How To Become A LEED Green Associate-V3

HOW TO BECOME A
LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE

Filipe Boni
The information contained in this book has been conducted for infor-
mational purposes and should be used as a study tool for the LEED
Green Associate exam. The theme summary, study methods, tips, and
examples are just recommendations from the author. Reading this book
does not guarantee approval in the exam. The course author sought the
current and accurate information for the readers of this guide and will
not be held responsible for any unintentional errors or omissions.
LEED® and USGBC® are trademarks registered by the US Green

Building Council (USGBC). GBCI® is a registered trademark of the
Green Business Certification Institute. Neither UGREEN nor the
LEED Green Associate Book is approved, associated, or endorsed by the
USGBC or GBCI.
No part of this publication will be reproduced, transmitted, or resold in

whole or in part in any form without the author’s prior written consent.
All trademarks and trademarks that appear in the book owned by their
respective owners.
CONTENT
01 GENERAL CONCEPTS
Introduction 6
Sustainability and Green Buildings 9
02 THE LEED
What is LEED? 14
Why Certify LEED? 18
What Is a LEED Green Associate? 24
Accreditations and Certifications 30
General and Minumum Requirements 35
The Certification Process and Scorecard 39
The LEED Online 43
Certification Costs 49
Prerequisites and Credits 52
Credit Categories 56
03 CREDIT CATEGORIES
Integrative Process 61
Location and Transportation 70
Sustainable Sites 83
Water Efficiency 97
Energy and Atmosphere 107
Materials and Resources 122
Internal Environmental Quality 141
Inovation 155
04 CONSIDERATIONS
Regional Priorities 159
Sinergies & Tradeoffs 161
References 165
Acknowledgements 171
About the Author 172
INTRODUCTION
Hello, all right with you? Filipe Boni here. I am an architect, LEED
AP+BC, and author of this book. I want, first of all, to thank you for
starting this journey with us. This publication aims to present concepts
in sustainability with the scientific support of LEED certification. As a
result, we will inform you of everything you need to know to pass the
exam to become a LEED Green Associate.
I believe that sustainability is about inclusion. It’s about sharing, and it’s
about continuous transformation. In my opinion, most knowledge descri-
bed in this book should become standard for architectural or engineering
colleges, as they establish an excellent basis for professionals to walk on
HOW TO BECOME A LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE ugreen.io
their way to a new architecture.
Some people get a little confused about LEED Green Associate accre-
ditation, as they consider that it is restricted only to those who seek to
certify ventures. I see this issue as a little broader. I find this training
interesting even for those who do not seek to certify enterprises because
the methodology that LEED proposes organizes universally the sus-
tainable objectives that project teams seek for a building. It establishes
priorities, standards, metrics, synergies and helps professionals see
good strategies “in boxes,” facilitating understanding and, consequently,
success in sustainable building techniques. As Peter Duckler would say,
“you can only manage what you measure,” and that fits very well for
LEED certification strategies.
I - despite having worked in 2 certified buildings - I do not work with

GENERAL CONCEPTS
certification. Still, I saw in LEED a guide to work better and better

my projects, either in internal practices of my office or in the dialogue
between the project team.
LEED certification always seeks proven standards and more efficient

strategies for sustainable issues, such as ASHRAE, IESNA, ANSI,
6
among others. It is a beautiful invitation for each professional to dive
deep, discover new ways to perform their function and find different
paths for their career. I consider becoming a LEED GA to go through
a door facing the world of architecture and sustainable construction
without crazy ideas or wrong assumptions.[1]
I hope this book will provide you with new paths and great opportunities.
Better impossible, right? You open doors to your future while contri-
buting to the improvement of the construction market, which quickly
needs best working practices.
If you want to get basic knowledge, this book has precious information.
But if you desire to go further and take the exam to become a LEED
Green Associate, you will see that the knowledge made available here
is not complex, just a little laborious. You will need to read and reread
this book a few times or watch and rewatch the videos and audios if you
have the course purchased at UGREEN. I developed this book to get all
crumpled, with drawings and personal notes arising from your studies.
THIS BOOK HAS FOUR PARTS
In the first stage, we will talk about Sustainability and Green Buildings.
It’s a quick introduction to what you need to know for the exam. You’ll
INTRODUCTION
understand why you think of Green Buildings. You’ll learn how you and
I together can turn ‘Green Buildings’ into just ‘Buildings,’ making this a
standard practice of our market. Making an analogy, it’s more or less like
the German Shepherd dog, which in Germany they just call shepherd.
Note: It’s important to mention that this book will have some bad jokes
GENERAL CONCEPTS
because I want you to dive into the book, complete it and have fun with
the content.
In the second part, you will learn about LEED. You’ll find out why you
make sure LEED and how to become an accredited professional can
be good for your life. We will learn about the certification system, the
7
credit system, credits, prerequisites, and minimum program require-
ments. We will find out how to register a project, the certification price,
and what LEED Online is... Anyway, all the bureaucratic part, but that
will surely fall into your evidence.
If you survive this second part, it’s just going to be joy in life.
We’ll learn about each of the credit categories, their credits, and pre-
requisites. It is where you will get the knowledge that will transform the
way you view buildings. We will discover the strategies of Integrative
Process, Location and Transport, Sustainable Lots, Water Management,
Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Internal Quality of
the Environment, Innovation, and Regional Priorities. It will be a general
approach to each of these categories and their respective credits.
HOW TO BECOME A LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE ugreen.io
In the last part, we will go through several synergies of credits because

these are different strategies that, when added together, generate even
more benefits for your projects. We will also learn about methods that
harm others because, as you already know, every choice is a waiver in
life.
To complete the book, we will go through all the essential references of

entities and companies that are part of the certification world and that
you need to know to take a successful exam.
It is essential to mention that I wrote this book with a focus on LEED v4.
It is the version that LEED exams require and came into effect in June
2014. It is essential to report this because if you want to search for addi-
tional sources for your studies, you may bump into several references to
GENERAL CONCEPTS
version 3. Always keep in mind version 4 of LEED for everything you’re

looking for from now on, as it’s what the market and, consequently, your
exam will address.
Let’s go!
8
SUSTAINTABILITY AND
GREEN BUILDINGS
Welcome to the first lesson in the book! Here we will learn about Sustai-
nability and Green Buildings.
As you may have heard, we can consider the term sustainability in many
ways, some more complete than others. The most famous term, men-
tioned in the Brundtland Report, defines sustainability as “the ability to
satisfy the present without compromising the ability of future genera-
tions to meet their own needs.”
When we think about sustainability, we need to observe each action

from different angles and analyze whether it fits as sustainable. The most
common way to accomplish this is to think of the Sustainability Tripod,
called the Triple Bottom Line. But what does the Sustainability Tripod
mean?
It defines sustainability in 3 main aspects: action must be sustainable

in an Environmental, Social, and Economical way. To memorize quickly,
INTRODUCTION
think of Triple P: People, Planet, Profit. It needs to be suitable for
people, good for the planet, and generate profit for those who perform
this specific performance.
In the environmental sphere, it refers to the need to create sustainable

environmental practices. Organizations should strive to benefit the
GENERAL CONCEPTS
planet as much as possible and mitigate the adverse effects on the

environment. In the Economic sphere, it refers to maintaining a positive
long-term economic impact for the operating company. In Social Res-
ponsibility, the idea is to improve the peoples lives who interact with the
building. Maintain the well-being of workers, their occupants, commu-
nity members, and neighbors. Also, it is about the interests of stakehol-
9
ders, who must be interdependent. When you reach the three levels on
the Sustainability Tripod, your practice can be considered sustainable.
There are even other variations of the term sustainability. USGBC uses
the term “economic viability, environmental responsibility, and social
awareness.” However, Triple P is the most famous and most used varia-
tion.
A simple example of the well-used Sustainability Tripod could be analy-

zed, for instance, by purchasing a bathroom faucet. There are economi-
cal options that bring a higher short-term cost-benefit to a construction
company. Usually, these companies do not aim at saving water for the
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daily use of those who purchase a property. Thinking more sustainably,

the company could acquire a tap that establishes a reduced water flow
with aerators. Reporting an average savings of 25% in consumption/
month for eventual buyers could be a good selling point if carried out
HOW TO BECOME A LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE
correctly by the company’s marketing and sales team. The builder stops
aiming in the short term, thinking about saving water to bring you great
long-term benefits.
The environment thanks, users see the cost-benefit of paying less in

their water consumption and the builder benefits indirectly. Everything
we accomplish in civil construction, or other activity of our life, can be
thought of by the values of the Sustainability Tripod, from the purchase
of lamps, transportation for weekend leisure, and even the architectural
concept of a building.
It is important to note that there are many distortions on this topic, or

even falsely sustainable actions with the aim of, guess what? Profit. This
GENERAL CONCEPTS
practice is called greenwashing, and this is a term that can fall into your
exam. As an example of the term greenwashing, I can tell a story about
a Rock and Roll show in which I went in the interior of São Paulo. They
had a sustainable motto, with ideas of respect for society, recyclable
furniture, conscious waste collection, savings in parking for those who
shared vehicles, among other exciting strategies.
10
However, the sustainability criteria do not consider events held in places
with little structure as environmentally correct. Thousands of people had
to travel tens of miles to the event, pay dearly for parking, and on the
way back, they couldn’t leave due to the mudslide that turned the place.
The event would meet the sustainable criteria much better if held in a
big city. People already enjoy an existing urban infrastructure, transpor-
tation, hotels, and food that respect the individual’s freedom. Resources
are not thrown away with lousy infrastructure, and that will only be used
in a weekend, and liters of fuel are saved from thousands of people going
back and forth from the event.
It wasn’t sustainable for people or the environment, but it was undoubte-

dly sustainable for the event’s organization. After all, they earned a lot by
saving on renting an event space in the city and profiting from parking in
a worthless region. It is an example of an imbalance Sustainability Tripod.
SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN BUILDINGS

Defined well the concept of Triple Bottom Line, let’s go back now to our
buildings. You probably already know why we need to plan, design, and
build more and more efficient buildings, right? There are several negative
impacts related to the construction and operation of buildings. See this
data regarding the consumption of buildings in the USA:
»» 73% of electricity consumption;
»» 39% of energy use (important);
»» 38% carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (important);

GENERAL CONCEPTS
»» 40% of the use of raw materials;
»» 30% of waste production (136 million tons/year);
»» 14% of drinking water consumption.

11
Creating buildings that mitigate the impact on the environment and
improve occupants’ quality of life originated the concept of Green
Buildings. It may not seem easy at first, but everything we accomplish
today as something cutting-edge will become standardized for the next
generations. It is the mindset we should have, constantly questioning
our practices to go further, as this is an area in complete evolution.
Exchanging information and helping our teammates on this journey is an
excellent way to start.
A Green Building is a planned building with an environmentally respon-

sible structure and process. It is efficient in the use of resources because
it was scheduled over its life cycle. That is, it thinks from its creation
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to its return to society after its use. This life cycle analyzes its location
and integrates everything through the process of design, construction,
operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction.
The project does not forget the primary and fundamental concerns for a
building, such as economy, utility, durability, and comfort.
A Green Building is a building that uses your location, energy, water,

and materials efficiently. In addition, thinking about people, protects the
occupants’ health and the workers themselves in their construction. As a
result, it improves employee productivity.
I like the example that if you have ten employees working at a proper
temperature within a company, you have the production of 10 employe-
es. If you have ten employees with a temperature of 6 degrees above the
comfort level, you have the production of 7 employees. Many compa-
nies have realized these values, especially the largest in the market, but
GENERAL CONCEPTS
there is still much to learn.
A Green Building is not green by itself: it communicates efficiently with

the surroundings. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions, both from the
building itself and from its indirect use. A good example is the proximity
of the building to bike paths, which increases the chances of users
12
avoiding vehicles for their daily activities. Owning diverse shops nearby
and public transport lines are also significant contributions to a more
sustainable building. A Green Building fits your city and leverages its
resources while contributing to its development.
Good sustainability practices reduce waste and pollution through en-

vironmentally friendly materials with less impact on the life cycle. We
must prove its ingredients, its raw material, and extraction practices.
After all, say that it is sustainable does not prove anything.
In short, Green Buildings use less energy, save the long run, provide
health and comfort to occupants, and are consequently better for the
planet.
In a survey conducted by the US General Services Administration, it

found that green buildings, when compared to conventional buildings,
have:
SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN BUILDINGS

»» Maintenance costs 13% lower;
»» Energy consumption 26% lower;
»» 27% of higher user satisfaction rate;
»» 33% lower levels of CO2 emissions. GENERAL CONCEPTS
13
WHAT IS LEED?
If you’re here, you probably already know what LEED is, but let’s start
from the beginning, right?
LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design. It was created by the United States Green Building Council, or
better known as USGBC, in 1993.
The USGBC was created to promote and foster sustainable construction

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practices. Early on, the USGBC understood that it needed to make

this idea feasible for the industry because only then would make these
practices palpable and measurable. It became necessary to create its
system. The LEED classification system was then introduced to establish
strategies and standards for the creation of sustainable buildings.
From 1994 to 2013, LEED evolved from a new construction standard

to a comprehensive system of interrelated standards that addressed all
development and construction processes.
WHY WAS LEED CREATED?
»» Recognize environmental leadership in the construction

industry;
»» Define “green buildings” by establishing a common measure-

ment standard;
THE LEED
»» Promote integrative design and construction practices;
»» Stimulate green competition;
14
»» Raise consumer awareness of the benefits of green construc-
tion;
»» Propagate the view on the performance of a building throu-

ghout the life cycle of the building;
»» Transform the construction market.
To fulfill this mission, the USGBC has established measures to:
»» Education: presenting to the industry best practices in green

building;
»» Lobbying: bringing tools and strategies to be local and natio-

nal leaders;
»» Features: with tools for project teams interested in designing

green;
»» Several committees, regional entities, and conferences;
»» Greenbuild, which is the renowned exhibition fair abroad.
WHAT IS LEED?
HOW LEED WORKS
Briefly, for you to certify a project in LEED, you need to achieve a

minimum score. This score is related to the satisfaction of several Green
Construction requirements. If you put a photovoltaic board in a school
and reach a proven performance goal, you will receive the score. The
THE LEED
same happens if you establish and demonstrate a good level of acoustic

comfort in classrooms. In short, the rating system rewards you according
to how much you do for the building.
15
We’ll get a lot deeper into this later, but to provide an overview, buildings
are certified as follows:
»» LEED Certified: 40 points2
»» LEED Silver: 50 points
»» LEED Gold: 60 points
»» LEED Platinum: 80 points or more.

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USGBC AND GBCI
LEED standards were developed by the US Green Building Council or

USGBC.
While the USGBC focuses on improving LEED standards, the Green

Business Certification Institute, or GBCI, runs its LEED Certification
for construction projects and LEED Accreditation for sustainability
professionals. Learn more in the figure below:
THE LEED
USGBC POLICIES
16
USE OF LOGO
It is necessary to mention that the USGBC logo has several restrictions,

which are constantly being updated regarding colors, distortions, modifi-
cations without authorization, and their use in products.
The same goes for companies that support the USGBC. Only members
can use the logo to indicate membership. Its use will always refer to
member companies, not the individual product, because the USGBC
does not have the role of approving products but rather improving
sustainable practices.
I would love to demonstrate what can not be done. Still, as it is not

advisable to even insert the logo into books, we will leave on the downlo-
ads page the Trademark Policy and Branding Guidelines of the USGBC
itself for your analysis.
NOMECLATURE
It is also important to understand the denomination for certified

enterprises:
»» A LEED Certified building, with big C, is a project that has

achieved the basic level of certification;
WHAT IS LEED?
»» A LEED certified building, with tiny C, is a project that has

achieved some certification, for example, LEED-certified Silver,
LEED-certified Gold;
»» A professional is not LEED certified, and it is accredited.

THE LEED
»» A LEED AP is a LEED Accredited Professional. Only buil-

dings are certified;
»» A project can be called in the following ways: “The project is

17
LEED Gold,” or “The project is LEED Gold certified.” You can
also say, “The project is Silver level certified”;
»» “LEEDS” is a city in the countryside of England and has

no relation to the certification system. Therefore, there is no
“LEEDS” with S, nor “Those LEEDS projects.”
WHY CERTIFY LEED?

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Many ask this question: why certify LEED? I see it this way: it’s not just
about certification. Both the organization and the clear and measurable
objectives are factors that end up making buildings more sustainable.
The precise methods facilitate the final result. The certification brings
a concise workflow to meet each of the strategies, leaving fewer loose

ends and clarifying procedures that may fail during the process.
A great answer to this question is that a certified building saves over the
building lifecycle. If you look at everything we can get: lower operating
costs, higher occupancy rates, higher rents, and a high value of the buil-
ding as a whole, it can be worth investing in certification.
When we work in multidisciplinary teams, measurable goals are needed

in a language that everyone can understand: designers, owners, and you.
LEED can expose these strategies with a system that scores each of the-
se approaches and rewards for each point acquired. The market unders-
tands your sustainable achievements intensely, being more convincing
than just telling how sustainable is what you do. You have a market side,
THE LEED
which may seem capitalist, but capitalism is there...
The cost of the project and construction often tends to increase. That
happens when people face something unknown and need to go through
18
a learning curve to work on a more efficient project, not everyone is
willing. Another factor is when the project team does not have apparent
objectives, causing the lack of synergy between these professionals or
the lack of authority and experience of certification consulting.
A certified project requires more time and effort from everyone. The
owner needs to be honest with the entire project team about the desire
for certification from the outset. The lack of knowledge of only one of
the agents can jeopardize the efficiency of the whole process.
As an additional cost, there is also the value of the certification itself,

which consists of registration, hiring different consultants, such as the
commissioning authority, and the broader scope of the project team.
However, all these factors added together represent a small portion of
the total cost of work.
Taking advantage of the theme about the cost of work, it should also
consider that the value, as expensive as it may seem, is negligible com-
pared to profit from the life cycle. Several people will live and produce
in these spaces for years. Nothing fairer than creating initiatives that
aim at the good performance and quality of life of these users. Experts
consider strategies as the famous “expensive that comes cheap” with this
vision.
Large companies already understand these benefits and are looking for WHY CERTIFY LEED?
certified enterprises to stay. These buildings have happier employees,
fewer complaints, more productive employees, and more extended stay
in these companies.
Other factors that may favor LEED certification are requests from
government agencies or companies that know the significant long-term
THE LEED
savings, which occurs significantly in the US, especially considering the

great benefits of an integrative process applied since the beginning of
the project. The support of the enterprise for certification by a well-
-established entity with a worldwide reputation, as the USGBC, also
19
represents very expressive marketing for such companies.
The LEED certification process is very honest and transparent. It encou-

rages collective participation. If you have any suggestions for something
you think is pertinent to evolve, there will be the option to forward your
analyses and get directly involved in the process. The key elements of
the LEED certification system are:
»» Consensus process, which is balanced and transparent,

carried out by a committee structure;
»» Technical groups to ensure consistency and accuracy of the

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process;
»» Opportunities for stakeholders to comment and review;

»» Continuous improvement to new classification systems and

certain changes in existing classifications;
»» Fair and open process for appeals.
THE COST OF A GREEN BUILDING
It is a common concept that making a building green, certifying it by

LEED, or even by any other certification system, will dramatically incre-
ase the project’s cost, discouraging many entrepreneurs and customers
from going this way. “There are already too many problems to deal with
in common projects and works, so we’ll save more costs and avoid confu-
sion,” some would say.
THE LEED
This view has gradually changed. Today in the USA, the green buildings
are quite representative. Even in the crisis, there is a massive market
for applying more intelligence in buildings. I’m not talking about using
resources but about using intelligence.
20
A significant text is to be read, written by Davis Langdon, called “The
Green Cost Revisited: Reexamining the Feasibility and Cost Impact for
the Sustainable Project in the Light of Growing Market Adoption.” It is
a text from 2007, where the author enunciates several attractive per-
ceptions about green buildings. There are other analyses more current
than those found in this text, but this is the one that falls into your exam,
so it is important to read. A summary of what is most important in this
article:
Many projects are achieving LEED certification within their budget and
at the exact cost as non-certified projects;
Construction costs are increased dramatically, but projects are still
achieving LEED certification;
The idea that “green” is an additional item remains a problem.
We already know that green buildings are related to the long-term

performance of buildings, but it is important to demonstrate this value in
the sale of buildings; otherwise, it will not make sense either to construc-
tion professionals or to you, right?
Recent US studies, such as the USGBC “The Business Case for Green
Building”, report that more than 55% of buyers or renters prefer buildin-
gs that bring sustainable values. These same studies point to 63% prefe-
WHY CERTIFY LEED?

rence in Latin America, representing a perception increase of 13% since
2011, which is remarkable and demonstrates our future goals within this
market, both for improving the planet and maintaining competitiveness
in our actions as professionals.
As an example of short-term costs, it is evident that renewable energy

technologies have a high additional cost in various buildings. The com-
pensation of the amount invested will occur in the medium and long
THE LEED
term. It can be highly beneficial, considering the decrease in the costs of

technological adoption and the increasing rates of electricity, which do
not occur only in Brazil.
21
Capturing rainwater, recycling gray water, and treating effluents are
additional costs that aim at long-term savings. The same goes for green
roofs, coatings, and the choice of sustainable materials.
However, it is essential to understand the possibility of meeting most

LEED certification credits without requiring the “insertion of additional
items.” If you look at the overall picture of certification, project intelli-
gence represents far more scores than a poorly planned building but full
of superficial sustainable attitudes
COST TYPES
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LEED certification and the sustainable market adopt a differentiated

concept related to the cost of buildings precisely to clarify and justify
the expenses for sustainable projects. It is necessary to know the diffe-
rence between these types of costs:
Tangible, or called Hard Costs: It’s the cost of construction. Concrete,

brick, even landscaping materials are included;
Intangible or Soft Costs: These are non-physical costs. The work of an

architect, an engineer, fees, and other related costs;
Life Cycle Costs: These are the amounts dispensed throughout the
life cycle of a building. It is related to the purchase value, facilities, use,
maintenance, and improvements of this building. For LEED, this is very
important since the system greatly values long-term performance for
buildings.
It is not smart to spend less to obtain a building with 100 years of un-
THE LEED
derperformance because the higher costs of an enterprise are related

to people living and performing their functions within these spaces. It
is important to remember that we spend 90% of our lives in buildings.
If you are not comfortable where you live, you will always have lower
22
performance than in a green building.
That is not a topic that falls into your exam, but it is interesting to
mention. At a GRESB event in June 2016, a study called COGfx from
United Technologies was demonstrated, assing the impact of sustainable
buildings on our Cognitive Functions, such as perception, attention, as-
sociation, memory, reasoning, imagination, thought, language, and even
judgment.
The result of this study is impressive: it demonstrates that sustainable

buildings can bring an overall cognitive improvement result of up to 61%.
In sustainable buildings with more advanced improvements, the quality
is even higher, reaching 101%. These impacts increase in some specific
cognitive functions, such as:
»» 131% improvement for a response to a crisis;
»» 299% improvement for the use of various information in

problem-solving;
»» 288% improvement in the performance of strategic func-

tions.
It is important to think that we often try to improve our health by
WHY CERTIFY LEED?

exercising, eating better, and studying. Still, we don’t believe that we can
generate substantial improvements in our lives by staying inside a heal-
thy and comfortable environment.
THE LEED
23
WHAT IS A LEED
GREEN ASSOCIATE?
If you are reading this book, there is a good possibility that you want to
become a LEED Green Associate. But, before moving on to this stage,
it is essential to understand what this professional does.
LEED Green Associate is a person who has conducted a specific exami-

nation, demonstrating basic knowledge about green building, construc-
tion processes, and understanding the importance of the building life
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cycle.
A LEED Green Associate comprises, above all, the basic criteria and
knowledge necessary for projects to get in the way of certification, with
the ultimate goal of becoming LEED certified. Part of your responsibili-

ty is to understand the process and understand all certification systems
and when they should be used. It is also necessary to know about the
costs involved in a LEED certification.
The Green Associate is halfway to becoming a LEED AP. To become a

Green Associate, you need to test, and to become a LEED AP, you ne-
ed to do a second test. You, as a Green Associate, will learn very broadly
about the system on a conceptual level. Still, LEED AP knows each of
the credits in-depth and knows everything about obtaining certification.
The cost to take the exam and become a Green Associate is $250 for
professionals, $200 for USGBC professionals, and $100 for students.
So you should learn everything we’re discussing here so that you pass the
THE LEED
exam first, and I’m sure that if you dedicate yourself, you will succeed.
After you pass the LEED Green Associate test, you have the choice to
become a LEED AP. To fulfill this second objective, it is necessary to
study in-depth the chosen certification system (BD+C, ID+C, O+M,
24
ND, Homes, etc... we’ll talk more about it later) and pay for the LEED
AP test, which is worth $350.
It is possible to take the Green Associate and AP tests at once, paying

around $50 less than the amount charged to conduct the two tests
separately. Taking the LEED GA exam together with LEED AP may end
up confusing. As I like to say, do one thing first and then do something
else.
WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF LEED PROFESSIONALS?
We own the following types of professionals in the LEED certification

world. We’ll dive into each of them later, but for you to get used to the
terms, we have:
1. The LEED Green Associate
2. The LEED AP
WHAT IS A LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE?

