LEED Green Associate cheat sheet

LEED has five rating system families: Building Design and Construction (BD+C), Interior Design and Construction (ID+C), Operations and Maintenance (O+M), Neighborhood Development (ND), and Homes.

LEED v4 BD+C totals 110 points: 100 points in credit categories plus 6 Innovation points and 4 Regional Priority points.

Certification thresholds for LEED v4 BD+C: Certified 40–49, Silver 50–59, Gold 60–79, Platinum 80–110 points.

Every prerequisite must be achieved; prerequisites earn no points but a missed prerequisite prevents certification regardless of total points.

Minimum Program Requirements include a permanent location, a reasonable project boundary, and compliance with applicable environmental laws.

Credit Interpretations clarify how a credit applies to a specific project; teams may submit inquiries through LEED Online.

Certification sequence: register the project, document credits in LEED Online, preliminary review, final review, and appeal if needed.

LEED O+M certified projects must recertify every 3 years to maintain certification.

Regional Priority credits award up to 4 bonus points for credits addressing geographically specific environmental priorities.

The Integrative Process credit is worth 1 point in BD+C and requires early analysis of energy and water systems before schematic design plus a design charrette.

A charrette is held in pre-design and includes the owner, architect, engineers, contractors, and key stakeholders.

Integrative thinking links site, water, energy, materials, and indoor environmental quality decisions so that one design choice can support multiple credits.

Life-cycle cost analysis includes initial cost, operating cost, maintenance, replacement, and residual value over the building life.

Triple bottom line evaluation weighs social, environmental, and economic outcomes together.

Measurable sustainability goals are set early in pre-design and revisited at each project phase.

Systems thinking avoids optimizing one building component at the expense of whole-building performance.

Integrative process documentation records the analysis results and describes how those findings influenced the design.

Location and Transportation credits reward compact, transit-rich, walkable locations and reduced parking demand.

Access to Quality Transit rewards proximity to bus, rail, or ferry stops with frequent service and is worth up to 5 points in LEED v4 BD+C.

Surrounding Density and Diverse Uses rewards density and proximity to diverse uses within 1/2 mile and is worth up to 5 points.

Bicycle Facilities requires short-term bike parking and long-term secure bicycle storage plus showers and changing rooms; worth 1 point.

Reduced Parking Footprint limits parking capacity and encourages structured or underground parking; worth 1 point.

Green Vehicles rewards preferred parking for low-emitting vehicles and electric vehicle charging; worth 1 point.

Sensitive Land Protection avoids prime farmland, floodplains, wetlands, habitat, and public parkland; worth 1 point.

High Priority Site rewards brownfield, infill, or sites near existing infrastructure; worth 2 points.

The Sustainable Sites prerequisite is Construction Activity Pollution Prevention, requiring an erosion and sedimentation control plan.

Site Assessment evaluates topography, hydrology, soils, vegetation, climate, and human health effects before design; worth 1 point.

Site Development – Protect or Restore Habitat limits site disturbance and restores native or adaptive vegetation; worth up to 2 points.

Open Space preserves or creates outdoor space for building occupants and the community.

Rainwater Management manages runoff volume and quality using green infrastructure; worth up to 3 points.

Heat Island Reduction uses nonroof and roof measures such as cool roofs, reflective paving, shade trees, and vegetated surfaces; worth up to 2 points.

Light Pollution Reduction limits sky glow, glare, and light trespass by shielding fixtures and controlling exterior illumination; worth 1 point.

Sustainable Sites totals 10 points in LEED v4 BD+C.

Water Efficiency totals 11 points in LEED v4 BD+C.

Outdoor Water Use Reduction prerequisite requires at least 30% reduction below baseline irrigation demand; the credit awards additional points up to 50%.

Indoor Water Use Reduction prerequisite requires at least 20% reduction below baseline fixture and fitting water use; the credit awards additional points up to 50%.

Building-Level Water Metering is a prerequisite requiring permanently installed meters that measure total potable water use.

Cooling Tower Water Use is worth up to 2 points for reducing potable water through higher cycles of concentration or alternate water sources.

Water Metering is worth 1 point for additional submeters measuring subsystems such as irrigation and domestic hot water.

Baseline indoor water use is calculated from fixture flow rates and occupancy; efficient fixtures and fittings reduce demand.

Nonpotable sources such as rainwater and greywater can reduce potable water demand where codes allow.

Energy and Atmosphere totals 33 points in LEED v4 BD+C.

EA prerequisites are Fundamental Commissioning, Minimum Energy Performance, Building-Level Energy Metering, and Fundamental Refrigerant Management.

Optimize Energy Performance is worth up to 18 points based on percentage improvement over the ASHRAE 90.1-2010 baseline.

Enhanced Commissioning is worth 6 points and expands scope, involves the commissioning authority earlier, and includes monitoring-based activities.

Advanced Energy Metering is worth 1 point and requires system-level meters with remote data collection.

Demand Response is worth 2 points for participation in grid demand response programs.

Renewable Energy Production is worth up to 3 points for on-site renewable energy systems.

Enhanced Refrigerant Management is worth 1 point for low global warming potential and ozone depletion potential refrigerants.

Green Power and Carbon Offsets is worth 2 points for purchasing green power or offsets for at least two years.

Materials and Resources totals 13 points in LEED v4 BD+C.

MR prerequisites are Storage and Collection of Recyclables and Construction and Demolition Waste Management Planning.

Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction is worth up to 5 points through building reuse, whole-building life-cycle assessment, or embodied carbon reduction.

Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Environmental Product Declaration is worth up to 2 points for using products with EPDs.

Sourcing of Raw Materials is worth up to 2 points for recycled content and responsible extraction practices.

Material Ingredients is worth up to 2 points for chemical inventories and Health Product Declarations.

Construction and Demolition Waste Management is worth up to 2 points, with thresholds at 50% and 75% diversion from landfill.

Life-cycle assessment considers material extraction, processing, transport, use, and disposal impacts.

Indoor Environmental Quality totals 16 points in LEED v4 BD+C.

EQ prerequisites are Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance (ASHRAE 62.1-2010) and Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control.

Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies is worth 2 points for entryway systems, exhaust, filtration, and isolation rooms.

Low-Emitting Materials is worth 3 points across categories such as paints, adhesives, sealants, flooring, composite wood, and furniture.

Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan is worth 1 point for protecting ducts, controlling dust, and flush-out or air testing.

Indoor Air Quality Assessment is worth 2 points through flush-out or post-construction air quality testing.

Thermal Comfort is worth 1 point for ASHRAE 55 compliance and occupant control.

Interior Lighting is worth 2 points for lighting controllability and quality.

Daylight is worth 3 points and Quality Views is worth 1 point for access to natural light and views.

Off-site impacts of a project include traffic, noise, light trespass, glare, odor, and construction dust affecting neighbors.

Early community engagement identifies stakeholder concerns and can reduce redesign costs.

Public transit access reduces vehicle miles traveled and associated emissions.

Light pollution reduction protects nocturnal habitat and neighbors' views by shielding fixtures and limiting uplight.

Brownfield reuse remediates contamination and can earn High Priority Site points under Location and Transportation.

Construction Activity Pollution Prevention protects surrounding water and air quality during construction.

Public outreach can include signage, tours, and educational materials describing a project's green features.

Project teams coordinate with local agencies on stormwater, streets, and utility connections.

Community connectivity considers proximity to housing, schools, services, and other daily needs.