Sustainable Sites
Scope for interiors projects
Sustainable Sites is narrow in ID+C because a tenant controls little or no land. Credits available to interiors projects center on light pollution reduction, rainwater management, heat island reduction (roof and nonroof, including parking), and, where site work occurs, erosion and sedimentation control. Site selection constraints are tested as avoid-these concepts: prime farmland, land within the 100-year floodplain, habitat for threatened or endangered species, land within 100 feet of wetlands, and public parkland.
Light pollution and heat island
Light pollution reduction uses three ideas: uplight (light escaping upward), light trespass at the property line, and glare. Full cutoff fixtures, shielding, and automatic controls after hours are the standard fixes; the BUG rating system is the language used to describe luminaire output. Heat island reduction is achieved with high-reflectance or vegetated roofing, shaded or high-reflectance paving, and structured parking, and must be documented with actual areas, not intentions.
Traps
- Expecting a tenant fit-out to have the same SS points available as a new building.
- Confusing the 100-year floodplain with the 500-year floodplain, or freeboard requirements with the base elevation.
- Claiming a green roof strategy that the landlord installed but cannot document or that lies outside the LEED project boundary and tenant control.
- Treating site selection as fixable; no amount of other performance repairs an inappropriate site.
Rule of thumb
If a strategy lies outside the LEED project boundary and is not under the tenant control or lease, it generally cannot be claimed without owner documentation and coordination.