Leadership In Energy And Environmental Design Certification Research Articles

Evolution of the (Energy and Atmosphere) credit category in the LEED green buildings rating system for (Building Design and Construction: New Construction), from version 4.0 to version 4.1

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a certification program for quantitatively assessing the qualifications of homes, non-residential buildings, or neighborhoods in terms of sustainability. LEED is supported by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a nonprofit membership-based organization. Worldwide, thousands of projects received one of the four levels of LEED certification. One of the five rating systems (or specialties) covered by LEED is the Building Design and Construction (BD + C), representing non-residential buildings. This rating system is further divided into eight adaptations. The adaptation (New Construction and Major Renovation) or NC applies to newly constructed projects as well as those going through a major renovation. The NC adaptation has six major credit categories, in addition to three minor ones. The nine credit categories together have a total of 110 attainable points. The Energy and Atmosphere (EA) credit category is the dominant one in the NC adaptation, with 33 attainable points under it. This important credit category addresses the topics of commissioning, energy consumption records, energy efficiency, use of refrigerants, utilization of onsite or offsite renewable energy, and real-time electric load management. This study aims to highlight some differences in the EA credit category for LEED BD + C:NC rating system as it evolved from version 4 (LEED v4, 2013) to version 4.1 (LEED v4.1, 2019). For example, the updated version 4.1 includes a metric for greenhouse gas reduction. Also, the updated version 4.1 no longer permits hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants in new heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration systems (HVAC & R). In addition, the updated version 4.1 classifies renewable energy into three tiers, differentiating between onsite, new-asset offsite, and old-asset offsite types.

Within‐ and across‐province agglomeration of LEED certifications in China

AbstractThis paper investigates the adoption patterns of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in China, analyzing data from 2010 to 2021. We find that builders' choices of certification levels are positively correlated within each province. However, for commercial buildings, builders differentiate from each other in the choice of certification levels. The study also identifies spatial spillovers of LEED certification across nearby provinces. We propose potential explanations for these findings and discuss their policy implications. The results suggest that the design of certification schemes should account for the strategic behavior of firms. Additionally, regional policies promoting green building certifications may have spillover effects, encouraging adoption in neighboring regions.

Towards Sustainable Urban Transformation: The Role of LEED Certification in Istanbul's Future and Economy

Istanbul, a city with a rich history and vibrant culture, faces the imminent threat of a catastrophic earthquake due to its proximity to the North Anatolian Earthquake Fault. In response, the Turkish government has initiated a sweeping urban transformation led by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. This initiative aims to not only rebuild the city but also to enhance its resilience to earthquakes and environmental challenges. Central to this transformation is the adoption of green building principles, particularly LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. LEED provides a comprehensive framework for sustainable building design, construction, and operation, encompassing categories such as Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation, and Regional Priority. This paper examines the economic and future considerations of enforcing green certification during Istanbul's urban transformation. Through a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits of LEED certification across different categories, as well as alternative approaches to sustainability, this paper aims to provide a holistic view of the implications for Istanbul's economic landscape and long-term prospects. By integrating environmental sustainability into its urban renewal efforts, Istanbul has the opportunity to not only mitigate the risks of earthquakes but also to emerge as a model for sustainable, environmentally conscious urban development. This paper seeks to highlight the importance of green certification in shaping Istanbul's urban landscape for generations to come, with a focus on economic considerations, environmental impacts, and broader implications for the city's future.

Integrating BIM Processes with LEED Certification: A Comprehensive Framework for Sustainable Building Design

In response to the pressing demand for sustainable building practices within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector, this study investigates the integration of building information modeling (BIM) processes with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system, with a primary focus on enhancing sustainable design strategies. The objectives are twofold: firstly, to comprehensively understand the existing synergies between BIM and LEED, and secondly, to develop innovative methods that facilitate a seamless integration of these two crucial components. The study is structured into four distinct phases, each contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the synergistic relationship between BIM and LEED. In Phase 1, the “LEED-BIM Worksheets” is introduced, versatile tools designed to facilitate sustainable strategy formulation. These worksheets transparently identify roles, assess competencies, estimate certification levels, and enhance communication among stakeholders. Phase 2 highlights the “BIM Uses for Project Phase” diagram, emphasizing interdependencies between BIM uses and processes. This diagram provides insights into collaborative synergies among BIM uses and streamlines process mapping. Phase 3 introduces the “Liv1 Process Map”, a transformative visual representation of the building process. Integrated within building execution plans (BEPs), this map intricately weaves together responsible parties and BIM uses, fostering cohesive collaboration. Phase 4 extends the research with the introduction of the “Liv.2 Process Map”. This extension integrates selected BIM uses from the LEED Pilot Credits Library, emphasizing alignment between BIM processes and LEED credit criteria. Collectively, this research illuminates the potential for streamlining sustainable practices within the AEC sector. The findings offer valuable insights for both practitioners and researchers, empowering them to navigate the integration of BIM technology with LEED certification. By harmonizing digital transformation with ecological consciousness, this research significantly contributes to advancing sustainable building practices.

