Leadership In Energy And Environmental Design Credits Research Articles

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.

Tradeoff between well-being of students and cost of greening schools in arid regions

PurposeSchools should be adequately built and operated to protect students' health. Green building rating systems, including Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), assist the construction industry in improving both the resource efficiency and indoor environmental quality of its buildings. Construction professionals may waive some green modifications and available optional credits due to their high costs or construction complexities. This study investigates whether cost-effective green modifications can adequately address the student health.Design/methodology/approachIn an effort to identify how school projects in Dubai, UAE prioritized LEED credits related to occupant well-being, the study identified eight LEED credits (called “Health and wellbeing” credits). Cost data from a sample of nine Dubai schools were used to develop an indicator, named the Feasibility Index Score (FIS), to quantify the attractiveness of LEED credits based on their cost and implementation complexity. Physical measurements taken from the sample schools give a window into current indoor environmental quality (IEQ) conditions of schools in the local region, while FIS provides insight into potential financial barriers towards improving these conditions.FindingsThe authors identified eight “Health and wellbeing” credits, which may net up to 14 points or 13% of all possible LEED points. Despite this, assessments of the sample schools revealed that six of the “Health and wellbeing” credits exhibited relatively low FIS values. This may cause these credits to be waived when lower tiers of LEED certifications are desired.Research limitations/implicationsA sample of nine schools was chosen for this research; further investigation using a greater sample size is recommended.Practical implicationsThe paper's IEQ assessment indicates the importance of health-related credits and suggests implementing them regardless of their FIS.Originality/valueThis paper recognizes the importance of providing more weight to credits that directly impact the health of occupants, particularly when upgrading existing structures.

LEED-CI v4 Projects in Terms of Life Cycle Assessment in Manhattan, New York City: A Case Study

Over the last decade, it has been clearly shown that the same achievements in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects can lead to different life cycle assessments (LCAs). However, the problem of contradictory achievements in LEED and LCA has not yet been resolved. This study aimed to identify and evaluate different strategies for LEED projects using LCAs. Thirty-nine LEED projects with the same characteristics—location and transportation, rating system, rating version, certification level, and space type—were collected and sorted by their energy and atmosphere (EA) category, “optimize energy performance” credit (EAc6) achievement into three equal groups (EALow, EAMedium, and EAHigh, where each group includes 13 LEED projects) to minimize the influence of uncontrolled factors on the LEED project strategy. The author focused on two extreme groups with very different EAc6 credit scores: EALow (13 projects) and EAHigh (13 projects). The groups were compared across LEED categories and credits. Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney and Cliff’s δ test results showed that the EALow and EAHigh groups are associated with high/low achievements in materials-related credits such as “interiors life cycle impact reduction”, “building product disclosure and optimization—material ingredients”, and “low-emitting materials”. As a result, the EALow and EAHigh groups were reclassified into EnergyLow–MaterialsHigh and Energyhigh–MaterialsLow certification strategy groups. In this context, LCAs were used to assess the differences between the two strategies. The results showed that if natural gas was used for operational energy (OE), the EnergyHigh–MaterialsLow strategy showed lower environmental damage compared to the EnergyLow–MaterialsHigh strategy (p = 0.0635); meanwhile, if photovoltaic energy was used for OE, the EnergyLow–MaterialsHigh strategy showed lower environmental damage compared to the EnergyHigh–MaterialsLow strategy (p = 0.0036). The author recommends using the LEED protocol and the LCA method in parallel to better reflect the environmental impact of different certification strategies.

