LEED 2009 is not a “tear down and rebuild” of the LEED that exists in the market but rather a reorganization of the existing commercial and institutional LEED rating systems along with several key advancements.
LEED 2009 Rating Systems
LEED 2009 includes three major enhancements to the LEED rating system: harmonization, credit weightings, and regionalization.
Harmonization:
Credits and prerequisites from all LEED commercial and institutional rating systems have been consolidated and aligned, drawing on their most effective common denominators, so that credits and prerequisites are consistent across all LEED 2009 rating systems. Necessary precedent-setting and clarifying information from Credit Interpretation Rulings (CIRs) were incorporated into the rating systems. LEED for Homes and LEED for Neighborhood Development will not be changed under LEED 2009.
Credit weightings:
The second major advancement that comes with LEED 2009 is that credits will now have different weightings depending on their ability to impact different environmental and human health concerns. With revised credit weightings, LEED now awards more points for strategies that will have greater positive impacts on what matters most – energy efficiency and CO2 reductions. Each credit was evaluated against a list of 13 environmental impact categories, including climate change, indoor environmental quality, resource depletion and water intake, among many others. The impact categories were prioritized, and credits were assigned a value based on how they contributed to mitigating each impact. The result revealed each credit’s portion of the big picture, giving the most value to credits that have the highest potential for making the biggest change. The credits are all intact; they are just worth different amounts. As a result, LEED 2009 will operate on a 100-point scale.
Credit weightings tool: Download to learn all about what went into the weightings process (ZIP) »
Examples:
SSc4.1: The proximity of a building to public transportation allows for building occupants to utilize alternative transportation methods which in turn has impacts associated with fossil fuel depletion, land use, acidification, ozone depletion, smog formation, ecotoxicity and overall human health effects caused by reducing single-occupant vehicle use. It also affects a large component of the building’s environmental impact – its carbon footprint associated with transportation to and from the building. LEED for New Construction 2009 has increased the point value of this credit.
WE Credit Category: Reduction in water use associated with irrigation outside the building and fixture/fittings use inside the building has impacts on resource depletion and water shortages leading to agricultural, human, plant, and animal effects. While the impacts of these credits were primarily in water use, the benefits of water reduction are heavily emphasized in LEED for New Construction 2009.
EAc2: Utilizing renewable energy for a building’s energy needs reduces the dependency on less environmentally sound energy sources, which have a variety of impacts on the environment and human health. Using renewable energy impacts a building’s carbon footprint, contribution to fossil fuel depletion, ozone depletion and rate of particulates (which can lead to chronic and acute respiratory symptoms).
Regionalization:
Through USGBC’s regional councils, chapters and affiliates, regionally specific environmental issues were identified. For a project’s specific location, six LEED credits have been prioritized because they address the specific environmental issues. The project will be awarded up to four extra points (one point per credit) for earning the priority credits.
Download the regional priority credits for your state »
Examples from LEED for New Construction 2009:
Urban Florida: SSc5.2, MRc1.1, WEc2, EAc1, MRc5, and EQc8.1, to incentivize (among other things) decreased reliance on fossil fuels, reuse of existing building stock, decreased reliance on insufficient municipal wastewater plants, and utilization of abundant local sunshine.
Rural Michigan: SSc1, SSc6.1, SSc6.2, SSc8, MRc5.2, and EAc2, to incentivize (among other things) the preservation of prime agricultural land, reduction of light trespass into neighboring natural habitats, and minimizing the amount and improving the quality of stormwater into the Great Lakes.