Computational BIM tool for automated LEED certification process

Building information modeling (BIM) and sustainable building certification integration have been the focus of several studies in recent years, aiming to create a simpler and more effective building certification process. This paper describes a novel computational tool for architects and engineers, considering that the certification process takes place in a work environment that is familiar to them. The goal is to present a method for developing a computational tool that will automate the process of verifying the achievement of certain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits using visual programming in a BIM environment. In this way, designers can have an insight into the achievement of certain LEED credits at any phase during the design process. Considering the complexity of the digital parameterization of LEED credits, this method includes the achievement of three credits listed in the Material and Resources chapter of the LEED for Building Design and Construction protocol. Apart from similar research, the presented tool enables visibility of real-time LEED credits achievement at every moment of the design, from the building concept development to the final stage. The presented method creates space for the elaboration on the other LEED credits, as well as research in the area of applicability to other green rating certification programs and evaluation of existing building stock.

Digital Technologies and Sustainability Assessment: A Critical Review on the Integration Methods between BIM and LEED

In the context of sustainable development and parametric design, it is interesting to analyze the possible synergies between Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the most-used certification scheme for the design, construction, and management of green buildings, and Building Information Modeling (BIM), which supports the supply, integration, and management of information throughout the building life cycle. This paper aims to review the state of the art of the different integration methods between LEED and BIM at the early design phase. Third-party software information exchange, the cloud-BIM approach, and plug-in development using application program interface (API) were considered as possible integration strategies to automate LEED certification by BIM. In addition, optimization models and rule-based methods were analyzed. Finally, a critical review on the limitations, advantages and future research developments in LEED and BIM integration was clearly defined. Although the development of plug-ins was the most powerful integration method, it requires advanced informatics knowledge. On the other hand, using third-party tools increased manual working and checking due to interoperability issues. A visual programming language (VPL) can allow designers and researchers without any informatics knowledge to create parametric BIM models by including LEED requirements.

Assessing contextual factors for sustainable development: a case study of LEED-certified projects in Jordan

PurposeThe researchers analyzed factors affecting the adoption of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green-building certification system in Jordan, including financial performance of certified projects along with broader barriers that may impact developers’ interest in LEED.Design/methodology/approachThe authors first reviewed online data for all LEED registered and certified projects in Jordan, recruited LEED-certified project stakeholders, collected documents related to LEED projects and conducted LEED category credit summaries, financial cost-benefit analyses and spot-checking reported values in local markets. The authors then visited projects sites and interviewed various project stakeholders to understand better stakeholders' decision-making processes concerning LEED and relevant factors (financial, branding, cultural, political, etc.).FindingsObtaining LEED certification in Jordan was financially feasible as evinced in both the quantitative analysis and interviews. However, the authors found that there was very limited interest in LEED among Jordanian developers. Barriers included widespread cynicism toward green building concepts as well as a lack of local expertise in installing and maintaining green technologies. To overcome these barriers, the authors recommend that green building initiatives place a greater emphasis on education and public-promotion activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe research data were limited to projects that had successfully achieved LEED certification. Broader qualitative research conducted across the Jordanian building community could provide additional insights, but such an investigation is beyond the scope of the current study.Originality/valueThe complexity of adapting a Western green building standard (LEED) to a non-Western context is discussed in detail. The findings suggest that understanding regional development challenges, local markets and cultural differences is vital for successfully implementing green building certification systems.

Evaluation of a residential project in light steel framing according to leed for homes

The construction industry is responsible for high energy consumption, high carbon dioxide emissions, high extraction of non-renewable materials, and large generation of solid waste in the world. The use of prefabricated, industrialized, and technological construction methods can reduce environmental impacts generated. Aiming to confirm its environmental benefits, the research proposal was to analyze the sustainability of a residential project in Light Steel Framing (LSF), according to the requirements of the environmental certification Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes of the Green Building Council (GBC) Brazil Homes. For this, it was necessary to apply the Technical Quality Regulation for the Energy Efficiency Level for Homes, achieving the A-level classification in this analysis, with 5.06 final points. Therefore, it was considered the constitution of the building wrap in LSF, the energy efficiency of the materials used, the water heating and lighting systems. In order to obtain the highest level of LEED certification, the project has received suggestions for improvements. The project obtained 60 final points in the analysis, which would allow the achievement of the gold certification seal. The total score in the Materials and Resources topic demonstrates the great benefit of the system in LSF in environmental preservation.