Computational LEED: computational thinking strategies and Visual Programming Languages to support environmental design and LEED credits achievement

Since environmental and energy issues and challenges continues to emerge as key global concerns, Green Building Certification Systems are becoming increasingly relevant in the construction industry.In this regard, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is considered one of the most widely recognized environmental assessment methods used globally in the construction industry today.However, due to the high level of complexity of the LEED system, the tools usually used to verify the achievement of the credits lack of “design friendliness” and hardly communicate effectively with the conventional tools used by architects and engineers (e.g. CAD, BIM). This makes difficult to fully take into account, especially at the early design stage, the many interconnected aspects that contribute to the green certification, with consequent issues often arising in the design validation and/or construction phases, resulting in time delays and cost increments.The application of innovative problem-solving methods, such as computational thinking, together with coding techniques, represents an effective way to deal with this issue. This kind of methodology, in fact, allows the requirements of a specific LEED credit to be digitally parametrised and flexibly incorporated into a “designer friendly” working environment.In particular, Visual Programming Languages (VPLs), due to their high simplicity of usage, allow architects and engineers to develop algorithms and thus implement their technical knowledge in the field of environmental design with computer programming skills, useful to improve their tools and keep them constantly updated.The aim of this paper is to illustrate a methodology through which, by merging computational thinking strategies with VPL tools, is possible to keep under control, in the same working environment, all the parameters required to verify in real time the achievement of LEED credits. To demonstrate the flexibility of the approach, dedicated tools developed for the verification of some specific credits at different scales – neighbourhood and building – are illustrated as operational examples of the proposed methodology.

Sustainable sites in two generations of city development using GIS-MCDM and LEED LT and SS categories

Generations of city development attempt better sustainable guidelines. This reflects on the number and areas of sustainable land plots therein. Nevertheless, city development goes without evaluating potential sustainable sites. This requires further spatial study to support sustainable site selection (SSS). Hence, this paper discusses SSS in new city development and locates potential land plots which comply with The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits' criteria in two categories: on the project level ‘Sustainable Sites’ (SS) and the context level, the ‘Location and Transportation’ (LT). This discusses two generations of city development in Egypt, taking a case study for each: the 10th of Ramadan city (first generation) and Badr city (second generation). This pilot study is based on reliable data obtained from the General Organization for the Physical Planning (GOPP) database in Egypt. A comparative Geographic Information System (GIS)-discrete Multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method was adopted. This consisted of the following steps; 1) database layering and Geo-referencing maps were carried out using the GIS, 2) LEED credits' were used to populate the database to develop a weighted sum model (WSM) through a weighted-sum overlay technique, 3) a Land Suitability Index (LSI) was computed using GIS natural breaking classification to rank potential sites into ‘Yes’, ‘Maybe’ and ‘No’ scoring, 4) SSS raster maps were developed based on point-scoring contribution (PSC) of each city towards the environmental features described in each LEED credit. The result showed that Badr city (second generation) had more qualified sustainable sites compared to the 10th of Ramadan city (first generation). This was because the second generation of city planning guidelines provided more land plots with surrounding densities and diverse uses, access to quality transit, reduced parking footprint and more open spaces. Furthermore, land plots in both cities had more potential to obtain points under the SS category rather than the LT category due to missing sustainable local planning regulations. Also, the final weighted-sum overlay analysis showed that only 10% and 27% of total land areas in the 10th of Ramadan city and Badr city, respectively, were qualified to obtain points under both categories. The output interactive maps were made available for public use via a public domain website and the outcome of the study was tested among practitioners for validation. This showed major interest for planners and researchers, followed by investors and policymakers. Accordingly, this study can be replicated to create mapping criteria for sustainable sites in new development areas and consider it for a resilient urban planning policy.

Whole building life cycle assessment for buildings: A case study ON HOW to achieve the LEED credit

Whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA) has received significant attention from the research community in the past few years. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has made it an option for receiving points in version 4 of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Yet, the research described in this paper has revealed that the process of WBLCA as applied to LEED is not very well understood by building professionals. As many building professionals do not understand WBLCA, very few pursue it for their new building projects. The objective of the research described in this paper was to examine and clarify issues related to WBLCA as it applies to LEED. The paper presents a six-step process for conducting a WBLCA and use the process on a building case study for which a LEED compliant WBLCA was conducted and approved. The paper also suggests improvements to the current LEED WBLCA requirements that have the potential to further reduce the embodied energy and environmental impacts of materials used in new building projects. The ultimate goal of the research presented in the paper is to increase the building industry awareness of the WBLCA process and make it “business as usual”.

