Innovation
What the category covers
Innovation (IN) is a small, flexible category worth a handful of points (up to six in v4 BD+C, one of which may be awarded for having a LEED Accredited Professional as a principal participant). It exists so teams can be rewarded for performance or approaches the rating system does not otherwise capture.
Concepts to know
- Exemplary performance: outperform an existing credit beyond its top tier - usually by doubling the requirement or reaching the next meaningful threshold past the highest tier. The underlying credit must actually be attempted and achieved.
- Innovation strategies: a quantified, verifiable approach that addresses a specific sustainability goal not covered by an existing credit, with a defined submittal and a metric.
- Pilot credits: approved test credits that can be documented like standard credits.
- LEED AP point: one point for having an appropriately accredited principal team member.
Traps
- Prerequisites cannot earn exemplary performance or innovation points.
- You cannot claim exemplary performance for a credit the project did not pursue, or claim the same performance twice (once in the base credit, once in IN).
- An innovation claim without a quantifiable metric and a measurable outcome will not be approved - "we held a great workshop" is not innovation.
- Innovation points are capped; reciting ten great ideas still yields the maximum.
Worked example
A project diverts 90% of construction waste when the top tier is 75%. That is exemplary performance - it yields one innovation point in addition to the two MR points for 75%, provided the project actually achieved the MR waste credit and documents the extra diversion.