Saudi Arabia’s LEED Projects: Recent Green Building Trends and Perspective

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is one of the prestigious green building rating systems globally and the widely accepted international standard to evaluate green buildings. Many LEED certification building projects have already been carried out over the last few decades in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Recently, many construction projects underway in the Kingdom are expected to be nominated for LEED certification over the next few years.The paper explores the recent application of the LEED rating system in building construction projects and reviews the trends, project types, and potential challenges of the LEED certification buildings in the Kingdom. The study also investigates differences and characteristics in the types of LEED certification projects in the Kingdom and the Middle East countries, such as UAE, Qatar, Egypt, etc. The differences in the rate of adoption of the LEED categories in each country are indicated closely through the detailed analysis.As a result, the paper presents the current trends and future perspectives based on the current status of the Kingdom's green building industry. This is a critical milestone to accelerate the development of the green building industry in the Kingdom.

Integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and LEED for A Green Building Rating

Green building design and construction is a global demand to save this earth. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the world's most widely implemented sustainable building rating system. Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology assist to keep multi-disciplinary information into a single model, and it provides an ability to perform this research. The aim is to assess the pre-certification of a proposed residential building project in integration with BIM and LEED and find out the impact of cost for a green building project. A Prototype 3D model was developed by BIM technology for the LEED certification process. A total of 704 simulations was conducted by using Green Building Studio (GBS) tools. All simulation results were calculated based on nine categories of the LEED rating system. The results of this study indicate that the lifecycle cost can be reduced significantly for a high-performance green building despite of having a high initial investment cost.
 Journal of Engineering Science 12(2), 2021, 47-57

THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY TO REDUCING ENERGY USE IN LARGE COMMERCIAL U.S. AIRPORT BUILDINGS THROUGH LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN (LEED) CERTIFICATION

There is a growing movement in the U.S. (e.g., airports) to obtaining LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification to reduce energy use. LEED advocates assert, on average, 25% less energy used by LEED-certified buildings compared to conventional commercial buildings. In the absence of studies regarding large U.S. LEED commercial airport buildings, a systematic quantitative review, content analysis and SWOT was performed to determine the economic feasibility of reducing energy use in airport buildings. A systematic quantitative literature review, combined with a comparison of LEED cost-benefit studies, and LEED certification objectives - to - airport facility energy requirements and U.S. government energy reduction initiatives was performed. Positive and negative (Pro/Cons) energy reduction findings were catalogued, charted, and analyzed. The findings from 1) LEED commercial building studies, 2) the LEED cost-benefit studies, and 3) the comparison of LEED certification program to large commercial U.S. airport energy requirements and trends were synthesized using a SWOT analysis. In aggregate, there was negligible correlation between commercial U.S. building LEED certification levels and energy use reduction. In spite of noteworthy findings regarding on-site energy reductions, there was insufficient evidence to suggest LEED reduced overall (site and source) energy use. Therefore, little evidence supports the cost-effectiveness and economic feasibility to reducing energy use simply through the LEED certification process. This study presents the pros and cons in applying LEED certification to reducing energy use in commercial airport buildings.

LEED Scores of Residential Buildings in Poor Cities: Kabul City Case

Urbanization and technology have proven to be detrimental to the environment. Buildings contribute a significant portion of this damage. This issue motivated governments, builders, engineers, and architects to seek ways to reduce buildings’ environmental footprints. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is one of the most widely used strategies to ensure energy efficiency and a clean environment in buildings. In Afghanistan, where there are no active regulatory frameworks for energy saving and efficiency for the building sector, it is imperative to promote the transformation of the building industry and practices towards sustainability. In this regard, the role of the residential building sector is of utmost importance due to its major share in the country’s energy consumption and GHG emissions profile. Thus, this study assesses the energy efficiency and environmental impact of existing buildings in Kabul city concerning the LEED rating system. This research suggests practical steps to improve the sustainability of the residential building stock in Kabul city. Robust sets of data on existing residential buildings in Kabul are collected, classified, evaluated, and compared to LEED standards. This research reveals and concludes that most of the existing buildings in Kabul city are in poor conditions and do not meet the minimum requirements to be a candidate for LEED certification. A detailed analysis of the results has led to recommendations on how these buildings could improve to meet the LEED criteria. This is the first study of its kind conducted for Kabul city residential building. Considering the cross-sectoral nature of the building industry, the findings of this study will contribute to many other areas such as water, transportation, ICT, health, energy and the environment.