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.

Life Cycle Assessment Framework for Embodied Environmental Impacts of Building Construction Systems

This paper develops a life cycle assessment framework for embodied environmental impacts of building construction systems. The framework is intended to be used early in the design stage to assist decision making in identifying sources of higher embodied impacts and in selecting sustainable design alternatives. The framework covers commonly used building construction systems such as reinforced concrete construction (RCC), hot-rolled steel construction (HRS), and light steel construction (LSC). The system boundary is defined for the framework from cradle-to-grave plus recycling and reuse possibilities. Building Information Modeling (BIM) and life cycle assessment are integrated in the developed framework to evaluate life cycle embodied energy and embodied greenhouse emissions of design options. The life cycle inventory data used to develop the framework were extracted from BIM models for the building material quantities, verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for the material production stage, and the design of construction operations for the construction and end-of-life stages. Application of the developed framework to a case study of a university building revealed the following results. The material production stage had the highest contribution to embodied impacts, reaching about 90%. Compared with the conventional RCC construction system, the HRS construction system had 41% more life cycle embodied energy, while the LSC construction system had 34% less life cycle embodied energy. When each system was credited with the net benefits resulting from possible recycling/reuse beyond building life, the HRS construction system had 10% less life cycle embodied energy, while the LSC construction system had 68% less life cycle embodied energy. Similarly, the HRS construction system had 29% less life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while the LSC construction system had 62% less life cycle GHG emissions. Sustainability assessment results showed that the RCC construction system received zero Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credit points, the HRS construction system received three LEED credit points, while the LSC construction system received five LEED credit points.

United Nation’s sustainable development goals: establishing baseline for Australian building sector

ABSTRACT In order to achieve the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) targets by 2030, there is a clear need for building sector to re-shape its practices. Therefore, this research aims to develop a scoring model for building sector to identify the baseline conditions required achieving the UN’s SDGs in Australia. Initially, this research study carried out an in-depth evaluation of the 17 goals to identify the goals that require a contribution from building sector. Most of these SDG requirements are fulfilled by leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED)-certified buildings. LEED has a separate credit system that evaluates the performance of various sustainability requirements. Therefore, LEED version 3 rating tool for buildings design and construction is analysed to identify the linter-links among UN’s SDGs and LEED credits. Upon establishing the inter-links, researchers developed a scoring system of newly constructed buildings in Australia in achieving the given SDGs. Building sector has a significant impact on goals such as ‘SDG6 Clean water and sanitation’, ‘SDG7 Affordable clean energy’, ‘SDG 12 Responsible consumption’, ‘SDG 13 Climate change’ and ‘SDG 15 Life on land’. Finally, considering all the impacts, a comprehensive contribution to development (CCDI) was established as a baseline with a value of 9.58 to evaluate buildings. This baseline can be used as a guide to evaluate whether new buildings positively contribute to UN’s SDGs.

AORN Position Statement on Environmental Responsibility

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Can green schools influence academic performance?

The adoption of green building certification schemes, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Schools, establishes common building factors among certified schools. Many building factors influence student performance outcomes including cognitive skills, standardized test scores and rates of absenteeism. This review synthesizes current research from 28 new studies and 101 other studies that were previously included in 15 reviews of associations between LEED-specified building factors and these performance outcomes in schools. In appraising the relative quantity and quality of studies, along with the frequency of LEED credits found in certified schools, this review finds that building features common to 100% of LEED-certified schools also have the strongest research supporting associations with academic outcomes, and largely come under the purview of indoor air quality (e.g., minimum ventilation rate, filtration or air cleaning) and acoustic performance. Comparatively, building factors related to the school site and daylighting have fewer associated studies, but findings suggest these are good targets for future research as they may be important for influencing student performance. Achieving a transition to a lower carbon future requires that schools be built with their energy impacts in mind; and this review provides value to those involved in the planning and design of these green schools that facilitate improved student performance outcomes.