• Building Design + Construction (BD+C)
• Interior Design + Construction (ID+C)
• Operations + Maintenance (O+M)
• Neighboorhood Development (ND)
• Homes
3. LEED Fellow
They are the most excellent professionals in the field of Green Building,
and that’s what I hope you will become one day. They are professionals
who have had the AP credential for at least eight years, are up to time
with the obligations with the USGBC, conducting annual courses, and
paying the credential fee every two years. They also have ten years of
THE LEED
professional experience in Green Building, and of course, they should

agree to be appointed.
HOW TO BECOME A GREEN ASSOCIATE

25
That’s a part, in my opinion, somewhat boring and bureaucratic, but you
must understand every step, so you don’t make mistakes and regret it
later.
Requirements:
To become able for the Green Associate exam, you need to agree to
the USGBC policy and maintain your credentials. The credential has a
validity of 2 years, and you need to renew, pay a fee of 85 dollars, and
conduct some courses that prove 15 hours, called CE Hours. Already
LEED APs need to check 30 hours. These courses that prove CE Hours
can be found on the internet, mostly paid. UGREEN itself will have
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classes with this proof in the future.
Previously, you needed to prove experience by helping a project team

with some real LEED certification. Still, for both the LEED Green Asso-
ciate and LEED AP exams, this was abolished in version 4 in June 2014.
How to apply for the LEED Green Associate exam:
The first step is to register for the exam and schedule it. You will need to
download and read the LEED v4 Green Associate Candidate Handbook.
I’ll leave it attached on the downloads page, but make sure you downloa-
ded the most current version by typing “LEED Green Associate Han-
dbook” on Google. It is essential that you read the guide, understand all
the details that exist or be inserted in the future, and continue reading
it. It’s not absurd at all, but some GBCI and USGBC policies need to be
observed with caution.
After reading the Handbook, you must create a USGBC account and
log in to the Prometric website. On this site, you can search the nearest
THE LEED
test room and schedule your exam. Make an appointment when you feel
comfortable and that you feel that you have the highest income. Print
the commit with the ID, as this is important if there is a problem com-
putation of the data.
26
A month before the exam, make sure the first and last names on the
record match your identity. For example, I use Filipe Boni everywhere,
but it turns out that my final last name is Santos. I had to change this
one month before the test; otherwise, I could lose the proof and all the
amount that had already been paid. It’s imperative to check so as not to
throw all your effort in the trash...
A week before the exam, check the date, time, and place. It doesn’t cost
anything! On the day of the exam, feed well, take all your documents,
paper with your Eligibility ID, and arrive at least 1 hour in advance to take
the test.
The test sites are centers legalized by Prometric and GBCI. It is a closed
environment, with cabins and constant surveillance, with the local pro-
fessionals check you periodically and the GBCI team that watches your
test from a distance. They search for you and leave you with only pen
and paper to take the test. You can take your belongings, but remember
that they will be stored in a closet before the test starts, so go to the

exam with as little stuff as possible.
Of course, you can’t leave exam space. You will not be able to bring food,
drink, drugs, or medicines to the test site. I suggest you perform all your
physiological needs before the exam, as time turns out to be short for
you to answer all questions and review.
You will answer 100 questions in 2 hours. Questions are answered on a

desktop PC, each question being shown on the screen randomly. You
have the option to answer the question, skip questions to come back
later, or even mark them for review. You can change the answers once
responded to as long as you do not make the final submission of the test
THE LEED
before you finish it or if your time is up. The questions are about memo-
rization issues, specific problem solving, and some analytical questions.
Opening parentheses. If you want to become a Green Associate, I indi-

27
cate that you register and schedule your exam three months from now.
I say this because I believe a lot in a word called commitment. When
you commit to yourself, I think something divine and powers will help
you accomplish your goal. I call it the” Power of Fear of Losing Several
Dollars.”
You will study more firmly, and every word you read in this book will align
to take the exam. If you don’t create this commitment, you’ll leave a
loose end. Gradually you will lose focus, and your idea may end up dying.
You own your decisions but think about it.
After the test, you will know if you passed, and of course, you will have
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passed. To pass, you need to reach at least 170 of the 200 possible
points. There is a set of rules about how points are measured, but it do-
esn’t matter, focus on the perfect score.
Below, I’ll introduce you to two question templates from a LEED Green
Associate proof in the Green Associate Handbook. If you have obtained
the entire course at UGREEN, you will have 300 questions to answer in
3 simulations created just like the actual proof. I indicate the resolution
of questions in simulated tests, as it helps you check your weaknesses
and strengthen them for the exam.
I wish I could indicate some other simulated for you to have more
options, but unfortunately, ours is the only one in Brazil until the publi-
cation of this book. If you want to increase your safety margin, please
contact us at: contato@ugreen.com.br. We give you a discount for the
course purchase and quiz.
THE LEED
QUESTION 1:
When a project team requests innovation credits:
28
»» (A) You may not submit any previously granted innovation
credit;
»» (B) You may receive credit for a performance that doubles

the limits of a credit requirement;
»» (C) May present a product or strategy that is being used in a

LEED credit® existing;
»» (D) You can receive a credit for each LEED Accredited

Professional who is on the project team.
QUESTION 2:
A builder wants to make a profit by building a new office that maximi-

zes natural light and quality views. What actions can the builder take
to fulfill all parts of the triple bottom line?

»» (A) restore the habitat on-site;
»» (B) Purchase of economical furniture;
»» (C) obtaining local subsidies and incentives;
»» (D) Provide lighting control to occupants.

THE LEED
29
ACCREDITATIONS
AND CERTIFICATIONS
In this chapter, we will detail what accreditations and types of certifica-
tions we have in the world of LEED certification:
1. The LEED Green Associate

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2. The LEED AP
a. Building Design + Construction (BD+C): This is the type of certifi-

cation I have. It is related to the certification of new ventures or mo-
re significant reforms. At least 60% of the gross project area must

be completed at the time of certification (less for Core and Shell).
It is the most comprehensive system suitable for those who want to
certify:
»» New Construction and Major Renovations are constructions

of new buildings that are not framed in any of the topics men-
tioned below and have nine or more floors. It includes HVAC
equipment (air conditioning), the building closure (envelope),
and changes in the internal area.
»» Core and Shell: Like New Construction, it is related to the

bark of the building and its core of mechanics, hydraulics,
elevators, and stairs, but not including indoor environments as a
whole. It is indicated that more than 40% of the area is incom-
THE LEED
plete at the time of certification.
»» Schools are simple to describe: It applies to classrooms and

can also be used for non-teaching buildings themselves, as long
30
as they are within a campus.
»» Stores (Retail), referring to both sales and storage spaces.
»» Data Centers are for high-density server areas used for data
storage and processing. To fit here, it is necessary to have 60%
of the place destined for the Data Center itself.
»» Warehouses and Distribution Centers that are used for

products from stores, raw materials, even personal warehouses.
»» Hospitality (Hospitality, not to be confused with hospitals) is

dedicated to hotels, inns, and even motels, which serve or not
food.
»» Healthcare is hospitals that operate 24 hours a day, seven

days a week and provide long-term treatment.
ACCREDITATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS

»» Homes & Multifamily LowRise can be multi-family or
straightforward, from 1 to 3 floors. Between 3 and 5 floors, you
must choose the LEED for Homes.
»» Homes & Multifamily Midrise: buildings from 4 to 8 floors.

The building must have 50% or more residential spaces. If the
building has close to 8 floors, you can consult the USGBC to
see if it is better to use Midrise or New Constructio
»» Interior Design + Construction (ID+C): This is all certifi-

cation work for interior projects. The building must be 60%
completed at the time of certification. You can certify:
»» Commercial interiors apply to spaces other than shops or

THE LEED
hospitality.
»» Shops are the interior spaces for the sale of products and also
storage.
31
»» Hospitality refers to the interiors of hotels, motels, and inns,
as in BD+C.
c. Operations + Maintenance (O+M): They are for buildings that are

entirely ready and functional for at least one year. It focuses on:
»» Existing buildings, falling under the same requirements as

BD+C.
»» Stores, just like BD+C.
»» Schools, also the same.

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»» Hospitality, the same.
»» Data Centers, but here there is an exception, as it can be

performed only in buildings entirely destined for Data Centers.
»» Warehouses and Distribution Centers, idem of BD+C.
d. Neighboorhood Development (ND): It is for the development or

redevelopment of areas that have residential, non-residential, or
mixed uses. Certification is available from the project’s conceptual
phase or if it is up to 75% built.
»» Planning, for projects in the conceptual phase, Master Plan,

or under construction.
»» Built Projects, for readjustments.
It is necessary to say that, due to its differentiated nature, LEED-ND

THE LEED
has different categories, and the first three are exclusive:
»» Smart Location and Linkage (SLL)
32
»» Neighborhood Pattern and Design (NPD)
»» Green Infrastructure and Buildings (GIB)
»» Innovation (IN)
»» Regional Priority (PR)
e. Homes: It refers to residences. On-site verification by a Green

Rater is required for LEED for Homes certification.
It is necessary to say that it is possible to obtain multiple certifications

in the same building. For example, you can certify in New Construction
and then certify in Operations and Maintenance. It could also certify
Core and Shell and certify one of the stores as Commercial Interiors.
We could also certify in Neighborhood Development and then certify
a building in New Construction. It would not be necessary to analyze
credits for Location and Transportation with ease since these credits are
ACCREDITATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS

already obtained in Neighborhood Development certification.
THE “40/60 RULE”
When we work on certain types of projects, we can doubt which certifi-

cation system to use. It can happen, especially when it comes to all the
typologies addressed in LEED v4, which reach 21.
To achieve greater success, we can establish the rule of 40/60. It’s really
simple: if your project area is 60% or more for a specific type of use,
we’ll use this system. If it is less than 40%, logically, we will not use it.
If you are on a margin between 40-60%, the project team can decide
THE LEED
which system to use.
THE VOLUME PROGRAM
33
When we work on certifications of several buildings of similar typologies,
the USGBC promotes facilitation in certification for real estate develo-
pers, called the Volume Program.
The idea is to establish the pre-certification of a single building first,

and then other projects are registered. In this way, documentation for
various credits in common becomes easier, saving time and money for
project teams.
The Volume Program is available for the following projects:
»» LEED for New Construction

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»» LEED for Commercial Interiors
»» LEED Retail: Commercial Interiors

»» LEED Retail: New Construction
»» LEED for Existing Buildings: Operation + Maintenance
»» Projects in recertification
THE LEED
34
GENERAL AND
MINIMUM
PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS
If you have the goal of certifying a project, keep in mind that the highest
requirements are related to the terrain, your project program, budget,
and schedule. We’ll look at each of these topics and their subtopics:
MINIMUM PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

1. Project Location: Where the project is located and how it is orien-
ted. It is necessary to think of:
»» Environmental issues: Pollution, rainwater, habitat protec-

tion;
»» Transportation: Access to public transport, parking, bicycle

locations;
»» Development of the lot: Density and open spaces, that is,

permeability.
THE LEED
2. The Project Program: What will be included in this project. After

all, it will affect Energy Consumption, Water Management, Internal
Quality of the Environment, and The Use of Materials.
35
3. The Budget: Careful planning and research should be carried out to
ensure that the project meets the estimated budget.
4. The Timeline: It is important since the LEED certification process

requires coordination, communication, and involvement between
various disciplines. The process should begin as early as possible. The
project develops in an integrated manner, and the most significant
benefits can be incorporated into this schedule without hindering
the planning of the construction owner.
MINUMUM PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

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Before you get credits in LEED certification, you should think about
achieving each prerequisite. That is, the prerequisites come before
the credits. In addition to credits and prerequisites, certification must
comply with Minimum Program Requirements. They are easy items to

achieve, but if you do not comply with any of them, you can say goodbye
to certification...
The Minimum Program Requirements are as follows:
1. The project must comply with environmental laws. This service

should occur already at the beginning of the project, right in the re-
gistry. Project limits must be following federal, state, and local laws;
2. The project must be in a permanent location. That is, if you wanted

to certify a trailer or a boat, we could not help you with LEED;
3. The project must be at a reasonable land limit. Understanding the

boundaries of the LEED building is very important and constantly
THE LEED
appears in the exam. We have several prerequisites in this regard,

such as:
»» The project shall include all the land associated with it and
36
supporting operations of the building to be certified, including
all land that is disturbed to make sure;
»» Project boundaries may not include land owned by other

owners, only those who own the project to be LEED certified.
The exception is applied only if these lands are associated and
support the normal operations of the projected building;
»» Campus projects should maintain boundaries as if all the

buildings on this campus were to be certified. That is, 100% of
the area of this campus must be within the LEED Limits;
»» Each portion of a real estate can be assigned to only one

LEED project;
»» Fraud, which the US calls Gerrymandering, is not allowed.

Design limits may change depending on the case, but it is
necessary to understand that Gerson’s Law does not apply to
LEED certification. When you delimit a project, it should be
MINIMUM PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

this way from start to finish. It is not acceptable, for example,
that you create a small border to meet a landscaping requi-
rement and then increase it to get a reasonable permeability
rate. That is not how LEED works, and what you delimit at the
beginning should be kept to the end.
One example: I worked on a project where there were two towers on a

plot, where only one was certified. The limits may change depending on
the case, but it is important to understand that they should maintain it
throughout the project.
To lighten the definitions on Limits a little more:

THE LEED
Project Boundaries: The external boundaries of the project. It is impor-

tant to define it very early since it relates to several credits.
LEED Limits: These are the lands that have been or will be affected by
37
the LEED project, which belong to the project’s owner.
Property Boundaries: It’s the terrain area. It takes into account the total
legal areas of the property, including built and unbuilt areas.
4. They must serve a minimum area. It is necessary for BD+C projects

(buildings, schools, hotels, etc.) to have at least 93.00m2. For com-
mercial interiors, at least 22,00m2. For LEED-ND projects, space
should not exceed 1,500 acres;
5. A minimum occupancy rate should be established. The project must

have at least 1 Full-Time Equivalent Occupant (FTE), calculated by
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annual use. It must also have a typical state of occupation, with its
systems functioning and the ability to serve occupants for at least 12
months, preceding the stage of submission of credits for the review.
For LEED-ND projects, we can not exceed 500 habitable buildings;
6. The project must have a minimum of 2 habitable buildings;
7. There should be a commitment to share energy and water data with

the USGBC for a minimum of 5 years. The idea is to use this data to
understand better the path that certified buildings are taking;
8. It must have a minimum coefficient in the lot. The area cannot be

less than 2% of the project boundaries.
THE
CERTIFICATION
THE LEED
38
PROCESS AND
THE SCORECARD
An important issue you need to understand to take the LEED Green
Associate exam is The Certification Process. The exam will question you
how much you know the steps required to make a project certified. You
need to know how to start the process, register it, and communicate
with GBCI, keeping a process organized and as fluid as possible.
THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS AND THE SCORECARD

WHO DOES WHAT, ANYWAY?
LEED AP Coordinates all disciplines of the project team. He knows

where everyone is working, who is responsible for the length of each
credit that will pursue, manages the documentation of teams to create
submission templates for the USGBC, understands the process entirely,
and coordinates questions about standards and standards.
The Project Administrator is the one who registers the project online,
validates the project information, assigns responsibilities, invites mem-
bers to the project in LEED Online, and submits the credits for review
via the platform.
STARTING A PROJECT
THE LEED
When you start a project, it is necessary to bring the greatest diversity

of professionals so that there is an exchange of information and so that
you can form what we call the Integrative Process.
39
We will detail this in the Integrative Process category, but it is essential
that you already understand this concept. In this first stage, everything
that the owner wants is defined, and later there are definitions about the
project between a multidisciplinary team. That is basic but very impor-
tant, as it lays all the foundations for certification.
The result of this exchange between professionals, also known as Project

Charrette, is elaborating a Scorecard. That is the tool that professionals
use to determine which LEED credits they want to look for.
Before that, the possibility of meeting all minimum program require-

ments and prerequisites of each credit category is analyzed. As I said,
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if only one of these minimum requirements or prerequisites is not met,

goodbye certification.
In the Scorecard are depicted all credits that can be earned and their
potential to obtain. Can be framed as YES, NO and ?. By finalizing the

analysis of each credit, you will be able to see the level of certification
that can be sought (Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum) and the clea-
rance of points that exists for each of these levels.
An example of this analysis: Let’s say you have 52 points marked as YES
to achieving a Silver certification. It’s something the owner and everyo-
ne craves. At this point, you already know that the minimum limit is
50 points for obtaining this level. Would you, astute as you are, already
consider some of these points framed in the ‘?’ to give a more significant
margin for this Silver level to occur.
Similarly, you owning something close to 42 points would work not

to run the risk of not reaching the minimum points for obtaining the
minimum certification, which is Certified, and consequently throw in the
THE LEED
trash all your work and your colleagues.
Downloading the LEED BD+C Version 4 Checklist can be obtained

from the downloads page. In the Scorecard, you can observe all certifi-
40
cation credits for New Construction and Major Renovations. You could
select other spreadsheets such as Core and Shell, Data Centers, etc.;
we’ll keep this for now. Each building typology has differences between
the scores in the credit categories.
You can look at the green columns with the possibility of YES (Y), oran-
ges for NO (N), and yellow for MAYBE (?). In total, the total score and
consequently the level of certification are perceived. The more complete
and multidisciplinary the project team is, the easier it becomes to orga-
nize these objectives, define responsibilities, and focus on the certifica-
tion system that will be desired.
As an example, let’s say that the project team is discontinuing to get

rainwater management credit in the Sustainable Sites category. With
THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS AND THE SCORECARD

only one architect and one hydraulic designer, a common design team
could think of areas for collection and capture systems, without being
sure to solve the problem.
A LEED AP within the process could already analyze the rainfall data to
know how much it rains in the region, calculate the volume of water and
the lotto’s capacity to absorb this rain. It could suggest, for example, a
green roof to help reduce the thermal load within the building and redu-
ce heat islands, allowing to obtain points for energy performance opti-
mization and heat island reduction credits. The architect would observe
how much maximum height could have this green roof without interfe-
ring with the legal requirements and current regulations.
With more professionals at the beginning of the process, such as a struc-

tural engineer, it would be possible to immediately return on whether
this green roof could over-face the structural system initially thought.
The landscaper would know the maximum weight supported bym2 of
THE LEED
this cover and already seek vegetation systems to meet the credit of
Reduction of Heat Islands and even Open Spaces. The LEED AP would
pass a warning to the landscaper that particular species would not be
indicated, as it would affect the credit of External Water Reduction. The
41
THE LEED HOW TO BECOME A LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE www.ugreen.io
42
LEED v4 for BD+C: New Construction and Major Renovation
Project Checklist Project Name:
Date:
Y ? N
Credit Integrative Process 1
0 0 0 Location and Transportation 16 0 0 0 Materials and Resources 13

Credit LEED for Neighborhood Development Location 16 Y Prereq Storage and Collection of Recyclables Required
Credit Sensitive Land Protection 1 Y Prereq Construction and Demolition Waste Management Planning Required
Credit High Priority Site 2 Credit Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction 5
Building Product Disclosure and Optimization - Environmental Product
Credit Surrounding Density and Diverse Uses 5 Credit 2
Declarations
Credit Access to Quality Transit 5 Credit Building Product Disclosure and Optimization - Sourcing of Raw Materials 2
Credit Bicycle Facilities 1 Credit Building Product Disclosure and Optimization - Material Ingredients 2
Credit Reduced Parking Footprint 1 Credit Construction and Demolition Waste Management 2
Credit Green Vehicles 1
0 0 0 Indoor Environmental Quality 16
0 0 0 Sustainable Sites 10 Y Prereq Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance Required
Y Prereq Construction Activity Pollution Prevention Required Y Prereq Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control Required
The LEED Scorecard, also called Checklist.

Credit Site Assessment 1 Credit Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies 2
Credit Site Development - Protect or Restore Habitat 2 Credit Low-Emitting Materials 3
Credit Open Space 1 Credit Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan 1
Credit Rainwater Management 3 Credit Indoor Air Quality Assessment 2
Credit Heat Island Reduction 2 Credit Thermal Comfort 1
Credit Light Pollution Reduction 1 Credit Interior Lighting 2
Credit Daylight 3
0 0 0 Water Efficiency 11 Credit Quality Views 1
Y Prereq Outdoor Water Use Reduction Required Credit Acoustic Performance 1
Y Prereq Indoor Water Use Reduction Required
Y Prereq Building-Level Water Metering Required 0 0 0 Innovation 6
Credit Outdoor Water Use Reduction 2 Credit Innovation 5
Credit Indoor Water Use Reduction 6 Credit LEED Accredited Professional 1
Credit Cooling Tower Water Use 2
Credit Water Metering 1 0 0 0 Regional Priority 4
Credit Regional Priority: Specific Credit 1
0 0 0 Energy and Atmosphere 33 Credit Regional Priority: Specific Credit 1
Y Prereq Fundamental Commissioning and Verification Required Credit Regional Priority: Specific Credit 1
Y Prereq Minimum Energy Performance Required Credit Regional Priority: Specific Credit 1
Y Prereq Building-Level Energy Metering Required
Y Prereq Fundamental Refrigerant Management Required 0 0 0 TOTALS Possible Points: 110
Credit Enhanced Commissioning 6 Certified: 40 to 49 points, Silver: 50 to 59 points, Gold: 60 to 79 points, Platinum: 80 to 110
Credit Optimize Energy Performance 18
Credit Advanced Energy Metering 1
Credit Demand Response 2
Credit Renewable Energy Production 3
Credit Enhanced Refrigerant Management 1
Credit Green Power and Carbon Offsets 2
hydraulic engineer, knowing this data, would scale the system conside-
ring the reuse of a large part of this rainwater by the green roof and a
drip system for irrigation.
I think you could understand the idea, right? Everyone would be well
prepared about the project’s possibilities and warn each other about gre-
at ideas, taking the project to a new level of performance and improving
the level of LEED certification.
O LEED ONLINE
When you have the internation to register for a project, the first thing
you should do is access LEED Online. That is the tool that project teams
use to organize communication, upload documents and submit credits
for GBCI evaluation to obtain certification. It’s where everything ha-
ppens about the bureaucratic part of the LEED certification system. All
projects use LEED Online for accreditation, except for neighborhood
development certification.
You can check LEED Online on the website: www.usgbc.org/leedonline,

THE LEED ONLINE
having access to all content, except projects already registered. After
you enter a login and password (if you don’t have it, just create it), you’ll
already access the main page.
On the left of the main page, we find the latest certification and project
updates in progress. On the right, general information and the registra-
tion tab of new projects.
THE LEED
When you register for a project with LEED Online, you will have access
to:
43
»» Credit templates, although today it is possible also to find
them on the internet;
»» Possible system errors and important information;
»» Point of contact with GBCI;
It is essential to register at the beginning of the project to ensure more

significant scoring potential and increase the chances of achieving certi-
fication in a shorter time frame.
Payment is $900 for members, $1200 for non-members;

www.ugreen.io
Information Required For Registration:
»» Project Name;
»» Whether it is a group certification project, when it refers to

multiple buildings within a project boundary, certifying all in the
same way and category;
»» The Classification System, i.e., if it is type V4 New Cons-

truction, V4 Core and Shell, V4 Operations and Maintenance,
etc.;
»» The start and end date of development;
»» The type of owner, whether it is private or public school, local

investor, state, bank, among others;
»» Your email;
THE LEED
»» You can still tag if the project is private; that is, you do not
want to reveal to anyone if it is certified. You can also select
whether this project has already been previously certified;
44
»» You must also enter the full Project Address, including
»» Latitude and Longitude;
»» General Project Information.
A PROJECT ON LEED ONLINE
When registering a project in LEED Online, you’ll find several navigation

tabs:
Details: Project main page. It is a page of little interactivity where the

primary project data is verified.
Credits: The status of each credit, such as Approved, Awarded, Not At-
tempted, Removed (Withdrawn), or Ready for Review, is verified here.
Uploads: This is the area for sending additional documents and files for
each credit for GBC review.
Project Team: Place where everyone involved in the project appears,

from the Project Owner, the Administrator, architects to the comple-
mentary designers.
THE LEED ONLINE

Timeline: The steps within the certification are verified. In this sector,
you can also take a Snapshot to download and review the documents at
once.
There are also 3 bars in LEED Online:

THE LEED
»» Interpretations: All CIR’s (credit interpretations) you had to

request (we’ll discuss this later).
»» Clarifications: Requests that a LEED Online reviewer can
45
request during the review. The question is sent to the Project
Administrator.
»» Pre-certification: Appears when your project is pre-certified

(we’ll discuss this in the LEED Certification Costs part).
Credit Forms
Forms are the standardized ways to request LEED credits to GBCI. You
can access it all at: www.usgbc.org/sampleforms.
The project administrator assigns each form to a project team member.