Green Building Adoption on Office Markets in Europe: An Empirical Investigation into LEED Certification

The goal of the paper is to evaluate the impact of selected factors on the adoption of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification in Europe. In the empirical part of the paper we track the fraction of LEED-registered office space in selected European cities, and assess the impact of selected socioeconomic and environmental factors on the certification adoption rate. This research contributes to the ongoing debate about the adoption of green buildings in commercial property markets. In this paper, we investigate factors affecting the adoption of LEED certification using the Arellano and Bond generalized method-of-moments estimator. Compared to prior studies, which relied on cross-sectional data, our research uses a panel approach to investigate the changes in green building adoption rates in selected European cities. Among the cities that are quickly adopting LEED are Frankfurt, Warsaw, Stockholm, and Dublin. The adoption process was not equally fast in Brussels and Copenhagen. Using the dynamic panel model approach, we found that the adoption of green building certification is linked to overall innovativeness in the economy and the perceived greenness of the city. Contrary to some previous studies we did not observe links between the size of the office market and the LEED adoption rate.

Embodied emissions of buildings - A forgotten factor in green building certificates

The construction and use of buildings consume a significant proportion of global energy and natural resources. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is arguably the most international green building certification system and attempts to take actions to limit energy use of buildings and construct them sustainably. While there has been a wide range of research mainly focused on energy use and emission production during the operation phase of LEED-certified buildings, research on embodied emissions is rare. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of LEED regarding initial (pre-use) embodied emissions using life cycle assessment (LCA). The study comprised several steps using a designed model. In the first step, three optional building material scenarios were defined (optimized concrete, hybrid concrete-wood, and wooden buildings) in addition to the base case concrete building located in Iceland. Second, an LCA was conducted for each scenario. Finally, the number of LEED points and the level of LEED certification was assessed for all studied scenarios. In addition, a comparison regarding embodied emissions consideration between LEED and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) as mostly used green certificate was conducted in the discussion section. The LCA showed the lowest environmental impact for the wooden building followed by the hybrid concrete-wood building. In the LEED framework, wooden and hybrid scenarios obtained 14 and 8 points that were related to material selection. Among these points, only 3 (out of a total of 110 available points) were directly accredited to embodied emissions. The study recommends that the green building certificates increase the weight of sustainable construction materials since the significance of embodied emissions is substantially growing along with the current carbon neutrality goals. As most of the materials for building construction are imported into Iceland, this study is useful for locations similar to Iceland, while overall it is beneficial for the whole world regarding climate change mitigation.

LEED Study of Green Lightweight Aggregates in Construction

Decreasing the demand for natural aggregates is doubly justified by the significant contribution of the construction industry to the unsustainable development path of the natural environment, and the projected global increase of the consumption of construction aggregates. Extensive research has been carried out on the physical and mechanical properties of concrete which incorporates plastic as aggregates; yet, no single study has been able to draw on structured research which demonstrates the improved sustainability performance of plastic-based aggregates to support sustainable development in the construction industry for a project seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The goal of this research is to explore the potential benefits that green processed lightweight aggregates (PLA) can provide to a project seeking LEED certification in accordance with the requirements of LEED v4 for Building Design and Construction. The objectives are to: (1) determine which LEED credit requirements can be met through using the studied material; (2) provide a comprehensive analysis of the applicable attainable LEED credits, given the existing technical information of the selected material, and (3) provide guidelines to maximize further credit attainment. To this end, the findings indicated that the use of PLA as a total replacement for coarse aggregates in lightweight concrete applications would contribute to earning directly up to 8 points (out of 110 total points) towards LEED certification. Such significant number allows for the potential increase of the project’s certification by one level. This is the first study of its kind to investigate the improved sustainability performance of recycled plastic aggregates from a LEED point of view. Moreover, the guidelines provided by the research will enable developers to maximize the financial and environmental benefits of their buildings through the reduced lifecycle cost and the enhanced LEED score. This research should encourage project teams to incorporate the knowledge of sustainable practices, and play an active role in sustainable development.

