About LEED

USGBC

USGBC: U.S. Green Building Council

• non-profit
• Objective: "to make green buildings available to everyone within a generation
• Founded 1992

Mission

committees - volunteers

Greenbuild - conference and expo

• 3 days
• 30,000 attendees in 2013

Principles

1. Promoting the Triple Bottom Line
2. Establishing leadership
3. Creating and restoring harmony between humans and nature
4. Maintaining integrity by using technical and scientific data to help guide decision making
5. Ensure inclusiveness by using a democratic process and giving everyone an opportunity to be heard
6. Exhibit transparency by having open standards

Members

Diverse:

1. Building owners and end-users
2. Real estate developers
3. Facility managers
4. Interior designers
5. Architects
6. Designers
7. Engineers
8. Utility managers
9. Landscape managers
10. Contractors
11. Product and building system manufacturers
12. Government agencies
13. Nonprofits
14. College Students and Faculty

LEED

LEED stands for: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

LEED: A leading-edge system for certifying high-performance buildings and sustainable neighborhoods.

History of LEED

LEED Green Building Rating System

LEED: 150 professional staff

LEED started in 1994.

Why Was LEED Created

1. Define "green building" by establishing a common standard of measurement
2. Promote integrative, whole-building design practices
3. Recognize environmental leadership in the building industry
4. Stimulate green compeition
5. Raise consumer awareness of green building benefits [very important for Egypt]
6. Transform the building market

LEED Certification Benefits

Financial benefits of green building:

1. Lower operating costs
2. Increased building value
3. Higher occupancy rates
4. Higher rents

"LEED certified buildings have healthier work and living environments which contributes to higher productivity and improved employee health and comfort."

Term: "net present value"

"By having a LEED certified project, an owner can expect higher earnings and lower expenses."

"The General Services Administration (GSA) has recently increased its minimum requirement for new construction and substantial renovation of Federally-owned facilities to LEED Gold. Until 2010, GSA required LEED Silver."

Why LEED?

LEED Rating Systems

Building Design + Construction (BD+C)

"Applies to buildings that are being newly constructed or going through a major renovation."

1. New Construction
2. Core & Shell
3. Schools
4. Retail
5. Hospitality
6. Data Centers
7. Warehouses & Distribution Centers
8. Healthcare
9. Homes and Multifamily Lowrise
10. Multifamily Midrise

Energy Star

Interior Design + Construction (ID+C)

"Applies to projects that are a complete interior fit-out."

1. Commercial Interiors
2. Retail
3. Hospitality

(None for homes!)

Building Operations + Maintenance (O+M)

"Applies to existing buildings that are undergoing improvement work or little to no construction."

1. Existing Buildings (Al Marwa buildings)
2. Retail
3. Schools
4. Hospitality
5. Data Center
6. Warehouses and Distribution Centers

Neighborhood Development (ND)

"Applies to new land development projects or redevelopment projects containing residential uses, nonresidential uses or a mix."

1. Plan
2. Built Project

Multiple Certifications for the Same Building

Examples:

1. New Construction, Operations & Maintenance
2. Core & Shell, Commercial Interiors
3. New Construction, New Interiors
4. Commercial, Operations & Maintenance

LEED Updates

Rating System Structure

1. Location and Transportation
2. Sustainable Sites
3. Water Efficiency
4. Energy and Atmosphere
5. Materials and Resources
6. Indoor Environmental Quality
7. Innovation
8. Regional Priority

The above criteria apply to every LEED rating system except LEED for Neighborhood Development.

Categories for LEED for Neighborhood Development

1. Smart Location and Linkage
2. Neighborhood Pattern and Design
3. Green Infrastructure and Buildings

Prerequisites and Creidits

Prerequisites: "Prerequisites do not earn your project any points because they are required for the project to be considered."

Example: LEED BD+C New Construction

1. Construction activity pollution prevention
2. Indoor environment quality - indoor air quality
3. Tobacco smoke control

Credits

Credit: "A non-mandatory project characteristic, measurement, quality, value or function as identified within a LEED rating system."

Example: "The credit for reducing the amount of water used for landscaping by 50% has the intent of reducing potable water use."

Satisfying Prerequisites and Earning Credits

1. Intents
2. Requirements: "The requirement may not be the only way you could think of to achieve the Intent of each credit or prerequisite, but they are the only way from the standpoint of the LEED Rating System.
3. Behind the Intent
4. Related Credit Tips (related credits, permaculture: multifunction)
5. Referenced Standards
6. Step-byStep Guidance
7. Exemplary Performance - "Innovation in Design"
8. Calculations
9. Required Documentation

LEED Pilot Credit Library

Project Certification

"The ‘greenness’ of a LEED project is based on a 100 point scale with an additional 10 bonus points."

Levels of LEED certification:

1. Certified: 40-49 points
2. Silver: 50-59 points
3. Gold: 60-79 points
4. Platinum: 80+ points

Requirements for certification:

1. Meet the Minimum Project Requirements (MPR)
2. Satisfy all Prerequisites
3. Satisfy a combination of Credits that achieve a certain number of points for the desired certification level.

Credit Weightings

What I LEED project should accomplish:

1. Reverse Contribution to Global Climate Change
2. Enhance Individual Human Health and Wellbeing
3. Protect and Restore Water Resources
4. Protect, Enhance and Restore Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
5. Promote Sustainable and Regenerative Materials Resources Cycels
6. Build a Greener Economy
7. Enhance Social Equity, Environmental Justice and Community Quality of Life

Questions

1. Can I join one of the committees?
2. Can there be chapters in Egypt?
3. How about chapters for the Green Pyramid in Egypt?
4. Can I join the Greenbuild Expo, perhaps as a speaker?
5. Can I become a member of USGBC?
6. Shall I specialize in ID+C?

Insights

1. In Egypt, we should work on preserving the good old green practices in building and mitigate the adoption of environmentally unfriendly ones that are invading our building scene.
2. Using LEED certification can be a compelling argument for going green when building in Egypt such as in the Smart Village or the New Capital.
3. Make my PhD in green building!
4. We should affect LEED from an Egyptian point of view.

Action

1. I'd like to be involved in the LEED committee responsible for the certification, exams and training/training materials!
2. It would be lovely to have the first LEED certified city in Egypt.
3. Create your own study cards (lists?), flash cards and share them.