LEED Certification

Projects pursuing LEED earn points across several areas that address aspects of a building that affect the planet, the local economy, and the occupants. Based on the number of points achieved, a project can receive one of four LEED rating levels: 

• Certified
• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum

It depends. Depending on the location of the project, nature of the property, the code requirements of the AHJ, and the surrounding area, there may be numerous prerequisites and credits in LEED that a project is already meeting without making change orders or adding scopes of work. 

If a project is in a high density area with a stringent local code, LEED baseline certification is not going to be a big lift. However if a project is in a low density or even a rural area with more lenient building codes, there will likely be more items to change and add. 

The number one thing that will make LEED certification easier for all involved, is if an AP is engaged early in the process, the developer/owner is decisive about what they want to build, and the entire project team is brought into making the LEED certification work.

The cost of LEED certification depends on the pathway pursued and the size of the building. For a full quote on your project, please contact us and we will outline both the AP Verification work and LEED Certification fees.

To check out the certification costs in advance, visit USGBC’s LEED Certification Fee webpage.

We can review your plans and progress to see if all LEED requirements have been met and what credits you are eligible for.

It may, at this point, be unlikely that a project can achieve LEED certification, however, it is, in some cases, possible. All projects have the option of continuing the build and preparing for LEED O+M certification, which allows a building that has been in service for at least a year to pursue the existing building certification.

This is largely dependent upon several factors. When does the project team decide to pursue LEED Certification, at what stage is an AP engaged, how long from issuance of the CD plan set does it take to complete construction, and many more.

In general, it is safe to assume that the LEED certification process will last at least as long as the entire project design development, planning, and full construction.

The LEED certification your project should pursue depends on the type of project, if it’s new construction, existing, the extent of the renovation, etc! There are also options for certifying your building vs. the site. Check out our section on “LEED Certification Pathways” above or give us a call to determine the correct pathway. 

The minimum certification level, LEED Certified, starts at 40 points. From there, higher levels of certification have different thresholds:

• Certified: 40-49
• Silver: 50-59
• Gold: 60-79
• Platinum: 80+

It is also worth noting that there are non-point scoring required credits that will need to be met; so ensure those are captured outside of the scorable credits to earn certification.

The documentation process for LEED projects is set up to be aligned with the project timeline, and with a LEED AP’s early involvement, requirements can be communicated and planned for ahead of time, so additional time isn’t needed later.