Chapter 3: LEED v4 Core Concepts and Themes Flashcards
Closed System
A system in which materials and resources are reused or recycled.
Cradle to Cradle
A term applied to a product if a new use can be applied to it after the end of its first useful life, diverting it from a landfill.
Cradle to Grave
A term applied to a product if its lifetime is limited to one application or use, ending in a landfill.
Downstream Activity
An activity related to the processing of materials all the way through to the delivery of the final product to the end user.
Embodied Energy
The total amount of energy used to extract materials and manufacture, transport, install, and use a product across its life cycle.
Feedback Loop
The section of a system that allows for feedback and self-correction and adjusts its operation according to differences between the actual output and the desired output.
Integrative Process
A design process in which multidisciplinary teams collaborate to meet sustainable design objectives from the inception of a project to its completion.
Iterative Process
A process used in design that involves conducting research, sharing data, receiving feedback, and refining the design repeatedly until all of a project’s sustainable goals are met.
Leverage Point
A point in a system in which a small change can yield large results.
Life-cycle Assessment (LCA)
An assessment of the environmental impacts associated with a material or product throughout its life cycle.
Life-cycle Costing (LCC)
An analytic tool used to determine the most cost-effective option among competing alternatives based on the costs of the options throughout their life cycles.
Negative Feedback Loop
A section of a system in which the system self-corrects and stays within a particular set of parameters.
Open System
A system in which materials and resources are continually brought in from the outside, consumed, and then removed from the system as waste.
Positive Feedback Loop
A section of a system in which the output fo the system is applied to the input, resulting in constant increases.
“Prius Effect”
The effect of changed behavior as a result of making information about a subject more visible and available.
Regenerative Building
A closed system that uses only as much water and energy as it can produce.
Triple Bottom Line
An accounting framework that incorporates the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of an organization.
Upstream Activity
An activity related to the extraction of the raw materials used in a product.
What, according to the USGBC, has presented the most significant environmental impact on society today?
Climate change
What, according to the USGBC, is the largest contributor to climate change, and at what percentage of total energy used?
The built environment, 40% of total energy used.
What is the Montreal Protocol, and when was it ratified?
Bans the production of CFCs and began the phasing out of HCFCs. It was ratified in 1987.
7 Impact Categories
1) Reserve Contribution to Global Climate Change
2) Enhance Individual Human Health and Well-being
3) Protect and Restore Water Resources
4) Protect, Enhance, and Restore Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
5) Promote Sustainable and Regenerative Material Resource Cycles
6) Build a Greener Economy
7) Enhance Social Equity, Environmental Justice, Community Health, and Quality of Life
How much more do green buildings cost, on average, than conventional buildings, if any at all?
2% more on average
4 Main Sustainable Goals
1) Conserving energy and water
2) Reducing resource depletion
3) Increasing indoor air quality
4) Reducing transportation emissions