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He will be responsible for completing the necessary information.
Each credit has specific requirements and data that needs to be fulfilled
by each individual on the project team by LEED Online.
It is necessary to understand that additional documents may be required

to meet specific credits in addition to forms. Among them are: archi-
tectural drawings, photos, plants, official documents, contracts, among
others.
There are still Project Calculations that often need to be performed, but
for the most part, the project template itself performs the calculations
automatically when you enter the necessary data.
Credit Submissions and Appeals
When you submit documents and templates to achieve credits in LEED,

it applies to two phases: both for the project phase and the construc-
tion phase. The certification process can be divided into two parts: the
THE LEED
Project Review Phase and the Construction Review Phase. You can also
do it all at once and perform a combined review.
Project Review Phase
46
After you submit the templates and documents to LEED Online in the
Project Review phase and make the payment, in 25 business days, GBCI
will return with credits marked as Anticipated or Denied.
It is essential to mention that no point is made available during the

review phase; you will only indicate which point will be granted to you on
the site.
The project team can then request clarification in 25 business days. Af-
ter 15 days of requesting clarification, GBCI will forward a Final Project
Phase Review, with all credits provided or Denied.
The project team can accept and move to the Construction Review
phase or appeal to a specific credit. For each credit appeal, it is neces-
sary to pay 500 dollars, while for complex credits, the amount is $800.
Of course, it will be required to adjust all the documentation so that the
project team gets this credit and does not fail again. A review of up to
25 business days of GBCI will occur again where the project team may
receive the credit as Expected or even Denied. If denied, you don’t get
the money back.
Construction Review Phase
This phase is very similar to the Project Review Phase, but you can only THE LEED ONLINE
submit it for review if the project administrator has submitted all pre-
requisites before. There is also a 25-business day period for the GBCI
review, which will forward a Planned or Denied opinion for the credit in
question. You can appeal, and the system will be the same, and you must
pay the $500 or 800 dollar fee for each credit analysis.
Certification Phase:
THE LEED
After the review is accepted, the project can both be:
1. LEED Certified
47
Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum – based on the number of points
achieved. The project receives a Dynamic Plaque (LEED), which de-
monstrates the scores obtained. This board can earn or lose points
according to the maintenance of the building. I’ll leave you more infor-
mation about the card on the downloads page.
2. Denied
The project is archived and cannot be reviewed again.

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THE LEED
LEED Dynamic Plaque. Photo byr Ted Eytan - CC BY 2.0
48
CERTIFICATION
COSTS
A LEED Green Associate needs to know all the certification costs. We
will leave here the LEED BD+C price list, but you can check the varia-
tions and any updates at “www.usgbc.org/cert-guide/fees”
The spreadsheet is self-explanatory, but let’s look at some essential

items. You will notice two columns, one with values for members and one
for non-members, decrement the costs of certain items, such as:
Registration: Payment of $900 for registered members and $1200 for

non-members, as stated earlier.
Pre-certification: When you work with Core & Shell ventures, you have
the opportunity to pre-certify the venture through extra payment. The
pre-certification serves to alert the community about the launch of a
CERTIFICATION COSTS
LEED-certified enterprise, taking advantage of marketing to price the
enterprise with attractive value and accelerate the enterprise’s sales.
Combined Review: For those looking to certify both the design and
construction phase at once. If you start from scratch, it is not indicated
to choose such an opão, as it puts the certification process in a riskier
situation.
Partial Review: Project (Split Review: Design): For those who will sub-
THE LEED
mit for analysis, the credits still in the project phase.
Partial Review: Construction: For those who will submit credit analysis
in the final phase of construction.
49
THE LEED HOW TO BECOME A LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE www.ugreen.io
50
Appeals: As previously reported, one can appeal for a review of claims
that have been denied. There is a cost for each credit appealed, ranging
from simple (US$500) and complex (US$800) credits.
Credit Interpretation Requests (CIRs): These are Technical Guidelines

that GBCI can obtain. They can be requested at any time after project
registration, and determining whether it is necessary are the project
teams. You must submit the question by LEED Online itself. The rate of
each CIR is $220, i.e., it is a relatively high value, and its frequency of
use is considerably low.
CERTIFICATION COSTS
It is necessary to realize that certification changes according to the
project area while the registration price is unique. It is also worth noting
that it is possible to speed up the analysis process by paying an additional
amount.
PREREQUISITES
THE LEED
AND CREDITS
51
It is essential to think that before reaching credits, we need to achieve
prerequisites. Prerequisites are the core of certification. If you do not
fulfill one of them, you will be unable to reach the certificate itself.
We will talk more about each of these prerequisites later, but for now,
imagine that it is of no use to insert a beautiful green roof into your
building and let people smoke inside the establishment. Yes, smoking
prohibition is a prerequisite in the Internal Environment Quality cate-
gory, while a green roof is a credit in the Sustainable Batchcategory. In
this way, LEED measures what is essential and optional in a certification.
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The prerequisites do not count as points; they should only be met and
period.
Credits have different scoring values, depending on their environmental

impact and carbon footprint. These impacts are measured by the US

Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institute of Stan-
dards and Technology.
Imagine, for example, that you have entered a renewable energy system
that saves 10% of your building’s energy. This strategy will provide you
with 3 points for a New Construction. Optimize the building’s Energy
Performance as a whole, delivering 50% savings in the building, can
provide you with up to 18 points.
The LEED certification system understands that saving energy directly

at the source is much more efficient than producing a photovoltaic
board in a factory to generate such savings since the first option saves
our planet’s natural resources. In addition, saving energy ceases to emit
heat in the atmosphere due to the unnecessary operation of superfluous
THE LEED
systems.
This way, each LEED credit is measured: the more energy, water, trans-
portation, transportation, solid waste, and emissions from manufacturing
52
to transportation, or the more significant the savings in use and disposal,
the better.
You will notice during your study that many categories are best valued
precisely for this impact on the atmosphere. It is also important to know
that there are prerequisites and credits for all LEED categories.
If you want to learn more about these environmental impacts, you can
refer to the ‘Impact Category Overview and LEED V4 Point Allocation’
guide, which will be on the downloads page. It is a 15-page reading that
reports the objectives and the reasonings established to elaborate the
scoring system.
The main objectives are:
»» Reverse contribution to global climate change, reducing ener-

gy resources, transportation, operation, water, among others;
»» Individual improvement of human health and well-being;
»» Protect and restore water resources;
PREREQUISITES AND CREDITS

»» Protect, raise and restore biodiversity and ecosystems;
»» Promote sustainable and regenerative cycles of materials;
»» Create a greener economy;
»» Increase equality, environmental justice, community health,

and quality of life.
CREDIT SCORE:
THE LEED
In a LEED certification process, it is possible to achieve a maximum of

100 points in certification, plus 10 points of exemplary performance,
innovation, and regional credits. The maximum value is 110 points.
53
As stated above, buildings are certified as follows:
»» LEED Certified: 40 points
»» LEED Silver: 50 points
»» LEED Gold: 60 points
»» LEED Platinum: 80 points or more.
When we establish a set of basic premises and obtain certification, for

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example, 55 points, we can say that the building will receive Silver cer-
tification. If you make a little more improvements and reach 70 points,
you’ll become a LEED Gold. And so on...
Note: it is essential to mention that LEED Certified, with Capital C,

refers to basic certification. Leed certified, with tiny c, directs to silver,
gold, or platinum-certified ventures, such as LEED-certified gold. It’s a
minor detail, but it could fall into your evidence.
An example of the scoring scheme for the LEED BD+C: New Cons-
truction system is demonstrated in the following table. It can be obser-
ved that we have 100 total points, plus ten bonus points, thus totaling
the 110 points desired.
Exemple: New Construction (BD+C)

THE LEED
CATEGORY POINTS
54
Water Efficiency 11
Total 100
Innovation 6 BONUS
Regional Priority 4 BONUS
Below, we have points related to Operations and Maintenance. The

priorities are slightly different. For example, this segment is much more
focused on energy efficiency than BD+C certification.
Exemple: New Construction (O+M)
CATEGORY POINTS
PREREQUISITES AND CREDITS

Water Efficiency 12
Total 100
Innovation 6 BONUS
Regional Priority 4 BONUS
In addition to the differences between classification systems in leed

version 4, there are specific credits for each type of building. For exam-
ple, we have specific credits for schools and hospitals. We can mention
THE LEED
reducing mercury sources from a building, which is even more necessary

for hospitals, although essential for all buildings.
Creating rest spaces or access to external areas is also a significant need

55
for this typology; after all, research indicates that patients have a more
efficient recovery and shorter time in healthy environments.
Going deeper into these differences, we can say that for BD+C certifi-
cation, we have 10 points for the Sustainable Sites category.
Suppose there are two specific credits related to Hospitals (Healthcare),

and that does not exist, for example, for New Construction and Core
and Shell, in the other credits in the category. In that case, the score will
be lower for hospitals so that the sum is always the same at the end (10
in this case), thus balancing the scoring system.
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It is important to understand that the sum of the category will always

remain the same for all project types.
CREDIT
CATEGORIES
To obtain credits, we need to establish sustainable practices in the design
and construction of a building. LEED classifies credits according to the
following categories:
»» Integrative Design: how to start the project from the first

steps in the right way and how a cohesive team makes all the
difference in the decisions of a sustainable project.
O THE LEED
»» Location and transportation: locate the project in a place

conducive to sustainability, with appropriate density and diverse
uses, without harming native species, affordable public transit,
56
bike path nearby, reducing parking areas, and encouraging green
vehicles.
»» Sustainable Sites: decisions you make to extract the best

from a lot. Maintain permeable areas, prevent erosion, find
opportunities to preserve existing habitat, manage rainwater,
reduce heat islands and pollution lighting.
»» Water Efficiency: saving internal and external water by

choosing suitable dishes, irrigation systems, proper landscaping,
measuring these systems, and even water saving of air conditio-
ning equipment.
»» Energy and atmosphere: it concerns energy saving. It is the

category with the most points in LEED because it involves
renewable energy in the batch and outside it, commissioning,
demand response, management of air conditioning systems,
optimization of energy performance, and measurement of this
performance.
»» Materials and Resources: choice of environmentally friendly

materials and proof of their raw materials, extraction practices,
and environmental benefits. We will also discuss waste manage-
CREDIT CATEGORIES
ment and resource savings by reusing, recycling, and increasing
the life cycle of materials.
»» Internal Environmental Quality: provide quality for people.

Develops air quality strategies for both construction workers
and building users. It also aims at thermal, acoustic comfort, the
quality of natural and artificial indoor lighting, and visuals that
promote the well-being of occupants.
THE LEED
»» Innovation: communicate the project with society and create

differentiated leadership strategies that promote sustainability,
even beyond LEED certification.
57
»» Regional Priorities: establish effective strategies for the
project region.
The LEED v4 version expanded the number of credits and the catego-
ries, inserting Integrative Process and Location and Transport themes,
which did not exist in the 2009 version. The Integrative Process (IP)
category is entirely new. Still, the Location and Transport (LT) cate-
gory is partially new, so to speak, several credits of such a category were
already present in the category of Sustainable Lots (SS).
That was a pleasing way, in my opinion, to define well two distinct strate-
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gies, which are “How to Find a Good Lot” in the LT category and “What
to Do with the Lot After Found” for SS.
A CREDIT STRUCTURE
You can analyze each credit in-depth in the LEED Reference Guide,
found on the USGBC website itself. It is a guide that has approximately
800 pages and best portrays what is necessary to fulfill each credit.
The structure is identical for both prerequisites and credits and consists
of:
»» Intent: why you need to fulfill the credit.
»» Requirement: The strategies you should adopt.
»» Behind the intent: It tells a brief history of why to achieve

O THE LEED
this credit.
»» A step-by-step guide to credit implementation.
»» In-depth explanations:
58
• In-depth explanations:
• Calculations should be performed.
• The project team and schedule.
• Specific terms.
• Examples.
• Specific variations.
• International Tips, which became more relevant in version 4.
• Tips for approaching campus, i.e., several buildings together.
»» Related Credits: demonstrating synergies or tradeoffs. Let’s

discuss this issue in the penultimate chapter of the book: credits
that help or harm the fulfillment of others.
»» LEED 2009 changes: since the v4 system has evolved seve-

ral credits. An example is the credit of Green Vehicles, which in
the 2009 version required the demarcation of preferred spaces
for green vehicles and now in version 4 also requires equipment
to carry out the recharge of such cars.
»» Reference Standards: such as ASHRAE 90 for energy

analysis or ASHRAE 55 for thermal comfort.
»» Exemplary Performance: That occurs when you exceed a
CREDIT CATEGORIES
credit limit. For example, the score limit for renewable energy
credit is 3 points if you achieve 10% savings for New Buildings.
If you get 5% more savings, you can earn 1 Exemplary Perfor-
mance point, totaling 4 points.
»» Regional Variations: issues that are important at the site of

your project.
THE LEED
»» Additional Sources: for deepening the strategies.
»» Definitions: Sector similar to a Glossary.
59
Each credit will have this complete approach, and the Reference Guide
is an excellent source for all this information.
You can access each of these credits individually, briefly, at www.usgbc.

org/credits. It is possible to observe all the Intentions and Requirements
of credits and be an excellent complementary source of studies.
If you want to become a LEED AP, I would indicate the purchase of the
Reference Guide of the specialization in which you choose. It’s a reaso-
nable value, $250, but it’s content that will be used in the long run, as
Neufert is for architects, for example.
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This book will become your reference for a long time, especially when
you want to learn more about specific sustainable strategies or even
delve into credit for some certification you will perform.
O THE LEED
60
CREDIT CATEGORY
INTEGRATIVE
PROCESS (IP)
When we talk about Integrative Process, the first thing we will seek is
the integration of the people involved in the project. To accomplish a
project with high performance and good cost-benefit ratio through early
analysis and interrelations between systems, we need to keep the whole
team together and focused on the main objective.
INTEGRATIVE PROCESS
In order to create an appropriate methodology to achieve this goal,
LEED adopted, in version 4, the category of Integrative Process, which
consists of a single credit for all types of buildings and a prerequisite for
hospitals.
The idea is to integrate people, systems, business structures and prac-

tices into a collaborative process that emphasizes interesting proposals
for optimizing results. The project’s value increased through collective
intelligence, where waste is reduced, and efficiency is maximized during
CREDIT CATEGORIES
all phases of design.
It is important to mention that the ANSI Consensus National Standard

Guide© 2.0 for Design and Construction of Sustainable Buildings and
Communities is referenced for use during the Integrative Process.
61
INTEGRATIVE PROCESS & DESIGN AND
INTEGRATIVE PROJECT PLANNING
The Integrative Process credit begins in the Discovery phase, follows in

the Project and Construction, and ends in occupation, operations and
performance feedback. Therefore, we will create a collaborative process
among all professionals, including owners and stakeholders, to define
guidelines even before the beginning of the project. We will find oppor-
tunities for synergy between disciplines and building systems. Among
these opportunities are procedures related to:
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»» Energy (lot conditions, orientation, wrap, lighting, thermal

comfort, equipment, operational parameters);
»» Water (such as internal, external water, process, and supply

demands).
We will no longer use the standard process when the architect starts
working, and afterward, several people seem to have an opinion on how
the project should be or what it should have. That process causes mons-
trous rework or produces a fragmented project like Frankenstein (if
you’re an architect, there’s a remote chance of knowing what I’m talking
about).
All professionals involved in the project are in this same boat together.
They share risks and benefits, exchange information, analyze short- and
long-term goals, are collaborative and communicative.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
It is important to note that LEED certification takes place in parallel

with the design process, not after. If you work with real estate develo-
pments, which are the most LEED-certified projects in Brazil, I show
an analogy: imagine an empty Boeing. When the project starts, it fills
up... the owner, you, the builder, all your internal team, the architect,
the structural engineer, the electrical engineer, hydraulic, mechanical,
reaching up to the construction engineer, the landscaper, the interior
62
architect... Anyway, it’s a lot of people.
It is significant that this plane goes from point A and reaches point B wi-
thout crashing into the mountains. Performing a sudden maneuver when
this heavy, crowded plane is near the mountains will do no good. That is,
last-minute decisions will 95% of the time negatively impact certifica-
tion, which is why, despite the market’s splendor in record records, most
of these projects will not be certified.
PROJECT PHASES
To understand the certification system in conjunction with traditional

design phases, let’s report these essential steps, just as they occur in the
US: The first phase is Predesign. It is difficult to find a precise term to
translate this term, but it would be something before the project. The
idea is to understand the needs for the project to happen, thus obtai-
ning a needs briefing. That is the stage in which the OPR and BOD are
defined. Let’s explore what these acronyms are.
OPR (OWNER PROJECT REQUIREMENTS)
INTEGRATIVE PROCESS
OPR stands for Owner Project Requirements or Project Owner Requi-
rements. It’s all the owner seeks for this project. It is a really extensive
topic, and that needs to be analyzed very calmly by all involved.
Let’s say that the project is a hospital: the objective of the OPR would
be to outline what are its functions, how many rooms, how many people
it will house, what kind of people it will accommodate, whether it specia-
CREDIT CATEGORIES
lizes in Eyes or Cardiology. It is also about where this project is located,

how many accesses will be needed, what is necessary for each of them,
such as parking if it has transport of hazardous materials.
It also describes its services, how many people will exist in the staff, how
many rooms, future expansions, how this expansion would be planned,
63
how maintenance will be, and how the internal furniture will be. In short:
it is a report that the owner prepares in advance, discusses, and delivers
the result for the project team’s analysis. It must be carried out before
the start of the project.
The OPR also mentions that the project will comply with all national
technical and legal requirements. It is necessary to say that LEED has
credits generally compatible with these requirements, even because it
has many references in the ICC (International Code Council), which al-
so creates the basis for many of our national standards. The ICC genera-
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ted the IGCC (International Green Construction Code), which develops

a series of guidelines for Green Buildings, addressing virtually everything
we find in LEED. It is also important to cite the ADA, or Americans with
Disabilities Act, a kind of NBR9050 whose standards we need to follow.
The base of OPR is significant, both for those who will start the pro-
ject and take care of commissioning and maintaining it. After all, each
system needs to function with the best possible efficiency from the
beginning and keep working in the long run without losing efficiency.
After five years of completing the work, the team that will maintain the
building systems needs to know the proposed objective to not misfit
systems that would not be necessary. In addition, the OPR is essential
for the determination of the enterprise and the definition of priorities
in which everyone will attack for the fulfillment of the best benefits,
thinking about the best cost-benefit of short and long term.
FULL TIME EQUIVALENT

CREDIT CATEGORIES
A very relevant theme within the OPR is the number of people that the
building will serve. The OPR should make this very clear, and that’s why
LEED brings the concept of Full-Time Equivalent, translating, are people
full-time. It means you know, as closely as possible, how many people will
use this building. Depending on the number of people in this building,
will change some credit requirements proportionally.
64
Imagine that you have a bike rack in your project and need to calculate
the number of bicycles and showers to serve these people. The more
FTE’s, the more spaces for bicycles and the more showers the building
will need. Full-Time Equivalent refers to both the people who live in
the building and the people who visit it, such as students, visitors, store
buyers, people who work full-time, or a part-time intern.
The calculation is performed based on a period of 8 hours. Let’s say I

work in an office all day or about 8 hours: then my Full-Time Equivalent
will be equal to 1. The FTE of an intern would be 0.5.
As an example of the calculation, a company with five employees and

five part-time interns would result in an FTE of 7.5. It would be different
in a school, depending on how long people stay in these spaces and how
many students would be enrolled there. The calculation by area of the
number of people should be carried out considering the nature and typi-
cal rates of each project environment. If you are unaware of the infor-
mation required for such calculation, an appendix table demonstrated in
the LEED Reference Guide can be used.
INTEGRATIVE PROCESS
Since we’re talking about FTE’s, it’s necessary also to understand the po-
pulation calculation established by LEED for densely occupied spaces:
In SF = 1 person or more by 40.00sf.

At m² = 1 person or more by 3.7m².
BOD (BASIS OF DESIGN)

CREDIT CATEGORIES
It is also known as the Project Base. It is the document in which the ar-
chitect, together with other professionals, will perform as a direct result
of the OPR. The BOD will determine the components needed to meet
the project’s needs, as described by the owner. This document descri-
bes that the project will meet all local, state, federal requirements, such
65
as the relevant Legislation and Technical Standards, and goes further,
saying precisely what these conditions are for realizing the project.
If the OPR is said only “The project must comply with ASHRAE in
all requirements,” in the BOD, it is necessary to say, “The project will
comply with ASHRAE 55.2013 for thermal comfort conditions and with
ASHRAE 90.2013 for energy standards”. Talking about closing a buil-
ding will have to be said how much the percentage of a glass of the total
coating area, which solar factor, your U Value, whether the external walls
will be masonry or another system.
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The same is true of the settings for the internal walls, as will the lining,
the electrical and hydraulic systems. It describes how it will be: securi-
ty systems, automation systems, and air conditioning systems. It also
explains the architectural concept and several other details: how many
floors will be in total, what area will be built, how the project will be car-
ried out and delivered, whether BIM will be used, which will use compli-
mentary software, what the budget, what is the sustainability objective
(Gold, Platinum, etc.), with the Scorecard filled with these objectives. It
is an important document, which should request in any type of project.
In conclusion, OPR and BOD are pretty different issues but are confu-
sed several times. Study these concepts until you clearly understand this
difference.
The second phase is Schematic Design, which is the Preliminary Stu-

dy. There is not much mystery here, as it is about the concept of the
project. It will illustrate what the general idea is and consists of plans,
CREDIT CATEGORIES
perspectives, and other information that demonstrate the project.
Next, we have the Design Development, similar to our Preliminary

Project and the Legal Project. That is this project’s evolution, with all the
plants, facades, perspectives, and the insertion of all building systems for
compatibilization.
66
After Design Development, we have the Construction Documents pha-
se, our Executive Project. Represents the design of all systems to make
up this project to carry out the construction as efficiently as possible.
Finally, in a very brief way comes the Certificate of Occupancy. Here it

is finally recognized that the project is completed and meets all legal and
technical requirements.
You may have understood now that both OPR and BOD illustrate the
goals of a project, tying all these requirements holistically. In Brazil, we
often start projects without basic requirements, losing a lot of quality
and efficiency (and patience) during the process. For this reason, I con-
sider it very important to develop defined bases that stimulate complete
knowledge about the project by the entire team. We need to pass on
this knowledge to other people and educate the market; after all, a good
project does not depend only on us.
Another example of an Integrative Process is a system of closing a buil-

ding located in a cold climate. If the strategic is thought in conjunction
with the mechanical engineer, it can significantly improve the equip-
INTEGRATIVE PROCESS
ment’s cost and, consequently, the energy efficiency. It improves the
efficient relationship of the project and establishes a great connection
with society.
Systemic thinking, also called Systems Thinking, can generate significant

benefits. The concept is to think of small systems that together generate
synergy on a larger scale. That’s where the sum of 1+1 can be equal to 3.
Another relevant concept is to think of closed systems: buildings with

CREDIT CATEGORIES
the best performance and generate the least amount of waste possible.
This concept is called Closed Systems. An example is our nature, with its
plants that grow, die, and this death allows other plants to be born and
grow. It is a perfect system, balanced and waste-free, contrary to what
we see in our society. When we talk about human beings, we must keep
in mind that we are the champions of generating waste in the world.
67
And if there are closed systems, logically, there are open systems, which
are less sustainable. An example is a building, in which the result of its
use is only the generation of sewage, solid waste, and pollution. We need
to find ways to imitate nature to the fullest and understand how these
systems relate to making our system as close as possible.
This issue is not only about owning a project that manages closed sys-
tems, but it’s mainly about an operation that seeks to maintain those
systems. It is essential to train the building occupants to correct their
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environments; otherwise, they may miss several opportunities. They will

not know how to use the temperature or lighting systems, they will not
know how to throw the garbage in the right place, and all the opportuni-
ties thought out in the project stage will end up being wasted. The whole
relationship between man and edification has excellent importance in
systemic thinking, essential for LEED architecture.
Encouraging people is also a great way to earn leverage points or so-cal-

led Leverage Points. If you tell your employees to ride to work and as a
prize, they get a small discount on parking, there will be an incentive for
people to go together, talk, improve their relationship at work, reduce
pollution and congestion. It is these concepts that we will always seek
among all LEED certification planning. We must always seek synergies
and trade-offs between systems. We will discuss a lot throughout the
book on these two terms, and we will still have an entire chapter to dis-
cuss at the end.
In addition to the concept of systems thinking, understanding open and

