LEED Process Flashcards
What is an alternative compliance path to the International Green Construction Code (IgCC)?
ASHRAE 189.1
What LEED rating systems would the project team of a planned new three-story apartment building choose?
The LEED Homes rating system that corresponds to the ENERGY STAR program in which they are participating.
What LEED credit category encourages strategies that minimize the impact on ecosystems and water resources?
Sustainable Sites
The LEED Green Building Rating System is all of the following:
The LEED Green Building Rating System is all of the following:
Consensus-based
Voluntary
Market-driven
What is the maximum number of project administrators that can be assigned to a LEED project?
One.
There is only one project administrator per project.
What must occur before a project team pursues a LEED Interpretation?
The inquiry must first undergo the project CIR process.
The total land area of a project site covered by buildings, streets, parking areas, and other typically impermeable surfaces constructed as part of the project is the:
Development footprint
What impact categories are given the greatest weight in LEED?
Reverse Contribution to Global Climate Change 35%
and
Enhance Individual Human Health and Well-Being 20%
Promoting the triple bottom line is a part of USGBC’s what?
USGBC’s (7) Guiding principles:
(1) Promote the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit)
(2) Establish leadership
(3) Reconcile humanity with nature
(4) Foster social equity
(5) Maintain integrity
(6) Be inclusive
(7) Exhibit transparency
When there are two or more rating systems that might be applicable to a project, how should the project team decide which rating system to use?
Use the 40/60 rule:
- If a particular rating system is appropriate for 40% or less of a LEED project building or space, then that rating system should not be used.
- If a particular rating system is appropriate for 60% or more of a LEED project building or space, then that rating system should be used.
- Project teams with buildings and spaces that do not fall into the scenarios described in a) and b) must independently assess their situation and decide which rating system is most applicable.
A LEED credit that supports local economies and strengthens the green building industry and supply chains supports what impact category?
Build a Greener Economy
The Build a Greener Economy impact category components are:
(1) Enhance the Value Proposition of Green Building
(2) Strengthen the Green Building Industry and Supply Chain
(3) Promote Innovation and Integration of Green Building Products and Services
(4) Incentive Long Term Growth and Investment Opportunities
(5) Support Local Economies
What determines the level of certification a project earns?
The number of points a project earns determines the level of certification.
- Certified: 40-49 points
- Silver: 50-59 points
- Gold: 60-79 points
- Platinum: 80+ points
What are the roles of USGBC?
USGBC is responsible for administering and creating the LEED rating systems.
USGBC issues LEED building certifications once they have been approved by GBCI’s third-party review.
Each LEED credit and prerequisite includes the intent of the credit/prerequisite. What is the ‘intent’ of a credit/prerequisite?
Identifies the main sustainability goal or benefit of the prerequisite or credit
Which of the following is NOT a component of the impact category Enhance Social Equity, Environmental Justice, Community Health and Quality of Life?
A. Provide Affordable, Equitable and Resilient Communities B. Promote Access to Neighborhood Completeness Resources C. Support Occupant Comfort and Well-Being D. Create a Strong Sense of Place E. Promote Human Rights and Environmental Justice
Support Occupant Comfort and Well-Being is a component of the impact category Enhance Individual Human Health and Well-Being.
To transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built, and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life’ describes what?
This statement describes USGBC’s mission.
For which of the following would a LEED Green Associate use the Green Building Information Gateway (GBIG)?
Exploring and comparing the green dimensions of the built environment.
One of the tasks of a LEED Green Associate is to create project profiles/case studies/press releases.
Part of the public relations guidelines for LEED-certified projects may be to utilize the Green Building Information Gateway (GBIG). The GBIG is a global-innovation platform used for exploring and comparing the green dimensions of the built environment.
What is true regarding the LEED Scorecard?
There is one LEED Scorecard that can be used for any rating system
Each rating system family (BD+C, ID+C, O+M, ND) has one project checklist.
The LEED Scorecard is organized by LEED category.
Each LEED category is listed, along with the credits and prerequisites for that category.
The LEED Scorecard is also called the LEED Credit Checklist.
What is submitted to document that the requirements of a credit or prerequisite were met?
LEED credit form.
Each rating system will have its own set of forms that must be completed and submitted for documentation and verification. These credit forms accessed via LEED Online.
