14 possible points)

Building material choices are important in sustainable design due to the process of extraction, processing and transportation. Rehabilitation of an existing building is the best option, however when this is not possible all sources must be evaluated. Salvaged, recycled, and local materials are all good examples of sustainable resources. see also LEED-CI 2009 MR credits

• MR Prerequisite 1 storage and Collection of recyclables- required
• MR Credit 1.1 Building reuse—Maintain Existing walls, floors and roof- 1-3 point(s)
• MR Credit 1.2 Building reuse—Maintain Existing interior Nonstructural Elements- 1 point
• MR Credit 2 Construction waste Management- 1-2 point(s)
• MR Credit 3 Materials reuse- 1-2 point(s)
• MR Credit 4 recycled Content- 1-2 point(s)
• MR Credit 5 regional Materials- 1-2 point(s)
• MR Credit 6 rapidly renewable Materials- 1 point
• MR Credit 7 Certified wood- 1 point

Indoor environmental Quality (15 possible points)

Americans spend majority of their time indoors, where high levels of pollutants are. Over the past few years experience has shown that manufacturing and construction practices can prevent Indoor Environmental Quality problems from arising. To prevent IEQ problems materials can be specified that let off fewer and less harmful chemical compounds, use higher ratios of filtered outside air, and providing views to the exterior. see also LEED-CI 2009 EQ credits

• EQ Prerequisite 1 Minimum indoor air Quality Performance- required
• EQ Prerequisite 2 Environmental tobacco smoke (Ets) Control- required
• EQ Credit 1 outdoor air Delivery Monitoring- 1 point
• EQ Credit 2 increased ventilation- 1 point
• EQ Credit 3.1 Construction indoor air Quality Management Plan—During Construction- 1 point
• EQ Credit 3.2 Construction indoor air Quality Management Plan—Before occupancy- 1 point
• EQ Credit 4.1 Low-Emitting Materials—adhesives and sealants- 1 point
• EQ Credit 4.2 Low-Emitting Materials—Paints and Coatings- 1 point
• EQ Credit 4.3 Low-Emitting Materials—flooring systems- 1 point
• EQ Credit 4.4 Low-Emitting Materials—Composite wood and agrifiber Products- 1 point
• EQ Credit 5 indoor Chemical and Pollutant source Control- 1 point
• EQ Credit 6.1 Controllability of systems—Lighting- 1 point
• EQ Credit 6.2 Controllability of systems—thermal Comfort- 1 point
• EQ Credit 7.1 thermal Comfort—Design- 1 point
• EQ Credit 7.2 thermal Comfort—verification- 1 point
• EQ Credit 8.1 Daylight and views—Daylight- 1 point
• EQ Credit 8.2 Daylight and views—views- 1 point

Innovation in Design (6 possible points)

The purpose of this category is to give credit to projects for innovative building features. Some strategies may not be addressed by a LEED credit but deserve consideration for their sustainability benefits. see also LEED-CI 2009 EQ credits

• ID Credit 1 innovation in Design- 1-5 point(s)
• ID Credit 2 LEED accredited Professional- 1 point

Regional priority (4 possible points)

see also LEED-CI 2009 EQ credits

• RP Credit 1 regional Priority- 1-4 points

Certification

• 100 base points; 6 possible innovation in design and 4 regional priority points
• Certified 40–49 points
• Silver 50–59 points
• Gold 60–79 points
• Platinum 80 points and above

Notes

• Information provided by the U.S. Green Building Council; http://www.usgbc.org
• New Construction Reference Guide Version 2.2. Washington, DC: U.S. Green Building Council, 2007. Print.