The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) member ballot overwhelming approved LEED® version 5 in March and this latest version of the green building rating system was officially released in April. The old LEED v4 was introduced more than 11 years ago, so this update of the world’s premier green building rating system is long overdue. LEED v5 includes new versions of LEED BD+C: New Construction and Core and Shell, LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors, and LEED O+M: Existing Buildings. The USGBC has not announced a firm timeline, but project teams will most likely be able to continue registering projects under v4 through 2025 (with several years before certification sunsets), however, LEED v5 offers some exciting advantages for early adopters to consider.
In launching the development process for LEED v5, the USGBC identified three priority impact areas: decarbonization, quality of life, and ecological conservation and restoration. One of the most exciting updates under the quality of life area is resilience which will influence planning and design for your upcoming LEED projects.
Resilience in LEED
The LEED v5 quality of life impact area is focused on enhancing human health and wellbeing, increasing resilience, and supporting equity. The resilience focus starts with a new Integrative Process, Planning, and Assessments (IP) category prerequisite, Climate Resilience Assessment. This resilience assessment will raise awareness of natural hazard and climate change risks, setting the stage for additional resilience considerations added in other credit categories. This assessment aligns with the new ASTM E3429-24 Standard Guide for Property Resilience Assessments that will become part of real estate transaction due diligence, new regulations for climate-related financial risk disclosure, and most importantly, with the architect’s standard of care related to natural hazards and resilience. This prerequisite will prompt project teams to assess how current natural hazards, like floods and hurricanes, and the emerging impacts of climate change, including sea level rise and extreme heat, may impact proposed projects, and to consider what mitigations are possible to reduce vulnerabilities over the life of buildings.
Informed by the assessment, a new Sustainable Sites (SS) Enhanced Resilient Site Design credit encourages integrating resilient site features to address significant identified hazards, such as extreme heat, flooding, high winds, and sea level rise. An Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) Resilient Spaces credit will reward projects that include resilience measures applicable to location-specific hazards (identified in the resilience assessment) to protect building occupants if these hazard events occur, including maintaining indoor air quality during hazardous outdoor air events (e.g., wildfire smoke), maintaining thermal safety during extended power outages, and managing indoor air at times of heightened risk from respiratory disease (referencing ASHRAE 241-2023).
LEED v5 also include updated and new credits that enhance project resilience along with their core intent to boost building performance. This includes water efficiency and reuse in the Enhanced Water Efficiency Credit and energy and thermal resilience through the Enhanced Energy Efficiency, Grid-interactive, Reduced Peak Thermal Loads, and Renewable Energy credits. Using passive design with enhanced building enclosures (reduced air infiltration and thermal bridging) to reduce heating and cooling loads, increasing water and energy efficiency, and integrating on-site energy production, energy storage, and water collection and reuse provide day-to-day operational cost and carbon emission reduction benefits, but also support continuity of operations after hazard events and power outages.
While still in development, LEED v5 will also include several new and updated pilot credits to support projects that are prioritizing natural hazard and climate resilience.
Decarbonization
Resilience is not the only thing new in LEED v5. There will also be an increased focus on greenhouse gas emissions, including operational carbon, embodied carbon, and emissions from transportation. While reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) has long been implicit in the rating system, LEED v5 makes reducing emissions a clear priority. A new IP Carbon Assessment prerequisite was added to illuminate a long-term view of impacts with an estimate of the embodied, operational and transportation carbon impacts for the first 25 years of the project’s life.
Building on this, the Energy and Atmosphere (EA) category includes a new Operational Carbon Projection and Decarbonization Plan prerequisite which will help building owners to plan for long-term reductions (supporting Building Performance Standards compliance, where applicable). A new EA Electrification credit rewards projects that limit or eliminate on-site combustion equipment. Decarbonization also applies to building materials with a new Materials and Resources (MR) Assess and Quantify Embodied Carbon prerequisite to raise awareness of embodied carbon in primary building materials. This aligns with the expansion of “buy clean” regulations and new embodied carbon building code requirements like those in California.
Quality of Life
Like resilience, equity is a new theme in LEED v5. The IP Human Impact Assessment prerequisite will help teams understand potential social inequities related to the local community, workforce, and supply chain of projects. An LT Equitable Development credit promotes a range of possible equitable development decisions. In the SS category, a new Accessible Outdoor Space credit outlines requirements for outdoor spaces that invite connections with community and nature, and a tree cover requirement added to the Heat Island Reduction credit, which addresses both resilience and equity.
An Accessibility and Inclusion credit was added to the EQ category, setting minimum accessibility requirements for project locations without locally applicable accessibility codes. A new Occupant Experience credit includes some familiar requirements for daylight and views, lighting control and quality, thermal comfort, and sound environments, but also includes an Adaptable Environment option that focuses on the diversity of physical and sensory needs of occupants, and a Biophilic Environment option that encourages the adoption of indoor biophilic design principles.
Conclusion
LEED v5 includes many familiar requirements and raises the bar on some, but also introduces some significant new elements, including a greater focus on decarbonizations, and requirements for climate and natural hazard resilience, and equity. This brings LEED into alignment with the evolving and expanding priorities for sustainable built environments, as well as new standards and regulations. Watch for the official launch soon. Are you ready for LEED v5?
Alan Scott, FAIA, LEED Fellow, LEED AP BD+C, O+M, WELL AP, CEM, is an architect and consultant with over 35 years of experience in sustainable building design. He is Director of Sustainability with Intertek Building Science Solutions.