CREDIT CATEGORIES
closed systems, synergies, and trade-offs, it is essential to understand

feedback loops. There are two types: Positive Feedback and Negative
Feedback.
In Positivo, imagine a building that was carried out incorrectly: poor

choice of windows, all dark in a tropical climate, which uses a lot of air
conditioning and is located in the center of a large city. The building will
68
expend a lot of energy, generate heat and harm the neighborhood. Con-
sequently, the neighbor will complain about the region’s heat and buy
an air conditioner as well. Its use will bring your comfort but will further
increase the heat of the region. The other neighbor does the same thing
until it generates a microclimate change.
An example to the contrary, the Negative Feedback Loop, happens

when a thermostat controls the temperature of a system. So you don’t
forget again, imagine that it is the system that controls the temperature
of your beer. When this system reaches a lower temperature, it simply
shuts down, saving energy. The Negative Feedback Loop is a controllable
system, and therefore more sustainable.
INTEGRATIVE PROCESS
CREDIT CATEGORIES
69
CREDIT CATEGORY
LOCATION AND
TRANSPORTATION (LT)
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This category did not exist in the previous LEED version but had several
of its intrinsic credits in the Category of Sustainable Sites. The deci-

sion to split in LEED v4 made the categories more concise and easy to
understand. I like to think that this category comes down to The Lot
Choice. The Sustainable Sites category is focused on What Do You Do
After Choosing the Lot.
Creating a sustainable building begins with choosing an appropriate loca-

tion. Imagine that a well-located building contributes to several factors,
such as energy use, land, environmental preservation, access to public
transportation, and some other factors.
As an example, compare a country house and a house in the city. The

field may look very beautiful, with birds, trees, grass, but the truth is that
building in these areas harms the environment much more. It affects
CREDIT CATEGORIES
local species, uses more financial resources, fuel to bring all supplies to
construction, and removes these wastes upon completion. During the
50 years, you are occupying this house, you will use altar amounts of
fuel to the bakery, in the butcher shop, and the restaurant, mainly be-
cause you can not count on a public transport system more people using
fewer resources.
70
In addition to fuel, another item that harms buildings in non-urban areas
is the need for infrastructures such as lighting systems, electricity, and
asphalt. By the sum of all these factors mentioned, the impact of buil-
ding in undeveloped areas ends up being much more significant than
making it in an urban area. In urban areas, the use of resources happens
much more efficiently and harms the environment less. After all, techni-
cally, the city is an environment that has already been damaged.
The Location and Transport category refers not only to the natural envi-
ronment. It also concerns the social structure and its infrastructure. It’s
about connecting with the city and creating a community environment
where people buy, walk, and enjoy the city without living with vacant
land, abandoned buildings, or contaminated areas.
The concept of location and transportation comes from Smart Growth,

called Smart Growth in the USA.
LOCATION AND TRANSPORTATION

The principles of Smart Growth are:
»» Seek the mixed-use of land;
»» Take advantage of Compact Building Designs, stimulating

density;
»» Create an opportunity and choices for housing;
»» Create neighborhoods with peace of mind for users;

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»» Foster attractive communities with a strong sense of connec-

tion;
»» Preserve permeability and at the same time density, agricul-

tural land, natural beauty, and critical environmental surfaces;
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»» Direct development to existing communities;
»» Provide a variety of transportation options;
»» Make smart, fair, and concise, cost-effective urban develop-

ment decisions;
»» Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in urban

development decisions.
We’ll leave a website that demonstrates Smart Growth concepts on the

www.ugreen.io
attachments page if you want to dig deeper.
To focus on sustainable cities, we need to promote public transport and

reduce the use of cars. We must protect untouched land, reuse already
developed plots, reduce heat islands, reduce lighting pollution and deal
as best with rainwater as possible. All of these items are covered in the
Location and Transport category. Now let’s approach each of these con-
cepts with a little more intensity:
LEED FOR NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT

LOCATION
Suppose you have a project within a condo or master plan already
certified in LEED ND (Neighborhood Development). In that case, you
won’t need to chase any of the LEED’s LT (Location and Transportation)
scores, as they are already automatically computed.
You can start your project with a maximum of 16 points, which is the li-
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mit for this category. If you do not have this condo certified, it is neces-
sary to seek the credits for this category.
SENSITIVE EARTH PROTECTION
The intention is to avoid the development in inappropriate batches,
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reduce travel distance by vehicles, and improve the quality of life by
encouraging daily physical activities.
First, we need to choose an appropriate lot, and we will protect the envi-
ronment as much as possible. It is necessary to avoid construction in lots
of nature or become essential for developing the region or country.
Therefore, it is necessary to avoid construction in:
»» Agricultural land called prime farmlands in the USA;
»» Areas where the habitat is threatened or with endangered

species;
»» Swamps (Wetlands);
»» Public parks;

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Lote Contaminado. Fo por Magnus Hagdorn - CC BY 2.0
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»» Floodplains;
»» Areas near lakes, rivers, or Bodies of Water;
»» Greenfields. These areas have not been developed or dama-

ged, supporting open spaces, habitat, or agriculture. Opening
parentheses, remember that there are both Greenfields and
Brownfields, which are contaminated areas. It’s interesting to
mentalize this analogy so you can keep the term more easily.
HIGH PRIORITY SITES

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If we can think about choosing a lot from scratch, it is always interesting

to start from the assumption that we adopt the ideal strategy from the
leed point of view, which is the one that will provide the most points. We
know that choosing a lot to carry out a project is not common because
we usually design with a previously selected terrain.
The strategy that LEED rewards the most is the choice of contaminated
lots. If you are acting, for example, in an area belonging to an old gas
station, LEED understands that you will have to decontaminate it. You’ll
have a lot more work than starting construction on a standard lot, but it
will help your city with the decontamination of that site.
Nothing fairer than certification reward you for it, providing you with
an extra speck in the crediting process. That would be a good strategy
for a project that seeks a LEED Platinum certification, for example. The
hazardous materials most addressed by LEED are asbestos and lead.
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LEED also encourages location in priority lots, which are regions that
need further development, encouraging cities. Because they are U.S.-s-
pecific assignments, I make it available if you take your English exam:
»» Historic districts.
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»» Lots located on the EPA National Priorities List;
»» Lots in a Federal Empowerment Zone.
»» Lots on a Federal Enterprise Community site.
»» Lots on a Federal Renewal Community site.
»» Lots in a Department of the Treasury Community Deve-

lopment Financial Institutions Fund Qualified Low-Income
Community.
»» Lots in a US Department of Housing and Urban Develop-

ment’s Qualified Census Tract.
»» Equivalents outside the US.
It is noticeable at this time of reading that LEED stimulates the concept

of Compact Development. The concept is to build in the smallest area,
minimize the affected regions since open spaces, and promote a signifi-
cant green area. It includes saving native plants that generally use natural
resources to survive, not needing irrigation if they are still alive.
Just by opening parentheses, always remember that more green area

can mean more area for irrigation, that is, a higher water consumption if
you do not use all the proposals of correct landscaping according to the
approach of water efficiency credits.
The concept of Compact Development also encourages the shared use

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of building areas. For example, instead of owning a meeting room in your

office, used twice a month, you could rent the neighbor’s room, which
also has this underutilized area.
In addition to the concept of working compactly, another relevant idea

is to think about Infill Development, in which I do not know an exact
75
translation. For you to get the picture, it’s something like the “Develop-
ment You Insert A Building Among Others.” That is, if there is a waste-
land between two well-dense residences and you promote a construction
on site, you have achieved this goal. The same goes for if there is a land
with a coefficient or a modest occupancy rate, and you promote further
development.
It is also possible to work on partially used structures or with the possibi-

lity of growth. These practices are considered sustainable because there
is a great potential to rebuild degraded regions architecturally or with
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social problems, increase local density, bring more vitality to the region,
and avoid construction in new areas, harming local species.
SURROUNDING DENSITY AND DIVERSE USES

Working in areas with adequate density is something much discussed in

LEED. The more central the site, the more density you have, in addition
to more shops, more public transport, and consequently, much more
efficient use of resources. By opting for construction in urban areas, you
stop building in undeveloped regions while preserving the environment.
The problem is that if you work with projects located in more central
batches, you end up being encouraged by LEED to focus on buildings
in more expensive lots that involve the big players in the market and
discourage the small ones who want to start the right way.
Despite these factors, the idea is noble: avoid using vehicles as much
as possible and encourage a pleasant urban life, with various uses near-
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by. The goal is to go to the bakery, the restaurant, or the pale Mexican
terra with the lowest possible use of fossil fuels, i.e., on foot or bike. It is
necessary to measure these proximities in a radius of 800 meters away,
walking from the building entrance to the entrance of at least four esta-
blishments with various uses. If there are more than eight uses, you get
more points in the credit system.
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Logically, the uses must be distinct. A good example: Let’s say you live in
Santa Felicidade, the Italian gastronomic district of Curitiba with several
restaurants. You couldn’t compete in these eight hundred-meter eight-
-foot restaurants and anything else. It is necessary to find a maximum of
two uses of each type for the calculation to be accepted in the certifica-
tion.
If you find three identical uses in this radius, it will continue to be worth
only two. Almost all types of services are included in these computable
uses, such as banks, gyms, bookstores, computer stores, pharmacies,
churches, restaurants, among others. Various uses must have pedestrian
access, so a drive-thru and a gas station, although often accessible, are
not listed in the Reference Guide.
In this same credit, it is necessary to establish a minimum housing densi-

ty. The more density in a region, the more uses there will be. It makes no
sense to have several establishments nearby if few people live in the area,

so LEED stimulates a density within 400 meters of the project and at
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Photo by Nicki Mannix - CC BY 2.0
77
least 5,000 m²/hectare, a density of 0.5 at least. That means (if you are
an architect, you are already bald to know) that for every two m² of land,
it is necessary to build one m². If you own residences in the region, you
must have 17.5 residences in this 5,000m².
When performing the calculations, you need to take the average and
check if there is this minimum density. As in large cities, usually, the
minimum coefficient for buildings is 1. This value ends up being relatively
easy to achieve. Another factor that facilitates obtaining credit points is
that public areas should be excluded from calculating this radius, such as
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parks and roads.
ACCESS TO QUALITY TRANSIT

A city developed and conducive to sustainable practices has a strong re-

lationship with its public transport system. LEED promotes these issues
efficiently, creating relevant synergies with urban density credits and
various uses because one thing triggers the other.
The way to calculate the efficiency for the project site is similar to the
methodology of densities credit: it is necessary to define a radius of 400
meters with a minimum number of bus stops, trams, or rideshares stops,
which refers to the vehicle sharing system, common in countries outside
Brazil.
The credit also considers a radius of 800 meters to include more ex-
tensive public transport networks such as ferry stations, subway, or bus
terminals. We can not consider bus lines that pass rarely and do not
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contribute to the city.
LEED believes that you must prove by documenting the public transport
companies a minimum number of trips for each bus, both for weekdays
and weekends.
There are considerable differences in this item for schools, such as

78
serving young children within a minimum radius of 1200 meters or older
children within a radius of 2400. This information is secondary to the
LEED Green Associate test.
BICYCLE FACILITIES
Bicycles are widely used in large cities and today are well accepted in
the day-to-day professional of companies, stimulating health and local
commerce in our cities. Version 3 of LEED considered credit in a more
simplified way: it was necessary to provide these spaces with showers and
changing rooms.
In version 4, you must prove that these spaces are communicable with
the city. It doesn’t make sense for you to own a company in the hat
house and put a bike rack over there, right? No one would use it, and it
would end up being a waste. This credit has now obtained a more signifi-
cant similarity with the credits of Housing Density and Quality Traffic.

It is necessary to connect this bike rack at a maximum distance of 180
meters from a bike path that has in its circuit up to 4800 meters at least
ten various uses, in addition to a specific number of bus stops. It is also
necessary to house a minimum number of bicycles, which varies de-
pending on the type of building, but which is around 2.5% of occupants
at peak hours. The proportion of changing rooms usually varies from 1
space per 100 occupants of the building.
REDUCED PARKING FOOTPRINT

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Reducing the size of parking is a LEED-specific credit, in which the

number of spaces beyond that permitted by law cannot be exceeded or
establish a reduction of more than 20%, as mentioned in the Institute of
Transportation Engineer’s Transportation Planning guide. It can be consi-
dered new and existing spaces in an outside garage used by the project.
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This factor helps reduce parking areas and generates a positive impact on
buildings because it uses fewer natural resources in its construction and
increases permeability, generating synergies with the Heat Island Re-
duction credit, which is in the category of Sustainable Sites. In advance
on this topic, it is interesting to mention that LEED encourages cons-
truction in basements and even sharing space with neighbors.
It is good to open parentheses here since many companies seek to profit

from the building’s parking by renting these spaces or even selling these
spaces. Hence, it needs to be well discussed at the beginning so that
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there is no misinformation throughout the project’s development.
It is important to highlight that, even with the concern to create large

parking lots with the goal of profit, several cities are changing this urban
aspect. São Paulo, for example, has just changed the master plan and
encourages in several areas the smallest number of vehicles possible.

Several other Brazilian and world cities are going this way.
LEED also encourages other ways to minimize the impacts of cars. It en-
courages rideshares, which is the system of sharing vehicles by passen-
gers to reduce the number of trips, traffic congestion, and also emissions
of pollutants by cars. Transport types that are considered rideshares
include carpool, vanpool.
Carpooling são considerados veículos que possuam pelo menos 2 pes-

soas, ou seja, se você dá carona para seu amigo para ir ao trabalho, você
ganha um benefício de parar em vagas preferenciais de sua empresa, que
são as mais próximas da entrada do edifício. Um desconto no estacio-
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namento também é uma forma de incentivo, e o mínimo aceitado pelo

LEED é de 20%.
LCarpooling is considered vehicles that have at least two people, that

is, if you give a ride to your friend to go to work, you get a benefit of
stopping at preferred vacancies of your company, which are the closest
to the entrance of the building. A discount on parking is also a form of
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incentive, and the minimum accepted by LEED is 20%.
Remember I told you I was at the musical event? It was carpooling but
carried out with the wrong mindset. Here the idea is to benefit the day-
-to-day of people in cities. Also, for the strategy to work, it is necessary
to communicate the incentive in companies, where this system is usually
more efficient. Vanpools have the same idea as carpools, but they work
with vans. There is also rental vehicle sharing programs, in which you re-
move the car and use it for a particular period, which is smaller than that
of rental cars, for example.
There are still other LEED incentives that directly improve transit, which
is telework, called telecommuting in the United States. This incentive
aims to provide the opportunity for professionals to work in their homes
once a week. As a result, the offices will generate less traffic on the stre-
ets, and there will also be a saving of electricity, water... and coffee.

Another strategy is to compress working hours: let’s say a company has
an 8-hour workday for five days a week, and we turn that journey to 10
hours in 4 days. There is a savings of 1/5 of gasoline and less time in tra-
ffic in the congested comings and goings of large cities. These are just a
few examples, but the idea is to provide more quality of life and promote
a better city.
These strategies are great in theory, but we know that each company ne-
eds to evaluate its practical workflow. However, it is interesting to notice
the change of mentality in new companies, which follow the pattern
of Silicon Valley companies, places where employees do not even have
a fixed work desk, a factor that helps the economy with the physical
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structure of an office. I particularly like working remotely with friends

remotely as far as possible.
I know I’ve swerved from the main agenda, but these are the concepts of
slowing traffic that LEED promotes.
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GREEN VEHICLES
Finally, we need to discuss green fuels. In version 3 of the LEED were

considered green vehicles, virtually any existing Flex vehicle. Only zero-
-emission vehicle (ZEV) for consideration of CARB, California’s gover-
ning body that handles air resources, is considered green.
To obtain this designation, a Green Score of at least 45 in the American

Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, also called ACEEE, or some
similar score outside the United States is also required.
www.ugreen.io
You should know these acronyms and companies, such as ACEEE be-
cause there are always
some in the exam.
But rest assured,

because at the end
of this course we will
have a compiled with
them to facilitate your
learning.
The core of the credit

is to provide at least
5% of parking spaces
for green vehicles. In
addition to the score
of 45 commented, it
is necessary to pro-
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vide 2% of the areas

for reloading these
vehicles. There is the
option of electric re-
charge, by gas or even
by battery.
Electric charging station. Photo by Guy West - CC BY 2.0
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SUSTAINABLE
SITES (SS)
This category aims to create the basis for good decisions about building
on the lot and emphasize the relations between building and ecosystem.
We will think of restoring its natural elements to the maximum and crea-
ting the necessary reintegration with the ecosystem, preserving nature’s
biodiversity.
A project that fulfills this category’s ideas indeed evaluated the possibi-
SUSTAINABLE SITES
lities of the lot, successfully implemented the building and determined a
landscaping project that preserved the natural habitat and still protected
this ecosystem.
In this way, the project will maintain an area of open spaces ideal for the
permeability and ventilation of buildings, manage the flow of rainwater,
and avoid the implantation in bodies of water. It will also reduce cons-
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truction pollution, the severe effects of heat islands, and all the light
pollution that the building can generate.
There is also a solid relationship with the remediation of decadent lots,

which, together with the credits of the Sustainable Sites category, will
help promote a higher quality of life for all.
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POLLUTION PREVENTION IN CONSTRUCTION
ACTIVITIES
For starters, we have a simple LEED prerequisite that is to minimize the

impacts of construction. That already exists in several Brazilian laws as
standard, but if it does not exist where you live or where the project is
carried out, it will be necessary to seek support to meet this demand.
It is necessary to reduce pollution of erosion, air dust, and also river

sedimentation. Erosion is highly harmful as it carries a layer of surface
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soil to rainwater systems, polluting rivers and other clean water sources.
This contamination usually occurs quickly, especially in steep places, as
we can see in our slums. If the project is not well structured, this will
invariably happen. Therefore, it is important to find ways to control this
erosion.
The control can be carried out through structural and stabilization mea-
sures. A sediment basin is an example of structural control, while mul-
ching (cover with leaves or straw) is a stabilization control.
ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENT
In the Credit of Environmental Assessment of the Lot, you will do as

the Michelangelo: you will carefully observe all the conditions before
designing. However, you will not be a solitary genius, as you will do so as
a team.
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Remember we talked about integrative process credit back at the begin-

ning, right? We need to analyze the various conditions of this lot with the
LEED checklist in hand and measure what is possible to accomplish in
terms of design with these results.
There are seven questions we need to understand:
84
»» Topography: contours, their stability, and design potentials;
»» Hydrology: Areas that can be flooded, lakes, rivers, coas-

tlines, reuse of rainwater and their opportunities for reuse,
including with the water of the lot itself;
»» Climate: Observe sun exposure, heat island potential, prevai-

ling winds, monthly precipitation, and temperature increases;
»» Vegetation: Analyze the primary types, greenfields areas,

endangered species, and invasive plants;
»» Soil: Agricultural land, if there has been any previous develo-

pment, disturbed soils, and healthy soils;
»» Human Use: are the sights, transport infrastructure, surrou-

nding buildings, building materials with potential for recycling or
reuse;
»» Human Health Effects: vulnerable populations and proximity

to sources of air pollution.
SUSTAINABLE SITES
After all this careful analysis, we need to evaluate the implementation of
the project in the lot. In this case, we are talking about the building, the
sidewalk, the dry landscaping, the parking lot, and the accesses.
OPEN SPACES
It is important to remember that we have already discussed the chapter

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on Minimum Program Requirements, the Footprint of Building and

Development, and how to differentiate the two well. The footprint of
development impacts the lot, already the footprint of the building is on
and the building itself.
When we talk about building footprint, we talk about Open Spaces, whi-
85
ch are permeable areas with vegetation. We know that each city has its
legislation and its zoning. Curitiba requests on average 25%, São Paulo
15%, some cities do not ask for anything. However, LEED extracts these
values: it requests at least 30% of open spaces. It does not necessarily
have to be just grass to characterize itself as an Open Space; there are
several alternatives: spaces for community gardens, gardens, areas such
as lawns that encourage the gathering of people or physical activities.
It is essential to remember that these open spaces are characterized by

the area of the lot minus the area of the development of the building, as
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stated earlier, i.e., the sidewalks, parking, and everything else.
Once we have already maintained suitable open spaces in the building,

it is necessary to restore or protect areas of project development. We
need to use native or adapted plants, which will use little or no irrigation.
The idea is to transform the building area into something as close as pos-
sible to its original state. The use of native species decreases the amount
of water and fertilizer needed to maintain landscapes, and thus plants fit
into the existing ecosystem, providing benefits for local wildlife.
Of course, if we are, for example, working on a project with a high densi-

ty above 1.5, there may not be these open areas available. It is possible to
remedy with a green roof, for example, if it has native or adapted species
that promote biodiversity.
Still, it is imperative to manage possible plagues to preserve the environ-

ment while being built on the subject. It also applies to invasive plants,
toxic elements of internal cleaning, the façade, the fertilization of lands-
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caping, or even resulting from snow removal. If you certify a building

outside Brazil... you never know what your future will be like, do you?
RAINWATER MANAGEMENT
The next step is to think about how we can work in the rainwater on the
86
lot. We need to carry out a rainwater management plan. As you already
know, runoff is the water our city has to deal with whenever precipitation
occurs. In several Brazilian towns, there are floods, which demonstrate
that the stormwater transport system of these cities does not account
for the problem.
LEED suggests that each project manages its rainwater, improves the
system’s functioning in our urban areas, and improves the quality of this
runoff. To fulfill this purpose, we need to seek a project that replicates
the hydrology of this lot as close as possible.
Water management in the V4 version of LEED has two fronts, one

quantitative and the other qualitative. It is necessary a system that does
not let the water that passes through the lot carry contaminants to the
urban system. That is accomplished either by green infrastructure (also
called green infrastructure or GI) and low impact development (lid).
SUSTAINABLE SITES
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A Bioswale. Photo by Aaron Volkening - CC BY 2.0
87
There are several strategies for Green Infrastructure and Low Impact
Development. The first is to increase the permeable areas in the lot as
much as possible, creating significant synergies with the credit of Open
Spaces. We can also use the biovalets (also called bioswales), depressions
carried out in the landscaping project, which collects a large amount of
water over a permeable area, far above a surface considered flat.
When the speed of water runoff is reduced, we avoid soil erosion, which
occurs precisely when the water leaves the precipitation area very fast,
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taking with it the vegetation cover.
To determine the surface runoff, or the volume of water coming out of

the lot, we evaluate the initial precipitation. Any storage, including natu-
ral land depressions, puddles, and synthetic storage systems, and cister-
ns, should also be considered, and losses due to infiltration are taken into
account.
As equally important strategies, there are also rainwater bioretention

systems, which are similar, in concept, to biovalets. We can also use
Bioremediation, a process in which living organisms are used to remove
or reduce pollutants in the environment.
It is also possible to use semi-permeable paving surfaces, which LEED

considers as plausible a permeability of at least 50% of the area. We can
also use green roofs, which you already know very well for what it serves
and how it works.
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However, it is essential to define these areas early in the project not to

generate impossibilities after the architecture and structure launch. The
land has a weight that cannot be discarded, especially after the concen-
tration of rainwater on the Earth. In 2010 I worked on a project that
made it impossible to place an intensive green roof (with greater depth)
due to the LEED certification being contracted only after the beginning
of the project, allowing only the placement of an extensive roof, with
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10cm of total height.
Furthermore, it is possible to reuse water by reusing cisterns, something

we already have in Brazil and mandatory in several cities. We supply
this reuse water reserve and reuse it over time, saving a good amount of
rainwater and still obtaining a significant synergy with the external water
use credits, which we will see in the Water Efficiency category shortly
after that.
We can also take advantage of all this water and perform filtration of
these residues, improving their quality. I’ll leave you a guide on the
downloads page on rainwater management. You don’t have to get too
deep, but a quick read can be well worth it at the time of the race and
your future as a professional.
The LEED Green Associate survey generally does not address the
rainwater management percentiles. Still, it is important to know that it is
necessary to achieve a rainwater management percentile of at least 95%.
The 95% event is when the total precipitation is greater than or equal to
95% of all 24-hour rainfall in the year. The ideal to achieve more credit
score is to reach 98%, and for lots with an occupancy rate of 100% (Ze-
SUSTAINABLE SITES
ro Lot Line), it is possible to use 85%. This period of precipitation must
be at least ten years.
HEAT ISLAND REDUCTION
Now we’ve come to a significant part. Treating all the surfaces of our
architectural projects so that they are no longer a source of heat in our
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cities is indispensable. A study in China showed that heat islands accou-

