EDGE and LEED Synergy #4: EDGE certification contributes to LEED v4 for Neighborhood Development Certified Green Building Prerequisite and Credit

Author: 
Trevyr Meade

LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) was engineered to inspire and help create better, more sustainable, well-connected neighborhoods. Whether in planning and design, under construction or recently completed, LEED ND provides an opportunity for your neighborhood to be an exemplar of innovative leadership in achieving sustainability goals:

  • LEED ND Plan: Certification is available to your neighborhood-scale project if it’s currently in any phase of planning and design and up to 75% constructed.
  • LEED ND Built project: Designed for neighborhood-scale projects that are near completion or were completed within the last three years.

Recognizing the valuable contribution that green buildings make to neighborhood sustainability, the Green Infrastructure and Buildings (GIB) Certified Green Building prerequisite within LEED ND v4 requires that at least one building within a LEED ND project achieves certification through a green building rating system:

Design, construct, or retrofit one whole building within the project to be certified through a LEED rating system (if LEED for Commercial Interiors, 75% of the total building floor area must be certified), or through a green building rating system requiring review by independent, impartial, third-party certifying bodies that have been accredited by an IAF-accredited body to ISO/IEC Guide 65 or, when available, ISO/IEC 17065.

As a qualifying green building rating system, EDGE certification is an acceptable pathway to meeting the above prerequisite criteria.

Additionally, neighborhood projects that contain more than one EDGE certified building may earn points toward LEED ND v4 through the Green Infrastructure and Buildings (GIB) Certified Green Buildings credit.

Option 1. Projects with 10 or fewer habitable buildings (1–5 points)

Design, construct, or retrofit one building as part of the project, beyond the prerequisite requirement, to be certified under a LEED green building rating systems (for LEED for Commercial Interiors, 75% of the total building floor area must be certified), or through a green building rating system requiring review by independent, impartial, third-party certifying bodies that have been accredited by an IAF-accredited body to ISO/IEC Guide 65 or, when available, ISO/IEC 17065. Up to five points may be earned for each additional certified building that is part of the project.

OR

Option 2. Projects of all sizes (1–5 points)

Design, construct, or retrofit a percentage of the total project building floor area, beyond the prerequisite requirement, to be certified under a LEED green building rating systems or through a green building rating system requiring review by independent, impartial, third-party certifying bodies that have been accredited by an IAF-accredited body to ISO/IEC Guide 65 or, when available, ISO/IEC 17065.

Percentage of total floor area certified

Points

≥ 10% and < 20%

1

≥ 20% and < 30%

2

≥ 30% and < 40%

3

≥ 40% and < 50%

4

≥ 50%

5


Learn more about LEED for Neighborhood Development