Credits/prerequisites are assigned by the project administrator. Whoever has been assigned responsibility for the credit/prerequisite by the administrator fills out the credit form using LEED Online. Once all of the credit forms are completed for those credits being attempted, the project administrator will submit the project for review.
The credit forms are also referred to as credit templates, submittal templates, or submittals.
The area of a project site that is used by the building structure, defined by the perimeter of the building plan is the:
Building footprint.
What is the minimum certification level in LEED?
The minimum certification level is Certified.
- Certified: 40-49 points
- Silver: 50-59 points
- Gold: 60-79 points
- Platinum: 80+ points
What should be used during all project phases to verify the green building goals are being met?
LEED Project Checklist.
The LEED Project Checklist is the quick list of what credits the project team has decided to pursue in the pre-design phase, based on the project vision and the project’s green building goals.
Through each phase this checklist is consulted to ask ‘are we on track and are we working towards meeting those credits we set out to do?’
What is one difference between LEED Interpretations and project CIRs?
LEED interpretations are precedent setting.
There are three significant ways in which LEED Interpretations are different from Project CIRs:
- Precedent-setting
All project teams are required to adhere to all LEED interpretations posted before their registration date. This also applies to other addenda. Adherence to rulings posted after a project registers is optional, but strongly encouraged.
A Project CIR can only be used by the project that submitted it.
- Published Online
LEED interpretations will be published in a searchable database at usgbc.org. Project CIRs are not published publicly.
- Subject to consensus-based review
LEED interpretations undergo review by the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) member-selected volunteer LEED committees.
Project CIRs are created by the certification review teams at the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).
Which of the following actions can NOT be performed by a project team member using LEED Online?
A. Coordinating resources among project team members
B. Managing public-facing project details
C. Accessing web-based reference guides
D. Submitting technical inquiries regarding LEED credits
Accessing web-based reference guides.
The web-based reference guides are accessible only through a user’s USGBC online account, not through LEED online.
What is true about a project that earns 38 points towards certification?
The project would not earn certification
Projects must earn a minimum of 40 points. Anything less does not earn certification.
What does IgCC stand for?
International Green Construction Code (IgCC)
The IgCC provides the building industry with language that both broadens and strengthens building codes in a way that will accelerate the construction of high performance green buildings.
Jurisdictions that adopt the IgCC into their building codes can enforce them.
What LEED rating system addresses exterior site maintenance programs?
LEED O+M: Existing Buildings
The LEED O+M Rating Systems helps building owners and operators measure operations, improvements and maintenance on a consistent scale, with the goal of maximizing operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts. LEED for Existing Buildings addresses whole-building cleaning and maintenance issues (including chemical use), recycling programs, exterior maintenance programs, and systems upgrades. It can be applied both to existing buildings seeking LEED certification for the first time and to projects previously certified under LEED BD+C.’ - USGBC
How does USGBC support achievement of its mission ‘to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life’?
(Choose 2)
A. Free consulting B. Financial incentives C. GBCI D. LEED green building program E. Local chapters
LEED green building program
and
Local chapter
A hamburger franchise is planning on building thirty new restaurants across the country in the next two years. Each restaurant is based on the same prototype. How should the multiple buildings be certified?
Using the LEED Volume Program
The LEED Volume Program is a streamlined certification process for organizations planning to certify a large number of new construction projects that are prototype-based.
The LEED Volume Program is more streamlined as a process than registering each project individually with LEED online.
What best defines the property area?
Total area within the legal property boundaries of the site; it encompasses all areas of the site, including constructed and non-constructed areas
The property boundary and/or property area is the total area within the legal property boundaries of the site; it encompasses all areas of the site, including constructed and nonconstructed areas.
What are the basic types of LEED improvements that are updated through revisions on a regular development cycle?
(Choose 3)
A. Adaptations B. LEED technical requests C. Errata and Addenda D. Next version of LEED E. LEED reviewer comments F. Credit interpretation requests
There are three basic types of LEED improvements:
ERRATA & ADDENDA or Implementation and maintenance of the current version of LEED: This process includes the correction and clarification of credit language as well as fixing more substantive inaccuracies and omissions, which require a more rigorous review and approval process.
ADAPTATIONS: The process for adaptations to existing ratings systems and their credits provides an efficient and streamlined approach for responding to the particular needs, constraints and opportunities of different project types.
NEXT VERSION: This is the comprehensive improvement phase of LEED development that occurs through a periodic evaluation and revision process. This phase includes multiple avenues for stakeholder input and final approval by USGBC members.