nted for 24% of the heat of some urban regions, even becoming, believe
it or not, 12 ºC above the average level on warmer afternoons. The heat
islands’ effect contributed to the deaths of hundreds of people in Chi-
cago in 1995. In disasters like this, the most brutal hit are poor or older
people who did not have air conditioning equipment or did not connect
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the equipment with excessive energy costs. As we learned earlier from
the Positive Feedback Loop, we will learn even more in the Energy and
Atmosphere category. If several people feel hot and turn on their air
conditioners, they generate even more heat. It was through the domino
effect that the catastrophe was caused.
Today, Chicago has extensive analyses of its city, considering all the buil-
dings of the past and future facilities, promoting gradual improvements
in the air conditioning systems of existing buildings, and inserting green
roofs on top of several buildings as a primary world reference.
www.ugreen.io
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Heat Island in Chicago’s urban areas (in red). 1997, USA. Courtesy of NASA.
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But how to reduce the heat islands? The first strategy, and what works
most, is not to build anything. Joke! But the idea is a little out there:
if we can reduce areas of the building, use smaller areas for outdoor
parking, streets, and also access, we will be contributing a lot to the
reduction of heat islands. We observed the synergy again with the credit
of open spaces since the more significant the areas of open spaces and
the reduction of the occupancy rate, the more influential the contribu-
tion to reducing this effect.
The English test calls the term ‘occupancy rate’ FAR, or Floor Area
Ratio. The definition is the same, but they consider the index between 0
and 1. 0 for a lot, nothing built, and 1 for an entirely constructed lot. In
Brazil, we consider between 0 and 100%. Another relevant strategy is
the use of green roofs in the roof of the building. After all, the structure
helps a lot in reducing the thermal load on the roof. We need to take
care and the structural and architectural issues already mentioned, of
the issue of irrigation, so as not to create a roof with species that require
a lot of water.
A variation of the green roof, or green roof, is the blue roof. It is a dry
roof, usually light in color, covered with several trays with gravel stone. It
SUSTAINABLE SITES
is not widely used in Brazil due to problems with the dengue mosquito,
but it is still a possible strategy depending on the region of the project.
The second strategy is semi-permeable floor areas, which use 50%

minimum permeability, or plants that provide shade for paved areas. Of
course, we can’t use artificial grass, and the trees need to have a 10-year
growth size because we can’t let the building generate heat until these
trees grow. We can even insert roofs in parking lots: a very efficient
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strategy is the placement of photovoltaic plate covers since, at the same

time, we reap the sun’s energy, we still provide shade for cars and the
lower paving.
We also have the strategy of using basements for parking, thus avoiding
uncovered parking areas. It is not uncommon to find these areas, large
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and paved with dark-colored asphalt, which contribute significantly to
the effect of heat islands.
On the issue of building coatings, there are three interesting strategies

that we can consider. All are linked to the use of materials with a high
rate of solar reflectance, also known as SRI. The Solar Reflectance Index
is the sum of reflectivity, also called Albedo, and emissivity. The US
Department of Energy defines that solar reflectance as the possibility
of the surface rejecting sunlight. We know that light surfaces reject heat
more and dark ones absorb, right? The idea about reflectivity is precisely
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this: an all-white surface is considered value 1, while a dark one is defined

as 0.
On the other hand, emissivity is the ability of the material to reject

absorbed heat: if it emits a lot is defined as 0, otherwise as 1. The good
news is that the vast majority of roofing materials have good reflectance.
Sri is precisely the combination of reflectivity and emissivity: the bigger,
the better. A clear surface with suitable emissivity will have a SRI very
close to 1. A dark surface with low emission will have a SRI close to 0.
The use of surfaces with a high solar reflectance index has, in addition to
the benefit of softening the heat islands, the advantage of reducing the
thermal load on the building and the air conditioning bill at the end of
the month.
You remember I talked about three strategies, right? Let’s go to them:
»» Use of paving with SRI of at least 0.28. We need to con-

sider this value considering an aging expectation of three years
CREDIT CATEGORIES
for the material. This definition occurs because the clear surfa-
ces darken gradually by contact with air pollution. If no material
with this composition is found, we need to use a material with a
SRI of at least 0.33;
»» That’s an easy one. We need to perform the same consi-

deration as item 1, using the SRI of 0.28 or 0.33 for shading
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covers;
»» Use of roofs with a large SRI. It ends up being a replacement

for the green roof, with some advantages and disadvantages. As
we are thinking of roof cover, we should consider the slope. A
surface with a low slope calls for more SRI; after all, it tends to
collect more dirt, so we should use an initial 0.82 index. On the
other hand, a sloping roof requires an initial 0.39 index. A roof
is considered inclined when its slope is greater than 2:12 accor-
ding to LEED and American standards, which would be around
8.5% by national standards. I like to create the analogy with the
NBR9050, which considers the limit for a PNR ramp the slope
of 8.33%, very close to the consideration that we should adopt
in LEED.
LIGHT POLLUTION REDUCTION
Light pollution in most buildings must be lowered and possible. That is a

new credit on leed v4, which recommends delimitations for lighting that
extravasates into the lot. It is essential to restrict the lighting up (upli-
ght) and those that spill out of the lot. The idea is that excess light does
SUSTAINABLE SITES
not impair our circadian rhythm, the biological rhythm. For hundreds of
years, man learned to sleep at night, wake up by day and eat at certain
times. They are biological repetitions that are important to maintaining
your well-being and your health. Excessive lighting still harms animals:
Migratory birds, for example, become disoriented and other animals
become unable to feed at night.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
All light pollution, such as landscaping lamps that illuminate upwards,

billboards, and other luminous elements, disrupt people’s lives, do not
fulfill their function, and still use excess energy. We need to minimize
this to the maximum by using light intelligently, such as lighting with full
cutoff. Another relevant strategy is to automate this lighting, constantly
turning off what is not necessary. Of course, in a country like Brazil, we
need to be careful not to leave areas conducive to crime. There are two
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ways of calculating credit for trespassing and light up:
»» Backlight-uplight-glare (BUG, or “backlight, light up and

brightness”).
»» Calculation method.
For both, we need to define lighting zones and design the lighting system
accordingly by the correct specification of lamps. The IES/IDA Lighting
Model user guide is used to establish the lighting zone (LZ-0to LZ-4),
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which determines the maximum amount of light pass and brightness of

the sky that is allowed based on the level of night lighting of the envi-
ronment. The difference is that while the calculation method adopts
a percentage of maximum excess per lumens, the BUG method uses
specification rates for each luminaire.
SITE MASTERPLAN
We also have in LEED certification some concepts related to specific

buildings. The first of these is the Master Plan of the Lot, which is exclu-
sive to schools. The idea is to ensure that, if we are designing a school,
we plan this lot related to the future of this institution: if on this campus
there will be more blocks, as they will be, what is the plan of occupation.
It is necessary to think about how the various credits of LEED certifica-

tion itself will behave in the future:
»» How the spaces will open after the complete occupation.

CREDIT CATEGORIES
»» How rainwater management will be.
»» How we will deal with the heat islands generated by the

buildings.
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JOINT USE OF FACILITIES
That is another credit related only to schools. The goal is to integrate the
school with the community, share its own spaces at alternative times or
when the shared use of the environment is feasible. Among the envi-
ronments are the bathrooms, parking lots, stadiums or sports fields, and
auditoriums. This idea also applies to creating spaces for the community
in the school itself, such as commercial offices, health clinics, police
offices, libraries, and parking.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION GUIDELINES FOR

TENANTS
This credit is unique to Core and Shell. The goal is to educate those who
use the certified building to implement these concepts in their offices,
enhancing sustainable strategies to a smaller scale. An example is we
created a document demonstrating the sustainable characteristics of the
building for all involved. Another way is to encourage the certification of
an office, such as for LEED ID+C.
SUSTAINABLE SITES
DIRECT EXTERNAL ACCESS / PLACES OF RESPITE
Several interesting hospitals were created after several studies that prove
that patients heal more quickly in certified buildings. The base ratio is: If
in a regular building we cure ten patients, in a certified building we heal
ed 11 at the same time. If the recovery is faster, logically, there is a signi-
ficant saving in operation during the building’s life cycle.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
We will work with two specific credits: the first is Direct External Ac-
cess, whose intention is to provide both patients and employees with
access to the natural environment. We need to create a minimum area
for each patient of 0.5m², considering short- and long-term patients.
Among these spaces are balconies, terraces, or even gardens, and logi-
95
cally should be away from areas of exhaustion or toxic elements.
Another significant credit is related to Rest Places, which are accessible

areas for patients, staff, and visitors. They can have direct contact with
nature by landscaping areas and with space for rest. They must be ex-
ternal areas or even located in internal atriums, solarium, or conditioned
rooms. They must own at least 5% of the building’s built area for visitors
and 2% of that area for employees.
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CREDIT CATEGORIES
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CREDIT CATEGORY
WATER
EFFICIENCY (WE)
The Water Efficiency category will address the issue mainly concerning
internal and external water use. We will evaluate ways to perform this
management and specialize water use as much as possible for greater
building efficiency. Many questions here may not be much news for you,
but I’m sure some will surprise you.
When we talk about saving water, we should think about efficiency by
WATER EFFICIENCY
reducing our drinking water use. If this is much more valuable than we
have, of course, in LEED, we will have prerequisites to establish a mini-
mum economy. Soon after these primary strategies, we will need to find
opportunities to save non-potable water or alternative sources of supply.
It is essential to say that water saving is not just about water: it is also di-
rectly related to energy saving. We must think that we need the energy
CREDIT CATEGORIES
to treat this water, transport it to the building and its internal use, for
its use, and at its disposal. Understanding this synergy is paramount for
those who will take the LEED GA exam. Another positive point of the
intelligent use of water is minimizing impacts related to its disposal in the
soil, creating a synergy with the rainwater management credit. Remem-
ber we talked about this in the Sustainable Sites category? Very good!
Let’s move on!
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To finalize the Water Efficiency category, we will also need to evaluate
issues related to landscaping. The use of native or adapted plants that
eliminate the need for irrigation in conjunction with installing more
efficient equipment in this water consumption brings great economic
benefits. We can also think about the reuse of wastewater for all these
non-potable water needs, and here we will seek to save even in the circu-
lating water of air conditioning equipment.
About why the goal we’re bald to know, right? We inhabit this large,
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round, water-filled world, and we know that only 1% of this water is fit for
human use. Although we face an increasingly present lack of water, we
have in our creation that paradigm that “this will not happen in my gene-
ration.” In practice, few people take a bath faster because of this thought
of a better world.
If we can reduce this “human error factor” in architectural and engine-

ering projects to the lowest level, we are already eliminating much of
the problem. We help our municipal networks, reducing the use and also
improving the treatment of this water.
All the credits we will address in this category will strongly encourage
all water reduction projects in building design through design concepts,
equipment specifications, and landscaping.
Before we start discussing credits and strategies themselves, we need to

understand some definitions of water types:
CREDIT CATEGORIES
»» Drinking water, which you know well. Water from the supply
system or even a local well may be considered;
»» Rainwater: the rainwater we collect by cisterns or the roof

capture system. It is an accessible source, and that cannot be
missed. We need to understand how much we can collect water
on this land for an average of the year and how we can do that.
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If we meet this goal masterfully, we can achieve good synergies
with the Rainwater Management credit since we can slow down
all rainwater runoff that we have discussed before;
We also have gray water. It is water that we can reuse for
irrigation, to wash the floor, and to the toilet;
»» Blackwater: It’s everything that came into contact with food

and organic waste.
It is essential to differentiate the gray water from the black water: Gray
water is the water that has been used but has not yet come into contact
with organic solid waste, i.e., sewage and discarded food. Greywater
comes from showers, bathtubs, bathroom or laundry sinks, and washing
machines.
Except for blackwater, all waters can be reused. After all, to recycle it
and enable its use, we would consume so much energy in LEED’s process
does not consider feasible. It is important to say that this is a generic
definition of gray water and black water. There are slight differences
in definitions depending on the legislation of certain cities around the
world.
WATER EFFICIENCY
We also need to know the alternative sources of water. What are these
sources? It may be gray water and rain catchments, as said before, but
there are others. It is possible to reuse water from air conditioning sys-
tems, pool water treatment systems, steam condenser systems, indus-
trial processes, wells, even ice machine condensers.
From this point, we can analyze the credits. We will always be addressing
CREDIT CATEGORIES
three types of Water Use: External, Internal, and Process.
REDUCTION OF THE USE OF EXTERNAL WATER

(PREREQUISITE AND CREDIT)
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In many residences, especially in The American ones, more water is used
in landscaping than in internal use to generate greener grass than the
neighbor. That is precisely a critical situation for the water economy:
reducing drinking water use using reuse water from the outset.
This credit is not only about saving drinking water. It is also about the
gardening’s cost, pumping for irrigation’s energy, and even lawnmower’s
pollution.
Next, we will choose the right plants. You remember the credit of Pro-
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tecting and Restoring habitat, right? The idea is precisely this: we will
use native or adapted plants. Native plants have been present for a long
time in the region, and if they are surviving without human intervention,
they are resistant to the point of being a good choice for the project, as
they will use less water. Adapted plants are those species that adapt to
the local climate. Native plants cannot be invasive plants that harm other
local plants. We need to analyze the use of species and thus ensure the
economy.
LEED considers three factors for the calculation, called the Landscaping
Coefficient Method:
»» Species factor, using native or possibly adapted species;
»» Densification factor, grouping plants to ensure more signifi-

cant water savings by reducing evapotranspiration;
»» Shading factor, which impacts water evaporation.

CREDIT CATEGORIES
The sum of all these factors will demonstrate how efficient your lands-
caping is. But the best strategy for saving water is the strategy of dry
landscaping, called in the USA of Xeriscaping, or Dry-scaping. We’re not
going to use any water here for irrigation.
This type of landscaping was restricted only to areas with fewer water
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resources but is now being highly demanded by the issue of economics,
which is quite significant. I do not believe it is as beautiful as ordinary
landscaping, well-executed by a reduction in the color palette, but we
can still perform something beautiful. Considering that beauty is on-
ly one aspect when we have a whole question of our survival on planet
Earth... It sounds like a good alternative, doesn’t it? It is important to
remember that Xeriscaping is not restricted only to cacti!
There are seven principles of Xeriscaping that we need to know:
»» Planning and appropriate design;
»» Soil Analysis and its improvement;
»» Selection of proper plants;
WATER EFFICIENCY
CREDIT CATEGORIES
Xeriscaping. Foto por Jeremy Levine - CC BY 2.0
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»» Practical lawn areas for maintenance: avoid using turf grass
and large lawns such as golf courses;
»» Efficient irrigation;
»» Use of leaves near shrubs to generate moisture and delay

water evaporation;
»» Proper maintenance.
In addition to Xeriscaping, other irrigation techniques help a lot in the

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economy. The first is drip irrigation. It is a technique that emerged in

ancient China and developed a lot in modern Germany. It is a form of ir-
rigation that allows water to drip slowly in the roots of plants, on the soil
surface, and also in areas near the root, carried out through a network
of pipes. Instead of “machine gun” the plant with water at all its points
CREDIT CATEGORIES
Irrigação por Gotejamento (Drip Irrigation). Foto por Joby Elliott - CC BY 2.0
102
during specific times, we will give it exactly what it needs to live all day
in homeopathic doses directly at its root. It is a more expensive system
than the conventional one, but it has a relatively short payback depen-
ding on the landscaping area.
The delivery efficiency for plants by the common irrigation system is

between 60% to 65%. For the drip system, there is an efficiency of
90%. We can also use gray or recycled water for this irrigation. That is,
we create a sum of efficient strategies to generate an excellent economy.
We can also use technology to our advantage. An example is the ir-

rigation controls, in which we can insert the weather conditions, the
type of landscaping, the species used, and use soil moisture sensors to
know when it is very dry. We can automate the irrigation process with
these factors, adapting it according to these plants’ requirements. We
can observe a technology of its own for water-saving. However, it is still
important to emphasize that we need to adjust the controls periodically
because landscaping grows and changes over time.
It is necessary to understand how to deal with the maintenance of plants

so that we do not harm their health, which makes their need for water
WATER EFFICIENCY
unbalanced. We need to know the cutting period to not to hinder the
evapotranspiration of the species and the protection of the soil. Another
additional problem of excessive cutting is that when this grass cut occurs,
we need to throw them in the trash, accumulating more waste in land-
fills. To finalize external water consumption, logically, LEED will reward
the most saved in the project. We must establish a minimum savings
of 30% as the energy policy act baseline of 1992 as a prerequisite, and
above that, we will start to get credits.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
INDOOR WATER USE REDUCTION (PREREQUISITE

AND CREDIT)
To reduce internal water use, the LEED establishes the prerequisite of
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saving at least 20% of water, and from 25%, you already start to get 1
point for credit calculations. But what are the ideal strategies? As you
already know, the ideal is to minimize the use of drinking water and some
of these alternatives you already know, such as the installation of effi-
cient systems of crockery and Plumbing Fixtures.
We need to use low-flow equipment, such as taps with low flow, the
use of aerators for faucets, urinals without water, toilets with dual flush
(there is only depends on the human being push the button right). Fi-
nally, we need to change these equipment sums for something that goes
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beyond the traditional. The strategy of exchanging dishes and metals is

increasingly common for efficient payback: any more modern building
uses this equipment today.
It is essential to say that there is certified equipment with proof of effi-

ciency that we need to use for the computation of credits. This criterion
of minimum economic standards was established by the Energy Policy
Act of 1992. Here, if you are going to take the LEED Green Associate
exam in Portuguese or English, you’ll have to get used to the transition
of gallons per discharge or gallons per flush. I use a converter app on
the phone that is very good to help memorize. Anyway, I already keep
informed that: 1 gallon = +- 3.8 liters.
LEED establishes a baseline for crockery and metals. These are the most
common:
»» Toilets: 6 liters per flush, or 1.6 gallons per flush. (quite

different from toilets with discharges of 13 liters per discharge);
CREDIT CATEGORIES
»» Urinals: 3.8 liters per discharge, or 1 gallon per flush;
»» Showers: 9.5 liters per minute flow;
»» Kitchen sink: 8.3 liters per minute flow;
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»» Public sink: 1.9 liters per minute flow.
Nowadays, there are toilets even more efficient than those above, rea-
ching up to 2 liters per discharge. There are also pots by compost, which
are very efficient because they do not use water but are not viable for
buildings in general due to their height. Many of these equipment sits
on the Watersense seal, which the Environmental Protection Agency
created. This use is a guarantee of more efficient products.
About urinals, we have the notion that we need to discharge after their
use. Still, the truth is that there are urinals without water that, in addi-
tion to economic, are more hygienic systems than conventional ones.
After all, when we don’t need to push the button, we create less moistu-
re to proliferate bacteria. We will also have lower maintenance and less
possibility of failures. It’s a great choice of savings for a system replace-
ment, and if you’re building from scratch, I don’t have to tell you, right?
To close the Category of Reduction of Internal Water Use, another

strategy of significant savings is non-drinking water. The strategy will
be precisely what was reported at the beginning of the category, using
rain reuse water, gray water, or recycled water, thus eliminating drinking
WATER EFFICIENCY
water for this purpose.
WATER USE MEASUREMENT (PREREQUISITE AND

CREDIT)
The last strategy for saving external water is to know how consumption is
over time to achieve the necessary savings. How do we do that? For the
CREDIT CATEGORIES
installation of submeters. So we find out how the consumption of each

system is, we find the flaws and the correction is accurate, maintaining a
highly efficient system for a long time.
Leed has at least the measurement of drinking water consumption as

a prerequisite. The USGBC asks you to report your consumption for
105
at least five years, and it can be done automatically or manually. There
is also advanced measurement, where you get credits for measuring
subsystems, in addition to general communication. I would point out that
the measurement will also be very important for the energy part, which
we will see after finishing this category.
The efficient use of internal water also refers to Process Water. We use
chillers, condensers, laboratory equipment or hospitals, boilers, ice ma-
chines within the building systems, and daily operations, such as restau-
rant kitchens.
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In this credit, we will also need to make the most reuse water, gray or
recycled, instead of drinking water.
USE OF COOLING TOWER WATER

We also have credits related to savings recirculation water, with the

concept of reuse water to the maximum, reaching up to more than ten
recirculations without waste.
We must consider that the level of chemical components should not be

high, such as Calcium and Alkalinity, because the system becomes too
heavy to process this fluid and expend much more energy.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
106
CREDIT CATEGORY
ENERGY AND
ATMOSPHERE (EA)
That is a category that holistically addresses energy, thinking first about

reducing its use at source, later on, energy efficiency design, and finally
renewable energy sources.
As you already know, reducing energy use is extremely important to
ENERGY AND ATMOSPHERE

reduce pollution. We will learn the main objective to reduce ozone layer
depletion, global warming, and, consequently, climate change. It is not
by chance that this is the category that rewards with the most credits in
LEED certification, as an example, up to 33 points for Building Design +
Construction.
Energy efficiency in a green building starts with a focus on a project that

reduces energy needs right at the source, thinking about the orientation
and position of the glasses, and the choice of climate-appropriate buil-
CATEGORIAS DE CRÉDITO
ding materials.
We will address passive heating and cooling strategies, natural ventilation

and discuss HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) sys-
tems, which are high-efficiency systems that, together with intelligent
controls, can potentially reduce energy consumption considerably.
107
In this category, you will also understand how the commissioning process
is critical to ensure high-performance buildings because the involvement
of an agent helps to avoid maintenance problems and waste of energy.
The commissioning authority checks all these systems so that the work
satisfies what was planned in the project.
One of the goals of this LEED category is to recognize that reducing the
use of fossil fuels goes far beyond the building walls. Let’s learn about
demand response, allowing utilities to turn to their building to reduce
their electricity use at peak times. The construction helps reduce pres-
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sure on the grid and the need to create more power plants.
Finally, we will address the generation of renewable energy in the lot

and the purchase of green energy, allowing part of a building’s energy
consumption to be met with the energy of non-fossil fuels, reducing the
demand for traditional sources to a minimum or even to zero.
The first thing we need to think about it, how much energy can we save?
We need to set quantifiable targets to decide which strategies we will use
to achieve the energy-saving goal.
A good way to start this is to think together with our OPR or the
owner’s requirements. Remember, we set all the building requirements
there, right? That is an excellent way to start: by checking the defined
square footage and the number of people, our Full-Time Equivalents.
One of the objectives is to find the intensity of energy use in kilowatt-
-hours per square meter per year and the lighting density.
With this information, you can improve the data on the EPA Targe-
tfinder, a system whose LEED and LEED Green Associate exam they
love to ask. It is a system where the footage of your building is included
along with other data, such as the use of the building, the country, the
state, the most traditional energy sources used, the working hours per
week, how many computers will exist in the spaces. With all this data,
Targetfinder will perform a calculation. The system uses a collection base
108
from several governments for calculation, with CBECS being the US
standard.
It is essential to think about this benchmark to keep in mind the stra-

tegies that can bring significant benefit at the lowest cost. After this
definition, the meeting of several economies, and the construction, the
idea is that we continue to check the functionality of these systems by
measuring, checking, and commissioning, ensuring that everything is
working with maximum performance.
Basic building commissioning is a prerequisite, so we cannot overlook this

aspect. For this reason, it is essential to bring responsible professionals
as soon as possible in the phase of the establishment of OPR and BOD
in the Integrative Process. For existing buildings, it is possible to carry
out audits to meet good energy-saving opportunities, several of them
possibly at a relatively low cost.
Going deeper into the energy verification theme, the Energy Star
Portfolio Manager is a tool that American entrepreneurs can use to

check the energy and water of their buildings on an online platform. It is
interesting because it is possible to analyze the results and find opportu-
nities for buildings that are not performing well and invest in priorities.
Buildings that have a good performance get recognition from the EPA.
MINIMUM ENERGY PERFORMANCE