The impact of workspace location and indoor environmental quality on employees' satisfaction within office buildings: A case study in Cairo

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) could influences employees' satisfaction and performance in office buildings. Previous research have suggested that factors such as gender, age, proximity from a window could influence employees' perceived satisfaction with IEQ. This study as a part of an ongoing research attempts to investigate the impact of workspace location on employees' satisfaction with IEQ parameters and overall satisfaction with personal workspace within office buildings in Cairo. Employees' subjective evaluation of satisfaction with IEQ parameters were collected using a questionnaire as a post occupancy evaluation survey. Responses were collected and quantitatively analysed using software package used for statistical analysis (SPSS). Diversity in levels of satisfaction among employees within the same building was found highly sensitive to their workspace location. Building orientation and external views could influence employees' satisfaction with IEQ parameters and overall satisfaction with personal workspace. Employees with highest perceived satisfaction with IEQ parameters and overall satisfaction with personal workspace seem to prefer their workspaces to be located on the ground floor, away from a window, either in the middle of the building or on the southern façade and not overlooking the courtyard. The study recommends that Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification criteria should reconsider employees' satisfaction with IEQ parameters in developing IEQ credits and LEED certification process.

Understanding the Effects of Capturing Climate and Occupancy Trends During Concept-Stage Sustainable Building Design

Abstract This paper presents a model prediction to capture specifically how energy usage in sustainable buildings on college campuses is affected by different variables of student life. The California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) Student Housing Phase III, which received a Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the Building Design and Construction category, with its performance in a LEED California Nonresidential Title 24 (NRT24) and ASHRAE 90.1 climate zones, is used as a case study to illustrate the method. Through LEED-approved software, the standard compliant energy models are compared with the occupancy-scheduled models along with the actual energy consumption in different climate zones. The results provide insight into how variables within student dormitory life affect the total building energy usage. The total amount of energy consumed per area is one new factor providing understanding into occupancy trends. This new data set reveals more understanding regarding how and where the energy is consumed to maintain a comfortable learning environment. The LEED certification program is one benchmark used to determine sustainable building design. Designers must adhere to set standards before being awarded a U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) certification such as LEED. The results from this paper will provide input over which variables within student dormitory life affect the energy usage of the building. With the model results, some solutions are presented to update the LEED project certification as well as to reduce student energy usage.

Construction waste minimization in green building: A comparative analysis of LEED-NC 2009 certified projects in the US and China

Construction waste minimization is a key sustainability goal in green building rating systems. Although these rating systems traverse countries’ boundaries, no research so far has compared construction waste minimization performance in such systems across countries. This research aims to investigate and compare the construction waste minimization performance of green building projects in the US and China by focusing on the widely adopted LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification system. Data on 599 and 297 LEED-New Construction (NC) 2009 certified projects in the US and China, respectively, were sourced from the US Green Building Council project directory. Their construction waste minimization-related points were compared using the Mann-Whitney U and effect size test, and semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify the possible causes behind statistical analysis results. We found no significant difference in construction waste minimization performance of LEED platinum-level projects in the US and China, but the magnitude of the difference between two countries increased as the certification level went lower. The enforcement on regulations, recycling market development, public consciousness and advanced technologies lead to the differences while the influence of the political, economic, social, and technological context increased when the projects were certified with lower LEED levels. An amenable context should be fostered to achieve a better construction waste minimization performance in green building and a sustainable development goal.

Green Building Concept with The World’s Largest Seismic Isolated Hospital in Turkey

Certification systems used to test green buildings have become popular nowadays. In addition, there has been a gradual increase in the involvement of the players in the construction sector and public awareness of sustainability. These systems, which are useful in mitigating the building's environmental impacts, reveal difficulties in their implementation, especially for devoloping countries. Because of the problems affecting the population, such as air pollution and health problems, most world states came together and held conferences to take joint binding decisions. In Turkey, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is first on the total number of certified green buildings, followed by the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). This article summarizes the methodology used by some of these rating methods, shows a comparative approach between these rating systems, and provides an overview of how green building relates to sustainable development practices. Lastly, the building of the hospital was analyzed using LEED certification system as a case study and the differences in the results were evaluated.

Green building certification of urban public railway transport systems for sustainable cities

The increasing consumption of energy and the greenhouse-gas emissions are challenges in the transport and building sectors. Compared to the other transportation types public railway transport systems are the most energy efficient regarding carbon footprint. Modern urban railway public transport systems have the significant advantages of large passenger capacity, punctuality, safety, going green in the urban environment and reducing carbon footprint, is a scientific consensus. However, the energy demand for railways are increasing in proportion to passenger load, require implementing innovative solutions for optimizing the energy consumption and reducing carbon emission. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a building rating system used worldwide. The credit categories of the LEED consist of seven different topics from the Energy and Atmosphere to Materials and Resources. In this study, the LEED certification application to railway station and facilities will be discussed mainly energy efficiency criteria.