What components are included in the impact category for Reverse Contribution to Global Climate Change?
GHG Emissions Reduction from Building Operations Energy Use and GHG Emissions Reduction from a Cleaner Energy Supply
The 5 components of this impact category are:
GHG Emissions Reduction from Transportation Energy Use
GHG Emissions Reduction from Materials and Water Embodied Energy Use
GHG Emissions Reduction by Embodied Energy of Water Reduction
GHG Emissions Reduction from a Cleaner Energy Supply
Global Warming Potential Reduction from Non-Energy Related Drivers
Impact Categories were developed and approved by the LEED Steering Committee for incorporation into
LEED v4. These Impact Categories answer the question: “What should a LEED project accomplish?”
List the (7) LEED impact categories?
(1) Reverse 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 Resources Cycles
(6) Build a Greener Economy
(7) Enhance Social Equity, Environmental Justice, and Community Quality of Life
A university client asks about certifying multiple buildings. Which of the following is an appropriate response?
The Campus Program can be used for projects not necessarily uniform in design or operations but located on a single campus location.
LEED volume is for prototype-based projects, usually in different areas. Campus is for projects located on a single campus. A big university with many satellite schools building the same classroom in multiple, distant locations would be LEED Volume. A school classification doesn’t automatically indicate a Campus Program.
The Campus Program is used when there are less than twenty-five projects and they are non-uniform in size. The projects do not have to be adjacent.
What are the key criteria that define green building performance?
Prerequisites
The prerequisites are the key criteria that define green building performance. - GBCI
What is the point range for a project to earn LEED Gold?
The Gold level is 60-79 points
- Certified: 40-49 points
- Silver: 50-59 points
- Gold: 60-79 points
- Platinum: 80+ points
Some credits have an LPE option. What does LPE mean?
That the credit has a Licensed Professional Exemption
Licensed Professional Exemption (LPE) is an optional credit documentation path in which professionals can submit license information and a declaration of compliance in lieu of a number of otherwise required submittals.
Credit forms automatically recognize and link LP information from user account data when that user accesses the credit form. Licensed Professional (LP) Information must be identified from the My Account Page of the user’s account, or during User Registration. This information is visible within a project on the Team Administration page, but can only be added or changed from the My Account Page. For LPE paths with multiple sign-offs, more than one team member may be assigned to the credit or prerequisite for signatures. (see ‘Assign Credits’) Note: It is not required that the LP be a LEED AP. Also, the LP must have a U.S. license but it does not have to be issued from the state of the project.
Based on credit, LPE streamlined paths are available to:
Professional Engineers (PE)
Registered Architects (RA)
Registered Landscape Architects (RLA)
Registered Interior Designers (RID)
A member company wants to display its USGBC member logo. What would be an appropriate use for the USGBC member logo?
On company letterhead
While we receive many comments about the relevance of these types of questions, the subject matter may come up on your exam.
A LEED Green Associate’s tasks includes creating project profiles/case studies/press releases which require knowledge of the USGBC trademark and logo policies.
Use of the USGBC member logo is limited to member companies.
Which LEED rating system has pre-certification?
LEED BD+C: Core and Shell
Once a project is registered as a LEED BD+C: Core and Shell project, the project team may apply for precertification. LEED BD+C: Core and Shell precertification is a formal recognition by the USGBC given to a candidate project for which the developer/owner has established a goal to develop a LEED BD+C: Core and Shell building. Once precertification is granted, the developer/owner can market the building’s proposed green features to potential tenants and financiers.’ -USGBC
What impact category most directly helps with the people aspect of the triple bottom line?
Enhance social equity, environmental justice, and community quality of life
This impact category directly emphasizes social equity and community.
What rating system has a credit category named Smart Location and Linkage?
LEED ND
Smart location & linkage credits promote walkable neighborhoods with efficient transportation options and open space.
What LEED rating system helps create better, more sustainable, well-connected neighborhoods?
LEED ND
LEED for Neighborhood Development integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national system for neighborhood design.
What is the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) intended to replace?
Traditional building codes
The IgCC provides the building industry with language that both broadens and strengthens building codes in a way that will accelerate the construction of high performance green buildings.
Jurisdictions that adopt the IgCC into their building codes can enforce them.
By having comprehensive mandatory codes, building owners can experience the benefits of green building.