(PREREQUISITE)
OPTIMIZE ENERGY PERFORMANCE (CREDIT)
Another item that is very important to mention is that LEED works on

energy saving through a baseline, and save that word because, if you
didn’t hear it before, you’d listen to it for the rest of your life from now
on. The baseline is nothing more than a base, and you will have to work
to save a specific percentage on this basis.
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As an example, the baseline for the calculation of energy efficiency used
by LEED is defined by ASHRAE 90.1, more precisely in Appendix G.
ASHRAE stands for American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and
Air Conditioning Engineers, or American Society of Heating, Cooling
and Air Conditioning Engineers, and establishes several standards rela-
ted to the subject.
In LEED, ASHRAE mainly impacts the energy and atmosphere catego-

ries and the Environment’s Internal Quality. It’s a significant entity. The
energy-saving prerequisite for new constructions is 5%, according to the
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base defined by ASHRAE. To achieve credits, you need to go further,

establishing savings that reach up to 50% savings, so you get 18 points
on new construction.
The ideal strategy for optimizing energy in buildings is building simula-

tion, but LEED considers two more forms. One uses the ASHRAE 50%
Advanced Energy Design Guide, and the other is from the Core Per-
formance Guide. In my opinion, these two strategies will fall into disuse
in the coming years the more simulation software evolves and becomes
more accessible.
The following strategy is to ask yourself: what’s for free out there? Na-
tural ventilation, solar energy, natural lighting, the correct use of mate-
rials... How about designing thinking about these things? The first thing
to think about is the correct orientation when the lot allows logically
because this is a factor that drastically impacts energy efficiency and the
lives of the inhabitants.
We then need to think about the openings, the sizes, and the right direc-
tions. We must evaluate the correct depth of the environment because
it directly impacts the amount of artificial lighting required. Reducing
the obfuscation of environments by natural lighting is another important
strategy because we reduce the thermal load. We have synergies both
with natural lighting credit and with thermal comfort in the category of
Internal Quality of the Environment, which we will see in two chapters.
110
The design of these environments is related to the city’s legislation where
the project is located, the slab area, and the maximum height of the buil-
ding you may have. We also have strategies to use the shading of trees
and the buildings themselves adjacent to the building, depending on the
region’s climate in which the project is located. Energy optimization can
create significant synergies with sustainable batch credits such as open
spaces, heat island reduction, and rainwater management.
We should think about the building’s insulation: the idea is to minimize

the loss of energy you have already spent to air your environments, both
heat, and cold. We, therefore, need to think of high-performance glas-
ses, as they will help in your building. Note the factors known as U-value
and SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient), especially the latter in hot
climates.
Another change is to insert thermal mass into certain building areas,

keeping the environment warm and absorbing heat during the day to
eliminate at night when it is colder. We also need to think about reducing

energy waste by leaks related to a poorly made façade design.
These leaks are not only about energy, as they also result in lower air
quality, since they generate unwanted temperature changes and increase
the account of air conditioning consumption, besides allowing insects to
enter and offer worse acoustic performance. When you reduce these
leaks, it reduces the use of equipment in sizing since they will work much
more efficiently.
FUNDAMENTAL REFRIGERATION MANAGEMENT

(PREREQUISITE)
ADVANCED REFRIGERATION MANAGEMENT
(CREDIT)
Now let’s think about mechanical systems. In an air conditioning sys-

111
tem, what will be the most economical appliances? Generally, the VRF
is a good option for Triple-A buildings, but of course, both it and other
building elements should result from feasibility analysis.
It’s not just about project team intelligence; here, we also go into a
budget and several other construction companies or developer issues.
Working in synergy with the mechanical engineer will bring several
benefits related to economy and efficiency and the comfort of people,
their health, and various services related to the environment.
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Among the systems addressed by fundamental refrigerant management

are the basic HVAC systems of the construction, cold water systems,
and central air conditioning. Equipment such as standard refrigerators,
water coolers, or any other equipment with less than 0.5 pounds of soft
drinks is exempt from the entire scope.
We can still think about centralizing heating and ventilation systems in

the case of several buildings. That usually increases efficiency if they
are relatively close because of the more distant, the greater the loss of
efficiency by pipes.
THE OZONE LAYER
The theme on air conditioning allows us to open large parentheses to

discuss a fundamental concept, which is the ozone layer or ozone sphere.
Simply put: ozone is a soft layer between 15 and 35 kilometers from our
atmosphere, about 10 kilometers thick.
Solar energy, when it reaches Earth, brings natural light and also several
harmful radiations. The ozone layer protects our planet, taking much of
this radiation away; otherwise, our planet would be sterilized.
But to interfere with this balanced equation, who showed up? We,
human beings. A few years ago, we used fire extinguishers with chemical
112
components such as halogenated hydrocarbons (or Halons). Other har-
mful chemical components are CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and HCFCs
(hydrofluorocarbons), efficient refrigeration equipment. However, they
are also very efficient chemical components in ozone depletion potential
(ODP) and global warming potential (GWP).
Scientists found in the 1980s the well-known hole in the ozone layer,
which is not a hole itself, but a thinner thickness of that layer. There was
a global alert, and, as a consequence, they carried out the creation of the
Montreal Protocol.
This agreement between several countries in 1987 says that the gradual
prohibition of these substances harmful to our atmosphere would be
established, as CFCs’ ban until 2010. The Protocol entered into force
in 1989, and the complete cessation of the CFCs, which were the most
harmful, happened in the United States only in 1995. Other substances
are being reduced gradually to this day. We were leaving some less dan-
gerous HCFCs to be extinguished by 2030.

Considering these factors, needless to say, in LEED certification, we will
avoid using as much as possible:
»» Any equipment favoring passive air conditioning strategies;
»» If we need to use equipment, we will prioritize those that

harm the atmosphere less during the building’s life cycle. We
need to find equipment that uses suitable refrigerants for our
mechanical systems. We need to retrofit a closure plan (called
a phase-out in the United States) of systems with CFCs com-

pleted within five years of completion of the project. If it is not
economically feasible for a design team to replace air conditio-
ning equipment, it uses zero CFCs. The design team can reduce
the amount of CFC leakage to 5%. The certification system
allows the realization in this way, helping the owner of the
building to make the necessary changes without harming him so
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much financially. It is worth remembering that the exchange of
equipment is linked to the cost of operation in the building’s life
cycle is more expensive than the cost of this equipment.
Generally, finding soft drinks for buildings is a paradox. It’s like finding
a tasty and healthy burger: the more delicious, the less healthy, that is,
when soda is quite efficient, it is also competent in destroying the ozone
layer. When it is benign, such as a natural gas like propane, for example,
it uses a lot of energy to convert into refrigeration, contributing to the
potential for global warming.
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It is important to understand each of these gases for proof and know the
best options for ODP or GWP. Below is a list of these soft drinks, which
can be found in The Treatment By LEED ® Of The Environmental Im-
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pact Of HVAC Refrigerants, which I will leave on the downloads page.
In the table, we can see the leading soft drinks and their potential for
ozone depletion, in addition to the related global warming potential. We
can observe, at the top, how harmful CFCs are, all without exception,
both for the depletion of the ozone layer and for global warming.
Next, there is HCFC-22, which is good for the ozone layer but bad for
global warming. There is also the HCFC-123, which can already be con-
sidered as an excellent substitute for the CFC-11. We have some CFCs
that have a low impact on ozone depletion but generally high global
warming.
At the end of the table, we also have natural refrigerants, such as carbon
dioxide, ammonia, and propane, all with zero depletion potential of the
ozone layer and minimal global warming potential. We also have not on
the table and should not fall on the exam, such as air and other HC’s
besides propane. If you remember chemistry classes, you will surely
remember these structures: butane, ethane, isobutane, and isopentane.

Finally, there is still water. It is important to know these soft drinks and
their potential for destruction because those who appear on the table fall
on the exam. Create your associations, learn a little today, and resume
periodically to fix, as these components are usually easy to forget.
Let’s think about the internal equipment now. What is the use of your
building: an office building? A hotel? A restaurant? For all, there is
equipment certified by Energystar. You may have ever seen a monitor
or a cabinet with this seal. Energystar is more or less what Watersense is
to water, only for energy. This company establishes a minimum efficien-

cy rate for equipment, which is worth prioritizing because the savings
can be considerable. As the internal systems relevant to the exam, we
still have LED lighting systems, which you should already be bald about
knowing how much it is worth, including in the short term.
DEMAND RESPONSE
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We also have in LEED a credit related to Demand Response. The goal
is to increase the participation of buildings in programs of this category
and make power generation and distribution systems more efficient, in-
creasing both the reliability of the network for the city and the reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions.
First, it is necessary to understand what demand response means. Arou-

nd the world, energy companies are looking for optimizations to ensure
the balance and security of their systems. Demand Response also called
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modulation of electricity demand, is an efficient, economical, and ecolo-

gical system that helps the electrical system of various cities worldwide.
The demand response management system allows you to unite consu-
mers who have a specific type of profile with the most necessary times
of the electrical system. Flexibility is required and lets through a modu-
lation center, which works intelligently.
Let’s take as an example a building and the electricity grid of a large city.
If the grid suffers at some point with the modulation of electricity to
adapt to the energy consumption, considering the system’s needs at that
time, it will use its building to help fulfill this function.
At the peak of consumption, the demand response system will reduce

the consumption of your building and shut down primary systems, such
as air conditioning equipment or factory-specific equipment. In this way,
we release energy to the city and help society.
We need to consider that renewable energy is now increasingly accessib-

le, which is excellent, but at the same time, it exists greater dependence
on the climate for power generation. There are significant variations in
what can be made available by the network, mainly due to climatic va-
riations. In more developed countries, this problem makes it increasingly
challenging to balance electricity production and consumption. The De-
mand Response system ends up being very interesting for an intelligent
power grid since the benefits are diverse. It promotes excellent reliability
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in the electrical system by helping in this balance, to significant savings
in the system, because it allows the network to spend less on develo-
ping new stations. Consequently, it also achieves a great environmental
benefit.
Also, it is possible to generate energy in an intelligent way for the service

in the building itself on the use of systems. It is possible to schedule
certain energy uses to perform specific functions, taking advantage of
opportunities, such as using energy when it is cheaper to generate ice for
systems that require lower temperature sources.
RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTION
After we have worked extensively on each of these aspects of energy

savings and achieved optimal results, logically, there will be a remai-

BedZED is the largest eco-village in England. It aims to help residents and workers reduce their carbon
footprint, which is a concern because the country’s primary source of energy is fossils. The construc-
tion plans to cover its energy use, provide renewable energy, decrease buildings’ built-in energy, and
produce food. Photo byf Tom Chance - CC BY 2.0
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ning energy consumption to attack and save even more. That is where
renewable energy comes in, which you already know and know that,
among the benefits, is avoiding the use of fossil fuels. Its implementa-
tion depends on a generally high initial cost and payback time, which is
changing both by the fluctuation in the price of electricity, which makes
the investment more attractive, and by the high dollar, which causes this
attractiveness to decline.
However, the logical trend is that these systems will become increasin-
gly accessible. There are several ways to obtain renewable energy, which
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even the LEED Green Associate exam will address:
»» Solar energy
»» Wind
»» Waves
School feeding boards in Gerlach, Nevada. Photo by Black Rock Solar - CC BY 2.0
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»» Biomass
»» Geothermal
»» Hydroelectric
To qualify for local renewable energy in LEED, the system must me-
et two criteria. The first and most straightforward: it must be located
on-site. The system also has to count as an eligible renewable energy
system in LEED, which excludes architectural features (solar design, e.g.,
passive) and geothermal heat pumps.
Geothermal power systems are allowed, although these go beyond batch

use as a source of free cooling or preheating. Other examples of local
renewable energy sources are photovoltaic plates, water heating, or wind
turbines.
GREEN ENERGY AND CARBON CREDITS

The second strategy of renewable energy sources is off-the-lot extrac-
tion, according to this specific credit. It is possible to purchase Green
Energy off the lot, directly or indirectly with a specific provider, or by
Renewable Energy Certificates, which in the US are called REC. The
differential of buying green energy is that, although it seems symbolic,
it encourages companies to expand their renewable energy sources and
reduce sources that use fossil fuels. The body related to RECs addres-
sed in the exam is Green-e, which certifies private companies to meet
minimum requirements for renewable energy production.
BASIC AND ADVANCED BUILDING ENERGY

METERING
We need to monitor and verify power usage. And if you’ve seen the
water efficiency category, you’ve probably understood why. You intend
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Comissionamento. Foto por NAVFAC Hawaii Specialists - CC BY 2.0
to know if everything is going well with the building systems and, if there
is a performance spree, make the necessary adjustments. We need to
check automation systems, control systems and also perform periodic
commissioning.
COMMISSIONING AND VERIFICATION

(FUNDAMENTAL AND ADVANCED)
LEED establishes as a prerequisite the fundamental and advanced

commissioning of systems to the gain credits, which analyzes building
closings. Many companies in the United States use commissioning even

if they are not certifying LEED because they recognize the financial
benefits. The commissioning agent is a professional who proves the per-
formance of what was planned in the design phase. It is an investigative
process of much analysis and optimization. There is also retro-commis-
sioning, which is the process of commissioning buildings that have been
analyzed before.
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To finalize the category, it is important to address a neglected theme but
generates significant impacts on the energy savings of buildings: train
occupants and employees who use the systems. Don’t let the human
being be free to do what he considers best... you know how it is.
It is necessary to train them to understand how building systems work

and promote efficient use during the building lifecycle, save energy
and create synergy with internal quality credits. It is necessary to hire
Facility Managers to manage the most complex systems of the building.
A periodic maintenance system ensures that performance remains as
designed, using systems that can observe mainly in the BMS (Building
Management System).
There are several reasons why buildings do not work as they should,
and several of them are related to human failures: lack of maintenance,
poor management, and inadequate employee training, switching teams
without an organization in this transition, and even changing the use of
the building during its life cycle.

The ultimate goal of all energy and atmosphere credits is, as you know
now, the maximum economy. Establishing these goals in practice will
lead to buildings with extreme performance, perhaps even net-zero
buildings, which are those that do not consume more energy than they
produce by their renewable systems. That should be the goal of all our
constructions in the future and are beginning to happen, including in the
Brazilian market.
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CREDIT CATEGORY
MATERIALS AND
RESOURCES (MR)
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That was the Category with the most modifications in LEED v4. The
main reason was the need to improve the materials applied in the pro-
jects, aiming to benefit even more the companies that work correctly,
having a complete analysis of their production chain.
It is necessary to know that its origin is its chemical components if they

have sustainable characteristics and a labor force that does not harm
workers’ lives. Improvements are sought at each stage of its processes to
ensure significant benefits for the planet.
The category focuses on minimizing the energy incorporated into the

preparation of material, from the impacts of extraction, processing,
transportation, maintenance to the disposal of construction materials.
We’ll learn several of the requirements to have a lifecycle-focused

approach to materials that perform well in the long run and promote
CREDIT CATEGORIES
resource efficiency. Each requirement identifies a specific action, which

fits into a broader context of reducing environmental impacts.
As we speak in the Category of water and energy: we need to look for

reductions directly at the source. That is, before looking for all these
sustainable materials, let’s first think about using the minimum. Using
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fewer resources, we will avoid environmental damage related to the life
cycle of material, from its supply chain and its use, even in recycling and
disposal of waste at the end of the process.
Furthermore, the reduction in the source is very interesting because it

encourages the use of innovative construction strategies, such as prefa-
brication and the design of construction materials with modular dimen-
sions, which minimize the cuts of materials and consequently their lower
efficiency.
Then we will reuse as much as we can since if we are reusing, we avoid

the use of new materials and reduce the environmental impact of this
manufacturing process. But sustainability doesn’t just depend on manu-
facturing, right?
Replacing existing materials with new ones will also require transporta-
tion, which takes a long time to compensate for greenhouse gas damage.
Why don’t we use what’s already on-site? LEED rewards the reuse of
materials, and version 4 offers even more flexibility, citing all materials
MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

reused in a project:
»» Materials from the lot itself.
»» Parts of a building reuse strategy.
»» Materials that are outside that lot.
»» Even elements of a reuse strategy.

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Recycling is another way we already know very well and which reduces
the sending of waste to landfills. In conventional practice, waste is gene-
rally deposited in these landfills, an increasingly unsustainable solution.
As we know, in many urban areas, the landfill space has already reached
its total capacity, requiring additional areas in other regions and increa-
sing transport costs and negative impacts.
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Let’s also think about innovations in recycling technologies, improving
sorting and processing. We thus ship raw materials for new uses, keeping
these materials in an increasingly long life cycle.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, 40% of total

solid waste generated in the United States is related to the construction
and demolition of buildings. Therefore, one solution that can be bene-
ficial to these wastes is converting energy if we have no more possibi-
lities than to do with them. Several countries are reducing landfill load
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through this solution. When this is done with strict air quality control
measures, energy transformation can be a viable alternative to fossil fuel
extraction.
The materials category will still address the issue of Life Cycle Analysis.
LEED seeks to accelerate the use of tools that provide decision-making

based on this analysis, stimulating the transformation of the market and
improving the quality of these databases, which tend to be complex. I
like to compare relating to what BIM was in 2005.
That is, I believe it will grow exponentially with technological advances

and the registration of materials in universal systems. LEED also unders-
tands this way, so it still allows complementary alternatives to life cycle
analysis and the credits to address this topic.
We will have several ways to document materials. LEED promotes 3

Credits for this documentation, and we will talk about detailed way about
it:
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Product Declaration: Use a minimum of 20 products from at least five

manufacturers that have made environmental declarations.
Multiattribute Optimization: seek to use products that have met opti-

mization criteria, from reducing environmental impacts, improvements
in extraction practices or harmful ingredients.
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The first is the Declaration and Optimization of Environmental Pro-
ducts, in which the objective is to encourage Life Cycle Analysis and de-
monstrate products that have positive impacts on the environment. The
second is the Raw Materials Declaration, which has the same intention
and establishes products extracted and stored correctly.
The last is the Declaration of Material Ingredients, which is intended

to (guess what?) encourage Life Cycle Analysis and demonstrate the
chemistry of these products to choose products without harmful subs-
tances.
Each of these credits will meet the requirements similarly but using uni-
que environmental certifications. We will have to learn several acronyms,
such as EPDs, HPDs, CSR, ISOs, Cradle to Cradle, GRI, FSC, OECD,
CARSN, Greenscreen, REACH, CSI... but you can calm down because
we will gradually develop these concepts.
Each of these bodies has an importance in the industry, and some will

count more for credit calculation than others, as they prove in a more
efficient way these benefits or environmental retimes. It is essential to
mention that you can even document furniture if carried out uniformly
for all credits in this Category.
CONSTRUCTION LIFE CYCLE IMPACT REDUCTION
We need to talk about something significant for all these statements,

which is Life Cycle Analysis. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a com-
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prehensive approach that determines the total environmental impacts of

a product or service, from raw material extraction, processing, distribu-
tion, use to the end of its useful life. When we open all this information
in a very transparent way, Life Cycle Analysis can provide great opportu-
nities for improvements in a product’s environmental performance.
There are, therefore, several companies that perform this analysis, and
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the intention is that one day we have many materials with this proposal
so that the comparison and choice of correct materials become much
more accessible.
As a prank, they can ask you in the Life Cycle Cost Analysis (ACCE)
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CREDIT CATEGORIES
EPD de cimento Votorantim, um dos primeiros de poucos declarados no mercado brasileiro.
126
exam. This segment does not consider the environmental impacts of
products. It is used to check the cost of the product’s life, including ins-
tallation, continuous maintenance, and eventual replacement during the
building’s life exclusively.
DISCLOSURE AND OPTIMIZATION OF

CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS - DECLARATION OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS
In this first form of product declaration, we will see the EPD’s, also
called the Environmental Product Declaration or environmental product
declaration.
EPD’s are a standardized way of finding documentation of everything

a product has consumed in its life cycle: energy, pollution, water, raw
materials. If you type in Google “Environmental Product Declarations,”
you will find the official website several with declared products. That is
not to say that if we own a product with EPD’s, it automatically becomes

a standard LEED building, but it is a start to at least know what such a
possibility within its process is.
Thus we have a much easier way of comparison for various types of pro-
ducts by the same basis of the analysis criteria. I’ll leave you an example
of EPD’s on the downloads page.
For the Product Declaration, we will use at least 20 products from at le-
ast five manufacturers that have made environmental declarations from
specific manufacturers. The products that count most for the calculation
CREDIT CATEGORIES
of LEED credit about EPD’s are, in order:
»» EPD’ in accordance with ISO 14000 approaches (14025,

14040, and 14044), which prove companies more likely to
practice correct environmental management, with at least one
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»» Cradle to Gate scope;
»» Specific Type III EPD: count as the entire product for credit
calculation;
»» Generic Type III EPD: count as 1/2 for credit calculation;

Specific Statements:
»» Publicly available, with an assessment in compliance with at

least ISO 14044. They have 1/4 for credit calculation;
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»» USGBC approved programs.
In the Optimization part, we can use products that demonstrate the re-
duction of harmful components to at least 50% of the short of the total
value of the products permanently installed in the project, such as:
»» Global Warming Potential;
»» Depletion of the Ozone Layer;
»» Acidification of land and water sources;
»» Eutrophication, in kg of nitrogen or kg of phosphate;
»» Formation of Tropospheric Ozone and depletion of non-re-

newable energy sources.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
Suppose we have already found several materials with this type of docu-
mentation and that are still regional (up to 160km), nothing fairer than
gaining more benefits for credit calculation. In that case, they will count
as 200% for the calculation. We’ll explain why right after.
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CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS - ORIGIN OF RAW
MATERIALS
The second statement we will address is the Raw Materials Declaration.

In the declaration part, we will again use at least 20 products from 5
manufacturers that have published their source of suppliers, the location
of the raw material extraction. Manufacturers commit to ecological land
use and a commitment to reduce the environmental impacts of material
extraction. We will therefore have products:
1. Self-declared, which count as 1/2 for credit calculation;
2. Third-party disclosures with Corporate Sustainability Reports

(CSR) include the environmental impacts of extraction operations
and activities associated with the manufacturer’s product and pro-
duct supply chain. Here are reports like:

»» Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Report
»» Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

(OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
»» UN Global Compact
»» ISO 26000

CREDIT CATEGORIES
In the optimization part, we will compute products in certified wood,

reuse materials, recyclable content, bio-formed materials, and products
that the producer has an extended environmental responsibility too. It
applies to at least 25% of the cost of the total value of products installed
in the project.
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For this understanding, we need to know the main definitions of the
type of raw materials, right? Let’s see every single one of them now.
Remembering that all materials must be calculated, taking into account
the price paid, including taxes and delivery. Labor costs, equipment, and
design costs should be excluded.
Reuse: As you know, reuse is nothing more than reusing a material that
would technically go to waste in building a building. This way, if a timber
you would discard would have a life cycle of 30 years, we will increase
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the life cycle of this material, helping the environment. These materials
count as 100% of the cost for credit calculations.
Recyclable Content: You also know, but it is necessary to highlight the

difference between recyclable and reused content. Recyclable will no
longer be used for its original function, such as that tire that turns into
a pacifier, for example. The reused material is the one that will perform
the same function, that is, a brick that will remain brick. It can use on
the wall as in its original function. It can also be used on the floor, as long
as it is still a brick.
We have a relevant concept about recyclable content, which involves

concepts such as pre-consumer and post-consumer content:
»» Pre-consumer recycled material: it has been recycled within

the manufacturing process itself and has not yet arrived in the
consumer’s hands. An example would be the sawdust left over
from the production of a chair. This sawdust is reused in another
CREDIT CATEGORIES
product of this factory. Therefore, the chair reaches the consu-

mer, and certain parts of the chair may have recycled before its
use. Materials that fall into this Category are wheat straw, tree
bark, wood chips, magazines, and even sawdust itself. Pre-con-
sumer recycled material counts as 0% for credit calculation.
»» Post-consumer recycled material: The material that was
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recycled after consumer use will serve for other use. The most
common examples are plastic, glass, metal, paper, and construc-
tion debris. Post-consumer recycled material counts as 100%
for credit calculation.
»» Bio-formed materials: In the previous version of LEED, the

incentive was related to Rapidly Renewable Materials, which are
those that regenerate rapidly in a cycle of up to 10 years. We
looked for bamboo, linoleum, agro fibers, wheat and strawboard,
cotton, wool, and cork. However, only documenting a rapidly
renewable material did not guarantee that its extraction practi-
ce was correct.
We now need to use the concept of bio-formed materials, which are

those with approval by Sustainable Agriculture Network standards,
which are tested according to ASTM standards. We will exclude here any
animal skin material, such as leather, for example. These materials count
as 100% of the cost for credit calculations.

Certified Wood: These are materials with the acronym FSC (Forest
Stewardship Council), which we have already found with ease in the
market. These wood products have a Chain of Custody (COC) certifica-
tion, which ensures the traceability of wood from extraction in the forest
to reach the final consumer.
If you are a furniture designer and want to have furniture with the FSC
seal, just ask for the COC certificate to ensure traceability of the entire
process of the production chain. These materials count as 100% of the
cost for credit calculations.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
Extended responsibility of the producer: as the name says, companies

participate in a comprehensive responsibility program of the producer or
directly responsible for this segment. As an example, we can talk about a
carpet company, which after the use and wear of it, is responsible for the
removal of the carpet, recycling the product, and drastically reducing
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the environmental impacts, it would cause if it were disposed of typically.
These materials count as 50% of the cost for calculating the credit.
Other USGBC-approved programs.
For all calculations, we must consider regional materials, which are ex-
tracted, processed, and manufactured within 160 kilometers of the pro-
ject site. In version 3 of LEED was considered the distance of 800km.
Therefore, there was an excellent reduction of this value.
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Examples: if we have a project in São Paulo and the plaster comes from
Pernambuco, we will not get credits in this Category. If we have a mate-
rial extracted right next to the project lot and sent beyond the 100-mile
radius for a specific treatment, you won’t get a score either logically. All
of these regional materials double the score of correct material, counting
as 200% of the cost for credit calculations.
It is important to note that version 3 of LEED had more detailed credits

in this issue. We had credits for regional materials, rapidly renewab-
le materials, recycled... But in this way, it was possible to circumvent
the system. For example, I carry out a project with bamboo, which is a
rapidly renewable material. I get credits, I put the project on sustainable
sites, and everyone thinks it’s beautiful. But let’s say this material was
extracted with child labor or disrespecting workers’ rights. The LEED
philosophy would be invalid for this situation.
LEED version 4 has created other ways to evaluate these products by

manufacturer’s proofs, where it needs to demonstrate from start to
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finish how your product was made. Suppose this product has recyclable,
bio-formed, or regional content within this percentage, better for credit
calculations. The difficulty is to find materials in Brazil with the standar-
dized proofs requested by LEED.
Still, I believe that this is a great boost for the market, and we will have
a rapid evolution of these analyses for better projects in the future. We
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are fighting for a more transparent market, thinking about building ma-
terials like any food product. If we analyze a cookie (this is the correct
term, not biscuit), you can observe the nutritional components and qui-
ckly check everything that the product has. It doesn’t mean it’s good or
bad, but it’s honest. That is precisely what LEED seeks: that you quickly
analyze everything that specific material has with proofs.
Of course, since we’re talking about proof, we’ll give more credit to com-
panies with third-party certifications, just as we create more trust, for
example, if someone else says you’re a nice guy. This line has a lot more
weight than just you saying you’re a nice guy.

CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS - MATERIAL
INGREDIENTS
The focus is on the use of materials with third-party certifications related

to their chemical components. We will again, in the declaration part use

at least 20 products from at least 5 manufacturers that have demons-
trated a chemical inventory of the product of at least 0.1% (1000ppm).
Among them are:
»» Manufacturer’s inventory. The manufacturer has published

an entire content inventory for the product following these
guidelines;
»» A public inventory for all ingredients identified by name and

CREDIT CATEGORIES
casrn registry;
»» Materials defined as trade secrets or intellectual property

may retain the name/CASRN but must be greenscreen’s
Benchmark;
»» Product Health Statement (HPD): Has a complete published
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statement of known risks following established standards;
»» Cradle to cradle: at least Level v2 Basic or v3 Bronze;
We need to expand a little more the concept of Cradle to Cradle: This

concept is, translating from Cradle to Cradle. They are thought of in
their use until disposal, and that is reused with minimal effort, keeping
a closed cycle and not open, as are the things that have suffered from
human interference over the years.
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We can commonly consider it a “virtually eternal” product, free of was-

te. Many products have more than 95% recyclable components.
To better contextualize the term Cradle to Cradle and at the same time
enter the territory of LCA (Life Cycle Analysis), there are other con-
cepts besides cradle to cradle that are important:
Cradle to Gate: The product analysis considers its production chain until
its end, without considering the displacement, its use, and disposal.
Cradle to Grave: we take into account all production, use, even its dispo-
sal.
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The Cradle to Cradle concept. Source: Cradle to Cradle.
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In the Optimization part, we should use the standards below for at least
25%, the cost, the total value of products permanently installed in the
project.
Cradle to Cradle products are counted as follows:
»» Cradle to Cradle v2 Gold: 100% cost.
»» Cradle to Cradle v2 Platinum: 150% of the cost.
»» Cradle to Cradle v3 Silver: 100% cost.
»» Cradle to Cradle v3 Gold or Platinum: 150% of the cost.
Other programs that counts towards the credit:
»» Greenscreen benchmarks for minimal chemical content (at

100ppm).

»» If any ingredient is evaluated, it counts as 100% of the cost
for calculating the credit.
»» If everyone is evaluated, they count as 150%.
»» REACH Optimization for the verification of problematic

substances. If the product does not contain ingredients that
appear in your listing, they count as 100% of the cost for the
credit calculation. It is only allowed for projects outside the US.
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There is also a third optimization option, which is to use products of less

than 25%, the cost, the total value of products permanently installed in
the project, which:
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• They come from manufacturers inserted in engagement programs
for excellent safety, health, risk care in the manufacture of materials.
• They come from manufacturers of products verified by third parties,

which:
»» They implement processes of transparency and priority of
chemical ingredients, establishing which require further analy-
sis;
»» Identify and communicate information on the health, safety,

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and environmental characteristics of the products;
»» Implement measures to deal with the safety, health, and

environmental risks of their ingredients;
»» Implement processes to optimize health, safety, and environ-

mental impacts on the project, improving its ingredients;
»» Implement processes to communicate, receive and evaluate

the safety of chemical ingredients in their supply chain;
»» They have safety information on their chemical components

publicly available from all points of the production chain.
Now that you’ve had a good idea of disseminating materials, let’s evalua-
te the beginning of a project process. The first step is about source
reduction strategies. It’s how we’ve been arguing throughout this book:
»» Better to buy a new and environmentally friendly product

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than an unknown and environmentally incorrect...
»» ... but it’s better to recycle than to use something new and
environmentally friendly...
»» ... but it’s even better to reuse than to recycle...
136
»» ... but the best is to build as little as possible, according to
your customer’s need. Make smaller projects, with a more
compact and dense neighborhood, with flexible spaces.
Let’s discuss reuse now. You already know what it means, and you already
know how important it is. After all, reuse helps reduce the shipment of
materials to landfills.
LEED encourages the reuse of virtually everything: coatings, roofing,

flooring, frames, internal and external walls, linings... that is: we can reu-
se bricks for sidewalks, a door, wood for flooring, wallets, and cabinets.
Important exceptions are the reuse of toxic products, logical reasons,
and glass because experience usually proves that old glasses significantly
impair the energy efficiency of their building.
After we reuse several building items, we will likely still have to buy new
materials for construction. Then look for environmentally friendly pro-
ducts with recyclable content that uses less energy in production, have
a small embedded power, use as few toxic substances as possible, are

efficient in water consumption, and have their packaging reduced.
REDUCTION OF PBT- MERCURY SOURCES

(PREREQUISITE AND CREDIT)
REDUCTION OF PBT SOURCES- LEAD, CADMIUM,
AND COPPER
There is both a prerequisite and a credit for hospitals. Maximum con-

CREDIT CATEGORIES
tents are requested for each type of lamp, such as T5 and T8. Lamps T9,
T10, and T12 are prohibited. For the credits, the requirements are even
higher, still necessary to use and report a valuable life for each type of
lamp. They also request to reduce materials such as lead, cadmium and
copper, usually for joints, pipes, interior paints, and roofs.
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FURNITURE AND MEDICAL DECORATIONS
If we are talking about hospitals, LEED requests some requirements

for credits that are considered very interesting. Furniture and Medical
Decorations are ordered to be obtained correctly. The goal is to improve
the attributes of human and environmental health associated with furni-
ture and medical furniture.
The requirement asks to use at least 30% of the cost, all furniture, and
medical decorations to meet the criteria of environmental declarations
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already discussed previously. Of course, if these materials are nearby up

to 100 miles, they will count more for the credit requirements.
DESIGN FOR FLEXIBILITY

We need to design thinking about the construction and most flexible

management possible of a hospital, predicting future adaptations of this
medical team, and the lifetime of components and connections. Among
the main strategies are:
»» Use programmed light spaces, such as administration and

warehouses;
»» Design Shell Spaces, which are spaces that have not been
finalized for future expansions;
»» The design thinking of a future vertical development;

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»» Design spaces for future parking structures;
»» Design dismountable partitions, even thinking about modular

furniture.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE
138
MANAGEMENT
As lean as construction is, we’re still going to generate a little waste,

right? Then we will have another prerequisite of materials, which is the
Construction and Demolition Waste Management. The prerequisite
intends to reduce the construction and demolition waste sent to land-
fills and incineration plants, with the recovery, reuse, and recycling of
materials.
The idea is to develop and implement a construction and demolition

waste management plan, setting the waste diversion targets for the pro-
ject, identifying at least five materials, and their management strategy.
Remember this term, waste diversion, since this is the way LEED counts
for the prerequisite.
Many materials are considered waste, such as brick, metal, wood, carpet,
glass, cardboard, and rock. The upper soil can also be computed in the
calculations, just can not count digging materials. After all, it doesn’t
make sense for you to explore three basements and say you converted

it, right? Hazardous materials also cannot be considered.
STORAGE AND COLLECTION OF RECYCLABLES
After designing and building in the right way, we certainly need to focus
on using materials for building, right? So we will discuss now the Storage
and Collection of Recyclable Materials. We need to provide dedicated
areas, accessible to both building occupants and garbage carriers, stora-
ge, and proper collection of these materials.
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We need to perform appropriate measures to collect materials you alre-

ady know, such as paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, and metals. We also
need to ensure the safety of storage and the disposal of at least two of
the following elements: batteries, mercury-containing lamps, or elec-
tronic waste. It is something simple since we have in much of our cities
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recycling programs. It is necessary to mention that, although we have
garbage separation programs in several cities, LEED does not consider
placement in a single place to be wrong. It is considered that it is easier
for the citizen to throw everything in a single container and then separa-
te off-site. This system saves space both on-site and in trucks, using less
fuel to bring waste to the recycling plant.
LEED has its research that reports that a single collection generates
significant benefits. Of course, we already have the culture of throwing
the trash in the right place, but if this question occurs in your exam, you
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should say that it is possible, excluding course: batteries, mercury lamps,

or electronic waste. Recycling is also considered for durable products
such as furniture, electronics and equipment, as we can recycle or dona-
te to charitable organizations.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTE

MANAGEMENT
When we come to the end of this process, using products that cannot
be reused or recycled, we have the conversion into energy, which in the
USA call Waste-to-energy. In Japan, this strategy is recurrent since
they have a focus on space-saving.
Project teams seeking this compliance option must comply with Europe-
an standards consisting of efficiency and emissions performance metrics
for different energy recovery systems. We can generate heat, electrici-
ty, or even fuel. It is essential to know how this can be accomplished: by
combustion, gasification, anaerobic digestion, or landfill gas.
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Another interesting strategy for saving materials, not considered in the

credit system, is to rent real estate for long periods. In this way, we save
with renovations of the spaces and the purchase of new furniture. The
ideal is to always stay as long as possible in an environment. The more
extended rental contracts help a lot in this.
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CREDIT CATEGORY
INDOOR
ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY (IEQ)
INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

The Category idea is to reward decisions made by project teams that fo-
cus on indoor air quality, visual, natural, and artificial lighting, and ther-
mal and acoustic comfort. Green buildings with a good internal environ-
mental quality will promote the health and comfort of their occupants.
High-quality indoor environments have proven to increase employee

productivity, decrease the number of shortages, and increase the value
of the building as a whole. Privilegiasing the internal quality of our envi-
ronments makes perfect sense, considering that we spend most of our
lives - being able to reach up to 90% of that time - in buildings, whether
working, living, sleeping, or performing our daily activities.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
To understand the objectives of this Category, we need to go back to the

initial concepts of our book and discuss an important topic: money. Af-
ter all, the relationship between the cost of a strategy and the building’s
life cycle is essential. We will understand how environments with good
internal quality make perfect sense for both those who live and who
produce, and as you have read in this book: these results are proven!
141
In the US and even in Brazil, companies already look for buildings with
these quality factors. After all, it is much more expensive to have a sick
employee in a bad environment that costs less than a highly productive
in a slightly more costly environment. Multiply this question by the time
of market of a company, and you will understand well.
A high-quality environment reduces shortages, complaints, lack of

productivity, licenses, and professional turnover. It improves employee
retention, satisfaction and consequently positively influences the marke-
ting of this company. For this to happen, we need to analyze everything:
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temperature, humidity, lighting, acoustics, air quality, and control of

systems.
MINIMUM QUALITY PERFORMANCE

(PREREQUISITE) AND IMPROVED INDOOR AIR

(CREDIT)
That is a prerequisite of LEED to contribute to the comfort and

well-being of the building’s occupants, setting minimum standards for
internal air quality, inserting as much fresh air as possible, and removing
the air considered harmful. The importance of this prerequisite is the
decrease in the syndrome of sick buildings, which impairs the day-to-day
health of people who live or work for long periods in spaces that have
inadequate air quality.
The causes of diseased buildings are often related to failures in the

heating system, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Still, they are
also related to VOCs (VOCs in the USA), which are the volatile organic
CREDIT CATEGORIES
compounds used in construction, are highly polluting.
That is a problem with no distinction between race and gender and kills
both poor and rich people, such as former minister Sérgio Mota, a victim
of the legionella sp bacteria, which causes pneumonia.
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There are many commercial environments, especially in cold climates,
which, to save energy, only recirculate the internal air, thus accumulating
the number of contaminants. We still need to control the humidity of
these environments, avoiding the creation of mold.
To comply with this purpose, we need to establish requirements for both

ventilation and air monitoring of Mechanically and naturally Ventilated
Spaces, itis necessary to comply with ASHRAE 62 regulations and
install flow meters and carbon dioxide sensors.
The intention is to monitor these concentrations, and these monitors

must be positioned between 0.9m and 1.8m above the floor. They need
to have an audible or visual indicator or even alert the building automa-
tion system if the CO2 concentration exceeds the limits by more than
10%. ASHRAE 62.1-2010 still references a Merv filter rating of factor
11 or higher.

If that’s a prerequisite, we can go even further. It is possible to establish
Improved Internal Air Quality Strategies, with some actions:
We can use a doormat with at least 3 meters in the pedestrian entrances

of the building. It is similar to those that we find at the door of malls.
That helps to hold much of the dirt, water, and contaminants of users’
feet. Internal prevention of cross-contamination and a particle filtration
system is also another essential strategy.
We also need to prevent external contamination by increasing ventilation

and general monitoring of the air of these environments, considering
that the system will vary if space is mechanically or naturally ventilated.
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ASHRAE 62.1-2010 here refers to a Merv filter rating of factor 13 or

higher.
The general idea is to eliminate all possible contaminants: dust, building

contaminants, carbon dioxide, particles, chemical agents, and radon (or
radon in the USA).
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It is necessary to open a parenthesis for radon, a hazardous radioactive
and carcinogenic gas. There are currently many difficulties perceiving
it because it has no smell, color, or taste. It is only possible to know its
concentration with measurements.
This gas is present throughout the earth’s surface and is not toxic but
easily disintegrates, giving rise to harmful radioactive elements. When
innated, they reach the bronchi, they radiate to neighboring tissues,
causing lung tumors. It is estimated to be the second leading cause of
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lung cancer after tobacco.
Overall, its concentration in the atmosphere is low. But indoors, such as

housing, for example, it reaches worrying levels. The highest values are
on lower floors, such as the basements and the ground floor. Granite soil
is the primary source of radon, which infiltrates buildings through cracks

and cracks in the pavement or walls, by joints, or in the joints of the
pipes. That’s why LEED for Homes certification has a specific credit to
deal with this topic.
TOBACCO SMOKE CONTROL
Unfortunately, we have another relevant contaminant: tobacco smoke.

As it is a prerequisite, if you do not reach, you already know note zero.
The intention is to prevent and minimize the occupants’ exposure to se-
condhand smoke and avoid contact with the building’s internal surfaces,
with ventilation systems and or air distribution.
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There is no other way to comply with this item than to prohibit smoke
within the building, except in specific areas located at least 7.5 meters
from all entrances, air outlets, and operable windows. We will also have
to ban smoking within the property line in spaces used for business con-
versations.
For Residential Buildings, it is a bit more complicated: either ban

144
smoking entirely in a contract-communicated manner for all buyers or
renters or compartmentalize the smoke areas within the building.
Compartmentalization of each unit needs to be performed to prevent

excessive leakage between units, as follows:
»» We need to seal all external doors and operable windows in

residential units, minimizing leakage to outdoor areas;
»» We will also need to seal all the doors that carry the residen-
tial units between typical circulations;
»» Seal vertical ducts, including trash, mail, and elevators if they

communicate with the apartments;
»» Perform a Blower-door Test at the end of construction, a

pressurization test that demonstrates minimal leakage within
this unit.
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Blower-door test being performed. Photo by airtight junkies - CC BY 2.0
145
MINIMUM ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE (PRE-
REQUISITE)
This prerequisite for schools is to improve teaching by facilitating

communication between teachers and students through good acoustic
design.
To achieve good acoustics, we can work in several ways: reducing the

noise of air conditioning systems, ventilation or heating of classrooms.
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We can also reduce external noise for locations with this in excesses,
such as avenues, urban centers, or other sources of noise pollution. We
can implement acoustic treatment or other measures to minimize them
from external sources. We also need to improve reverberation levels and
understand what is required at the certification level; we will first have to

understand the volume of your room.
If the room has a volume smaller than 556m³, we can work in two ways:
1. Include sound-absorbent finishes that meet the reverberation times

specified in ANSI 60 standards, or local equivalents;
2. For each room, confirm that the total surface of the wall panels and
ceiling finishes are equal to or exceed the total area of the ceiling of
the room, excluding lamps, diffusers, and grids.
Suppose the classroom or other learning space is larger than 556m³.

In that case, we will have to use more specific goals, such as the reverb
levels of the NRC-CNRC Construction Technology Update No. 51,
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Acoustical Design of Rooms for Speech (2002), or local equivalents.
Other interesting strategies, such as using white noise to mask diffe-

rent sounds, project thinking about the geometry of these spaces, and
not project with ventilation ducts with minimal diameter since they are
usually noisier.
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ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE (CREDIT)
Of course, acoustic performance is not restricted to schools alone. We

will have a specific credit for schools and other types of buildings, with
objectives close to the strategies mentioned above. We’ll need to redu-
ce the noise of HVAC systems as per the 2011 ASHRAE Handbook:
HVAC Applications. In addition, we will need to establish maximum
Sound Transmission Classes (STC) for each type of environment. from
45dB to standard offices, going through 50 dB for stores reaching up to
60dB for busy mechanical areas.
Establishing maximum reverb times for each type of environment is also

required. Masking for auditoriums or spaces with more than 50 people is
equally important for credit compliance.
LOW EMITTING

MATERIALS
Now we will see another

interesting way to impro-
ve air quality, which is Low
Emission Materials. The goal
is to reduce concentrations
of chemical contaminants
that can damage air quali-
Silicone based sealant. ty, human health, people’s
Photo by Emilian Robert Vicol - CC BY 2.0 productivity, and also the
environment.
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To achieve the goal, we will need to reduce as much as possible the

emissions of Organic Volatile Compounds (VOC) in the internal air and
the VOC content of these materials. The strategy applies to paintings
and interior coatings, flooring, composite wood, adhesives and sealants,
linings, wall, thermal and acoustic insulation, even for furniture.
147
It is an even greater requirement for schools to analyze all products
also applied in the external areas. We will have minimal percentages of
products free of harmful elements that we must achieve, in which we get
credits the better that choice.
Carpet adhesives must meet both general assessment emissions and

VOC content requirements for wet application products. The evaluation
of general emissions refers to the CDPH method. As wet adhesives are
applied, the product must also meet the VOC content requirements of
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SCAQMD.
Wet applied products must meet both content and VOC emissions
requirements.
INTERNAL CONSTRUCTION AIR QUALITY

MANAGEMENT PLAN
After analyzing several items in the phase of a project, we now need to

build. But we’re not going to build it anyway, are we? We will carry out
an Internal Building Air Quality Management Plan. Here we will promo-
te the well-being of our construction workers and the occupants, mini-
mizing the internal air quality problems associated with construction and
renovation.
We will develop an internal air quality management plan for the cons-
truction and pre-occupancy phases of the building. Here we will meet
the recommendations of SMACNA (Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning
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National Contractors Association). The recommended control measures

listed in the SMACNA standard are HVAC protection, source control,
path interruption, cleaning service, and scheduling.
We will protect absorbent materials stored at the site of the work pre-
venting moisture, which decent builders already do. We will install filters
148
with minimal efficiency, so-called MERV filters. The efficiency of this
filter goes from 1 to 16, and what we will use will be a filter of at least 8,
as recommended by ASHRAE 52.2.2007.
The use of tobacco products inside the building should be prohibited

according to the prerequisite. It is supposed to be 7.5 meters from the
entrance during construction. Other relevant strategies for rooms with
chemicals are using an exhaust system out of the building and without
contact with adjacent areas and keeping chemical storage rooms at
negative pressure.
INTERNAL AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT
We already understand how to improve the air quality of construction,

reducing VOCs in the environments as much as possible. Indeed re-
mained a remnant of pollutants in the building related to contaminant

elements.
We will now conduct an Internal Air Quality Assessment. The purpose

of this LEED credit is to establish a better internal air quality within the
building after construction has finished, i.e., when we start the occupa-
tion.
We can accomplish this after the entire work is completed. All inter-
nal finishes, such as joinery, doors, paintings, carpet, acoustic tiles, and
furniture, must be installed. We will test the air by checking all these
compounds, such as formaldehyde, particles, ozone, VOCs, carbon mo-
noxide, and others. If these concentrations exceed the limit at any point,
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we will need to take corrective actions to eliminate these contaminants

and repeat the tests until all requirements are met.
If the environment does not meet the relationship of these contami-

nants, we will perform a flush-out of the building, that is, insert a large
volume of air into this building for several days. If a company already
wants to occupy the building, LEED allows, as long as you keep inserting
149
this total air volume during this occupation. After finishing this flush
out, you must retest the environment and terminate when the levels are
below the maximum allowed.
After all this effort, there’s no point in letting the cleaning team use any
kind of chemicals. We will use products both environmentally friendly
and not harmful to the people of that environment.
It is not only about the use but also about the strategies of use. We need
to know how they are being stored, what chemical components they ha-
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ve, what quantity, how is the training of employees for the use of these
products, the control plans, and the use of necessary equipment.
Before we continue with more interesting approaches, we will talk about

some definitions that may fall into the examination related to the occu-
pants of the building:
»» Individual Occupant Spaces: areas where a single occupant

performs different tasks;
»» Regularly Occupied Spaces: passing areas or an area used for

activities that last less than one hour per day per person;
»» Regularly Occupied Spaces: areas where one or more indi-

viduals typically stay longer, on average more than an hour per
day;
»» Unoccupied space: area designed for equipment, machinery,

or storage.
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THERMAL COMFORT
As you know, thermal comfort is paramount to your well-being and

productivity. To meet LEED, we need to check both design and thermal
comfort control issues. We need to meet ASHRAE 55 in questions
150
about HVAC systems and construction closure or total equivalents. We
can also meet ISO7730 and CEN standards.
Thermal comfort control strategies are fundamental because we humans

have different comfort and rarely work with standardized clothes.
Ideally, we provide individual controls for at least 50% of the occupied

spaces. Still, we need to give thermal group comfort controls for all mul-
ti-occupant areas. This control can adjust from air temperature, ambient
humidity, and heated floor temperature.
INDOOR LIGHTING
Since we’re providing people with control, how about we give them more
power? We will provide good Internal Lighting. The intention here is to
promote the productivity of occupants, the comfort and well-being of

as many people as possible through high-quality lighting. Then you can
provide lighting control and quality.
The idea is to provide the benefit for at least 90% of the individual spa-
ces occupied on lighting control. We need to form at least three levels:
on, off, and mid-level. We will insert a multi-zone control system for all
multi-occupied areas, allowing these occupants to adjust the lighting to
meet everyone’s needs, also using at least three levels of lighting scenes.
On the quality of lighting, we have interesting strategies such as using

correct luminaires for its type of use, with a CRI (color reproduction ca-
pacity) of 80 or more, with a long service life of at least 24,000 hours.
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DAYLIGHT
Of course, even providing the best control and quality of artificial ligh-
ting, we should first think about designing using Daylight. We need to
connect the building occupants with the outside, reinforcing their circa-
151
dian rhythms (as commented in the credit of Light Pollution in Sustaina-
ble Lots), reducing electricity use by introducing natural light into space
obtaining excellent synergies for energy optimization.
To achieve the goal, we need to distribute the lighting to the largest

possible area and decrease the obfuscation caused by too much light
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Analysis of sDA and ASE of Residential Building. By Filipe Boni.
152
intensity. The best option, and the one that provides the most points for
credit, is the simulation of spatial daylight autonomy (sDA) for at least
55% of the area and the Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE) for a maxi-
mum of 10% of spaces.
There are other measurement strategies, such as Lighting Calculation

and Environment Measurement. Still, they are not as efficient since, by
simulation, you check directly in the design and can simulate in conjunc-
tion with the energy depending on the software used. Treating sDA and
ASE while maintaining good natural lighting while not overshadowing the
environment can be difficult, so LEED addresses some interesting ideas
to help:
Light shelves are both internal and external shelves. If used on the north
face of the building, they are very efficient because at the same time

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Light Shelves optimizing lighting in an office. Photo by Audobom - CC BY 2.0
153
they protect from the direct sun, they distribute the illumination to the
back of the room, which can be an excellent strategy for the lighting
economy.
Zenital lighting is always very efficient. Studies of stores show that

natural lighting generates an increase in sales, the productivity of people,
and the quality of life. The weak point is obfuscation, so one should use it
with some care.
Solar tubes can be inserted into the building roofs, as they help illumina-
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te the center of low buildings that cannot access peripheral lighting.
QUALITY VIEWS
We also have one last strategy to improve the quality of life of the buil-
ding occupants and their contact with the outside world. We can achieve
this through Quality Views. The idea is to provide a direct line of sight to
the external area, through the windows, to 75% of the regularly occupied
floor spaces.
Like high partitions, we can’t have obstructions, not even glasses with
paint that changes light colors. We also need to establish views with a
factor of 3 or greater, as instructed in the book “Windows and Offices;
A Study of Office Worker Performance and the Indoor Environment.”,
which can be consulted for free on the downloads page.
We also need to provide these regularly occupied spaces with a 90º wide
view for outdoor areas, including people, flora, fauna, sky, and everyday
CREDIT CATEGORIES
objects. If there is an atrium in the building, it can be computed to serve

30% of the necessary areas.
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CREDIT CATEGORY
INNOVATION (IN)
As you may have already noticed, LEED is very much tied to innovation.
The aim is to encourage the cohesion of project teams to find the best
alternatives, including going beyond what is addressed by LEED. There
are 6 points within the Innovation category, which are within those ten
bonus points, in addition to the 100 total certification points.
The first credit deals precisely with innovation, which is worth 5 points. It
is essential to realize that there are 6 points for the Innovation Category
and 5 points for Innovation Credit. It is important to distinguish that
there is both the Category and the Innovation Credit.
LEED ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL
INOVATION
The remaining point refers to the LEED Accredited Professional or LE-
ED AP. It’s a very simple credit: if we insert a LEED AP into your cer-
tification process, we get 1 point. It is nothing more than an incentive to
improve the certification process, make it more peaceful and efficient.
We must keep leed ap active in the process to find the best possibilities.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
In the exam, they can ask you what would happen if you insert 2 LEED
AP’s into the project, and you already know that it is one of the maxi-
mum points for credit. It is also important to mention that the point is
only granted if it is by the same certification system: if you are the only
LEED AP BD+C certifying an ID+C project, you will not get the credit.
155
On the innovation credit, we have three strategies to achieve, the first of
which is:
EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE
As mentioned throughout the book, LEED rewards projects that holisti-

cally seek sustainability and are as comprehensive as possible. However,
there are certain credits in which you can go further than the set to
maximum.
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I saved 50% of the building’s energy using various strategies in energy

performance optimization credit. I got 18 points, which is already ex-
cellent. But let’s say I got more than that, 55% savings, proven by the
documentation. The LEED then allows obtaining one additional point per
exemplary performance, i.e., 19 points.
A good performance score is a maximum of 1 point for each credit. That

is, if I could get 60% savings, I would still get 1 point. The exemplary per-
formance is submitted by proportion. For example, energy performance
optimization credit provides credits as follows:
»» 42% energy saving, 16 points.
»» 46% energy saving, 17 points.
»» 50% energy savings, 18 points.
Guess the percentage of energy savings needed to get 19 points? You

CREDIT CATEGORIES
got it right: 54%.
If it were an Internal Water Savings credit, we would earn 5 points by

saving 45% of the water and 6 points if you save 50%, which is the ma-
ximum set by the credit. How much would you get achieving exemplary
performance? You got it right again: if you saved 55%, you get 7 points.
It is important to understand that not all credits have exemplary perfor-
156
mance: we can get a maximum of 2 points in this aspect. Of all credits
that enable good performance, only two will have this possibility in certi-
fication. It is important to note that we will not have exemplary accounts
for prerequisites since they are mandatory and are not worth a point.
PILOT CREDITS
Several credits are in a USGBC database and have not entered the
Reference Guide for a reason, precisely the Pilot Credits page. In my
opinion, this is a USGBC testing area for collecting interesting ideas for
the future of certification. Even some of these strategies have already
come out of this database and become official reference guide strategies.
There are several really interesting strategies, such as the bird collision
deterrence credit. The idea is to design buildings that avoid the collision
of birds with the façade of buildings, using a glass system that is not so
mirrored or even improve the ergonomics of environments for computer
users.
There are also credits for compact development, promotion of social

equity, local food production, many very interesting credits. We can
earn up to 3 points using Pilot credits.
INOVATION
INNOVATION POINTS
If the Innovation Category and Innovation Credit were not enough, the
last strategy is innovation. What does that mean? We will achieve signi-
ficant environmental performance using a strategy not addressed in the
CREDIT CATEGORIES
LEED classification system.
As it is a bit difficult to find something that does not exist in certifica-

tion, usually what is accomplished is related to the communication of the
certified building with the community in educational strategies such as
courses and guided tours. It is essential to know that these goals need
157
to be quantifiable, comprehensive, measurable, and better than standard
market practice. Not long ago, the Innovation Catalog was launched on
the USGBC, giving you an idea of what can be accomplished.
The area of education is oriented to the placement of signs illustrating

the building’s sustainable strategies for visitors, developing a manual or
case study demonstrating the benefits of the building, some educational
program, or guided tour. We’ll leave this link on the downloads page for
you to take a look at later.
www.ugreen.io
It is necessary to say that innovation credits are a risk, and if the strategy
is too “innovative,” we will not be sure that the credit will be approved.
It’s good to have a card up your sleeve in case the claim is denied.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
158
CREDIT CATEGORY
REGIONAL
PRIORITY (RP)
Suppose we mention the ten bonus points of the certification and alrea-
dy know six by the category of Innovation. In that case, you surely want
to know what the four additional points are about. That is where regional
priorities come in.
Regional Priorities vary by state, and sometimes with each country, de-
pending on the more intense performance of USGBC USGBC regional
REGIONAL PRIORITIES
councils (USGBC Chapters in the USA).
For example, in Brazil, Curitiba has the same Regional Priorities as São
Paulo, while Amazon has different priorities due to its characteristics.
There are usually six priorities pointed out, but we can get a maximum of
4 points only. It is necessary to choose only four and meet such prefe-
rences masterfully, simple as well.
CREDIT CATEGORIES
Obtain points by reaching the Credit Limit indicated in the region, such
as the Natural Lighting Credit, which is 3 points maximum.
However, because it is a regional priority, if you reach at least 2 points

of lighting credit, you get a third. If you reach 3 points on the lighting
159
credit, you will receive 4 points.
Now, if you reach less than the 2-point limit set by the regional priorities
for this particular lighting credit, you will only get 1 point.
You can consult each of your city’s regional priorities by going to the
link: www.usgbc.org/rpc
www.ugreen.io
CREDIT CATEGORIES
160
SYNERGIES &
TRADEOFFS
After observing all credit categories, we will now address the Synergies
and Tradeoffs of the certification process.
SINERGIES
On synergies, we already know that certain LEED certification strate-

gies help to achieve other points, right? We have many interesting stra-
tegies, and it is imperative to keep them in mind as they are addressed in
the exam. Let’s look at the most classic strategy now, okay?
SYNERGIES AND TRADEOFFS

Imagine that you chose a contaminated lot to certify. The probability
that this is a lot located in an urban area is excellent, so you have real
chances of having a good density of buildings and various uses, right?
You will still be likely to have more transportation and bus lines, earning
credits for quality transit. In addition to decontaminating this lot, which
is great, we will not harm another batch in which, perhaps, there were
endangered species.
Another strategy we can use is to limit parking areas. If we create a

smaller parking lot, what happens? We will maximize open spaces, create
CONSIDERATIONS
excellent opportunities for rainwater management, and in addition, we

will also help reduce heat islands. Cool, isn’t it?
Let’s go further now: a green roof. This one you already imagine will help
manage rainwater, reduce heat islands and reduce thermal loads, as this
roof further protects the building from sun exposure. It will also help in a
smaller sizing of HVAC equipment. This green roof will also help decre-
161
ase heat in winter, assist in energy and equipment design, contribute to
the open spaces, and promote a better habitat... This without taking into
account the fact that will make the building spaces more beautiful and
pleasant!
Another interesting synergy is rainwater management. You already

know that we will reduce the possibility of flooding and erosion by water
starting very quickly from the lot (water runoff). We will have a synergy
with irrigation in landscaping; we can use this water for the toilet. If you
are a champion, you can also use this water for HVAC systems, reducing
www.ugreen.io
internal and external water use.
Now let’s discuss synergies related to the issue of building soft drinks.
This choice impacts energy performance and also the comfort of occu-
pants, so it is essential to analyze. It is also related to the quality of the
building closure, which can have a crucial impact on this synergy, espe-
cially in cold climates.
On renewable energy, logically, the building can enjoy this benefit. It

will be even higher if we perform a good energy optimization, as we have
already discussed in the energy and atmosphere category.
Now, talking about materials, if we reuse parts of a building, we’re going

to divert those materials from the landfill, right? But that’s not all!
Suppose we reuse, for example, a rubber tire for a plant forging as part
of your xeriscaping strategy. In that case, we will contribute to reused,
recyclable materials and help reduce irrigation.
If we use a door with the FSC seal and a lock of recyclable content, we
CONSIDERATIONS
have a synergy of the two benefits of using this strategy. That applies to
any material, so this choice should be made very carefully. As an additio-
nal strategy, if we use materials with little VOCs, we can also help in the
internal quality of the environment.
We will finalize synergies by talking about the internal quality of the

162
environment. If, for example, we use larger windows to increase natural
light, we will also promote quality views for people. We’re going to redu-
ce the need for artificial light and also the electricity demand, right?
TRADEOFFS
Everything in life has a setback. Every choice, one LOSS. So you must
imagine that there are also conflicts related to credit categories, right?
After all, nothing in the world can be that wonderful. The first tradeoff
we will address is precisely the other side between the synergy of natural
light, quality views, the reduction of artificial light, and energy savings:
the relationship between Natural Light x Obfuscation and Heat.
Daylight helps improve people’s productivity and reduces the need for
artificial light, right? But what happens when we don’t work properly?
Suppose we extend too much natural light in hot climates. In that case,
we can cause a lot of heat to the perimeter of this building, requiring an
additional air conditioning load and excellent equipment in the project.
SYNERGIES AND TRADEOFFS

By these nuances, the credit of Natural Light focuses both on the Spa-
tial Autonomy of Light and on the Annual Exhibition, seeking to work
on the distribution of this illumination and lower light intensity. But of
course, also, in colder climates, we can establish other parameters for
these elements; that is, in this particular climate, this tradeoff can be sig-
nificantly reduced.
The second tradeoff is ventilation x energy use. You already have an idea
that in the category of internal quality of the environment, we get points
by increasing the amount of ventilation in a building and know that
CONSIDERATIONS
LEED addresses in the part of Energy and Atmosphere a reduction in

energy use. Well, what happens when you put the two together?
We will need more use of HVAC equipment, which will consume more
energy. We can use one strategy to mitigate the problem: to use exter-
nal air, working ventilation, and heating or to cool only when necessary.
163
In this way, we optimize this energy consumption in the building.
Another classic setback is the use of imported recycled materials. The

material, all handsome and politically correct, and that came from China
(unless this material has come to Brazil by rowboat... but then it wouldn’t
be legally sustainable for people). In short: as sustainable as the material
is in isolation, it will no longer be as soon as it leaves the Chinese port.
There are smaller tradeoffs, such as using a green roof without a proper
filtration system, which can decrease the possibility of using gray water
www.ugreen.io
from the building. There are also minimal issues, such as the permission
of operable windows in the building, which are great for thermal control,
ventilation of the building, and flexibility for the occupants but can signi-
ficantly impair acoustic comfort.
In conclusion, credit categories have more possibilities of synergies than

tradeoffs. Still, it is essential to understand these concepts and study
them together, both for proof and professional life. A hug and even the
last lesson of our LEED Green Associate course!
CONSIDERATIONS
164
REFERENCES
Several reference standards need to be used to meet LEED credits and
prerequisites. It’s annoying to have to decorate each of them, but if you
continue your studies you will find that this can help you a lot, after all,
it is excellent to know where to look for information from appropriate
sources. You can be sure that some of these referrals will fall into the
LEED Green Associate exam as well.
ASHRAE: The Acronym stands for American Society of Heating,

Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association.
ASHRAE was created to encourage the advancement of the sciences
related to ventilation, heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration, pro-
moting a more sustainable world. It permeates several LEED credits,
mostly related to Energy and Internal Quality of the Environment. It is
constantly updated, with the latest revisions generally in 2013.
ASHRAE 52.2 - Establishes the methodology of testing the cleaning

of ventilation devices by particle removal efficiency. It also establishes
REFERENCES
a test procedure to evaluate the performance of air purification de-
vices depending on particle size. The standard classifies particle sizes
into bands, and these ranges are then used to determine the minimum
efficiency by a Special filter called me. The MERV rating goes from 1-16,
with one filtering little and 16 filtering most particles. The LEED asks for
at least one MERV 8 filter or better during construction and MERV 13
CONSIDERATIONS
or better for occupied buildings.
Internal Environment Quality, Increased Ventilation, Internal Building

Quality Management Plan, and IAQ Management Best Practices will
affect the credits that will be affected.
165
ASHRAE 55: Establishes Thermal Conditions for Human Occupa-
tion. Specifies the internal combinations of environments and personal
factors that will produce acceptable conditions in this thermal area for
80% or more of the occupants within a space. No person is the same as
another, and it’s great that ASHRAE also thinks that way so that it will
talk about:
Temperature;
Thermal radiation;
Humidity;
www.ugreen.io
Airspeed;
Personal factors: activity and clothing.
The associated credit categories are: Thermal Comfort Design, Thermal

Comfort Verification, System Controllability, Indoor Air Quality, Incre-
ased Ventilation, Occupant Comfort, etc.
ASHRAE 62: Talks about ventilation for an acceptable Indoor Air Qua-
lity. It addresses indoor air quality issues and indicates minimum ventila-
tion rates to reduce the potential for adverse health effects. The stan-
dard specifies the design of mechanical or natural ventilation systems
that prevent the absorption of contaminants, minimize the growth and
spread of microorganisms, and, if necessary, filter particles. The stan-
dard also specifies appropriate complementary air intake and exhaust air
outlet locations relative to potential sources of contamination.
Categories related to Indoor Environmental Quality credits, Tobacco
Smoke, Increased Ventilation, IAQ Management Best Practices.
CONSIDERATIONS
ASHRAE 90: It is the standard for Buildings, except for low residential
ones. This standard establishes minimum requirements for an efficient
energy project of buildings. Topics covered include building wrap, HVAC
systems, service water heating, power, lighting, and other equipment.
Credit-related categories are Energy Use, Minimum Performance, Ligh-
ting, Ventilation, and Light Pollution.
166
Attention! Note that there are several ASHRAE standards: 52, 55,
62, and 90. It is essential to remember each of them and create your
methodology to not forget during the race!
ANSI: Refers to the American National Standards Institute. A non-pro-

fit that works with standardizing procedures for virtually everything in
the US and is equivalent to our ABNT. Much of what we have in ABNT
comes from ANSI and relates to most leed-related credits. It is the most
comprehensive today, and as LEED has a lot of international standards,
ANSI permeates virtually everything.
ASTM - Originally known as the American Society for Testing and

Materials. It’s an American standardization body. ASTM develops and
publishes technical standards for a wide range of materials, products,
systems, and services. The credits related are Heat Islands, Natural
Lighting, Quality Views, Indoor Environmental Quality, Tobacco Smoke,
Contaminated Areas, and Energy Efficiency.
CFRs (US Code of Federal Regulations) - A coding of the rules pu-

blished in the US Federal Registry. It serves to define agricultural fields
and swamps, and the credit categories that will be related are Sensitive
Earth Protection and Protect and Restore Habitat.
Clean Air Act, Title VI, Article 608 – Clean Air Act 1990, in which the REFERENCES
EPA established standards on the use and recycling compounds that
exhaust the ozone layer.
Related credits are Energy and Atmosphere and Fundamental and Ad-
CONSIDERATIONS
vanced Soft Drink Management.
CBECS: Like the ‘CommercialBuildings Energy ConsumptionSurvey,’ it

collects information from all American buildings, their constructive cha-
racteristics, their energy consumption, and which ones are responsible. It
is restricted to commercial buildings but can include different types such
167
as schools and even churches.
Credit categories are Minimum Energy Performance and Optimize

Energy Performance.
Ecology: Attests that the products are environmentally correct. There

are several in LEED and refer to sustainable shopping and cleaning.
The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct) - Standard laws and laws de-
signed to increase the use of clean energy and improve overall energy ef-
www.ugreen.io
ficiency in the United States. Covers building codes, equipment, HVAC,

lighting, renewable energy, and water flow equipment.
It has to do with several credits, such as Water Efficiency, Water Use

Reduction, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Renewable Energy.
Energy Star: It is a joint program between the US. Environmental

Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy that helps save
and improve the environment with more energy-efficient products. You
may have seen it are desktop computers, notebooks, monitors, scanners,
among several other hardware. Usually, these products carry the ENER-
GY STAR label if they save 30% to 75% more energy than standard
equipment.
Related credits are Energy and Atmosphere.
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager - Portfolio Manager, is another

Energystar initiative that helps assess energy and water consumption
inside buildings.
CONSIDERATIONS
I am related to Energy and Atmosphere credits, Measurement and Veri-

fication, Energy Performance, and Water Efficiency.
FloorScore Testing Program: It is a test program that certifies paving

products that conform to the emissions issue. The aim is to improve in-
168
door air quality according to requirements adopted in California. We can
mention vinyl, linoleum, laminates, wood, ceramic, and rubber flooring
among the products included in the program.
The related categories are internal environmental quality and low emis-
sion materials.
Forest Stewardship Council - FSC acronym in several products gene-

rally related to wood or recyclable. If you don’t know, it’s an international
standard for products that come from forests managed responsibly and
from verified recycled sources.
The related category is Resources and Materials, usually dissemination

and optimization of material ingredients and raw materials.
Green-e - Energy Certification Program for Renewable Energy pro-

ducts. Certifies products that meet environmental and consumer pro-
tection standards.
It is related to Energy and Atmosphere, Renewable Energy, and Green

Energy.
Green Label and Green Label Plus Testing Programs are created by
REFERENCES
the Carpet and Rug Institute, setting limits on VOC (volatile organic
compounds, or VOCs). They set limits for these compounds on carpets
(Green Label Plus) and the carpet pad (Green Label).
The credit category you will address is the Internal Quality of the Envi-
ronment.
CONSIDERATIONS
Green Seal - an organization that promotes the manufacture and sale of

environmentally responsible consumer products. It is usually related to
materials with low VOCs and green cleaning.
The credit category is also Internal Quality of the Environment.

169
IESNA (Illuminating Engineering Society of North Americas) - Speci-
fies the density of external lighting to help prevent light pollution.
ISO 14000 - Related to environmental product declaration and life

cycle analysis. ISO serves to evaluate the environmental performance
of products and services and provide guidance to improve their environ-
mental performance.
ISO 14021 - This standard regulates self-declared environmental rights.

www.ugreen.io
For example, how companies should declare the extraction practices of a

product. It is linked to the Materials and Resources category.
Montreal Protocol - Established in 1985 to end CFCs or chlorofluoro-
carbon and HCFCs (hydrofluorocarbons).
The related credit categories are Energy and Atmosphere.
South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) - Public

agency in Southern California (these California people are busy...) and
its mission is to maintain healthy air quality. His work is related to adhe-
sives and sealants.
It is related to the internal quality of the environment.
Watersense -R has been the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency),

which helps consumers identify products with efficient water use.
CONSIDERATIONS
170
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank you for reading this book. It’s been a long journey, but I
hope it was as gratifying for you to receive this content as it was for me
to write this book for you.
I would like to make you an invitation to indicate this book to your

friends and colleagues, who will be able to receive this knowledge and
use it in practice for a better architecture. I wish you much luck on this
journey, and if you have any questions, write to me at: contato@ugreen.
com.br.
»» Most of the bibliographic sources are from the USGBC.
»» USGBC® and related logos are trademarks belonging to the
»» US Green Building Council and are used with permission.
»» USGBC® and the related logos are trademarks owned by

the
»» US Green Building Council and are used with permission.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Filipe Boni
Architect, founder of UGREEN
Filipe’s primary purpose is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustai-

nable projects and construction. During his journey as an architect, he
discovered that the real solution was not to develop sustainable projects
himself. The answer was to give the green tools to as many construction
professionals to stimulate this process. That’s why his company UGRE-
EN uses education and consultancies as the primary strategy of this
green transformation.
Since 2015, Filipe and his partners educate the worldwide community
with sustainable strategies in all their extensions and importance. Their
free online events made with their private resources brought more than
200,000 attendants worldwide, presenting green content, actionable
insights, and transformation in places where it would be hard to get.
More than only helping people develop better projects, they are here
to help people plant a lasting seed. This way, students and professionals
can grow their careers with a sustainable mindset and make the world a
better place through their leaderships.
Website: ugreen.io
Instagram: instagram.com/ugreen_us

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HOW TO BECOME A

LEED GREEN ASSOCIATE

LEED® and USGBC® are trademarks registered by the US Green

No part of this publication will be reproduced, transmitted, or resold in

their way to a new architecture.

I - despite having worked in 2 certified buildings - I do not work with

certification. Still, I saw in LEED a guide to work better and better

LEED certification always seeks proven standards and more efficient

THIS BOOK HAS FOUR PARTS

In the last part, we will go through several synergies of credits because

To complete the book, we will go through all the essential references of

version 3. Always keep in mind version 4 of LEED for everything you’re

When we think about sustainability, we need to observe each action

It defines sustainability in 3 main aspects: action must be sustainable

In the environmental sphere, it refers to the need to create sustainable

planet as much as possible and mitigate the adverse effects on the

A simple example of the well-used Sustainability Tripod could be analy-

daily use of those who purchase a property. Thinking more sustainably,

The environment thanks, users see the cost-benefit of paying less in

It is important to note that there are many distortions on this topic, or

It wasn’t sustainable for people or the environment, but it was undoubte-

SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN BUILDINGS

»» 73% of electricity consumption;

»» 39% of energy use (important);

»» 38% carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (important);

»» 40% of the use of raw materials;

»» 30% of waste production (136 million tons/year);

»» 14% of drinking water consumption.

A Green Building is a planned building with an environmentally respon-

A Green Building is a building that uses your location, energy, water,

there is still much to learn.

A Green Building is not green by itself: it communicates efficiently with

Good sustainability practices reduce waste and pollution through en-

In a survey conducted by the US General Services Administration, it

SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN BUILDINGS

»» Energy consumption 26% lower;

»» 27% of higher user satisfaction rate;

»» 33% lower levels of CO2 emissions. GENERAL CONCEPTS

LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental

The USGBC was created to promote and foster sustainable construction

practices. Early on, the USGBC understood that it needed to make

strategies and standards for the creation of sustainable buildings.

From 1994 to 2013, LEED evolved from a new construction standard

WHY WAS LEED CREATED?

»» Recognize environmental leadership in the construction

»» Define “green buildings” by establishing a common measure-

»» Promote integrative design and construction practices;

»» Stimulate green competition;

»» Propagate the view on the performance of a building throu-

»» Transform the construction market.

To fulfill this mission, the USGBC has established measures to:

»» Education: presenting to the industry best practices in green

»» Lobbying: bringing tools and strategies to be local and natio-

»» Features: with tools for project teams interested in designing

»» Several committees, regional entities, and conferences;

»» Greenbuild, which is the renowned exhibition fair abroad.

Briefly, for you to certify a project in LEED, you need to achieve a

same happens if you establish and demonstrate a good level of acoustic

»» LEED Certified: 40 points2

»» LEED Silver: 50 points

»» LEED Gold: 60 points

»» LEED Platinum: 80 points or more.

USGBC AND GBCI