Optimizing the cost, LEED credits, and time trade-offs using a genetic algorithmic model

Over the last century, the complexity of construction projects has increased exponentially and its factors (e.g., time, budget, and quality) have generated complicated trade-offs. This research focuses on the trade-off between time, cost, and sustainability represented in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits (particularly materials and resources). The research is broken into preliminary and validation studies wherein the preliminary study uses an exhaustive search to find the optimized solution. In the validation case study, dataset size increased exponentially, and it became computationally incompatible to find the optimized solution. Genetic algorithm (GA) is used to find the optimized solution based on user-defined priority factors. Usage of GA is validated using the preliminary study data and then applied to the validation study data. A trade-off is seen between the priority factors and the optimized solution. The optimization model is successful in minimizing the time and cost, concurrently maximizing the points associated with LEED credits for a validation case study.

Understanding the effects of environmental factors on building energy efficiency designs and credits

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between environmental factors and building energy consumption of three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified buildings at the Arizona State University, by establishing the relationships of the outside atmospheric temperature and the energy consumed in the building using real-time data generated from different sources.Design/methodology/approachK-means clustering analysis is used to calibrate and eliminate unwanted influences or factors from a set of building consumption real-time data. For further statistical analysis, the chi-square is used to verify if the results are ample to prove the findings.FindingsFew studies have addressed building energy consumption real-time data versus LEED Energy and Atmosphere (EA) credits with the data mining technique (k-means clustering) on most of building performance analyses. This study highlighted that the calibrating energy data are a better approach to analyze energy use in buildings and that there is a relationship between LEED credits’ (EA) Optimize Energy Performance scores and building energy efficiency. However, the energy consumption data alone do not yield useful results to establish the cause and effect relationships.Originality/valueAlthough there are several previous research studies regarding LEED building energy performance, this research study focused on the LEED building energy performance versus LEED EA credits versus environmental factors using real-time building energy data and various statistical methods (e.g. K-means clustering and chi-square). The findings provide researchers, engineers and architects with valuable references for building energy analysis methods and supplements in LEED standards.

Selection of target LEED credits based on project information and climatic factors using data mining techniques

Developed by the United States Green Building Council, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a credit-based rating system that provides third-party verification for green buildings. Selection of target credits is important yet challenging for LEED managers because various factors such as target certification grade level and building features need to be considered on a case-by-case basis. Local climatic factors could affect the selection of green building technologies and hence the target credits, but currently there is no research suggesting target LEED credits based on climatic factors. This paper presents a methodology for the selection of target LEED credits based on project information and climatic factors. This study focuses on projects certified with LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB). Information of 912 projects and their surrounding climatic circumstances was collected and studied. 55 classification models for 47 LEED-EB credits were then constructed and optimized using three classification algorithms - Random Forests, AdaBoost Decision Tree, and Support Vector Machine (SVM). The results showed that Random Forests performed the best in most of the 55 classification models. With a combination of the three algorithms, the trained classification models were used to develop a web-based decision support system for LEED credit selection. The system was tested using 20 recently certified LEED projects, and the results showed that our system had an accuracy of 82.56%.

An Integrated Construction Management Approach for Addressing LEED Project Challenges

Notwithstanding the progress that has been made in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, engineering and construction professionals express frustrations with meeting the stringent criteria required to earn LEED building certifications. Without effective management practices, LEED project challenges can minimize the capacity of construction organizations to achieve LEED project certifications in a cost-effective and timely manner. The main purpose of this study is to explore LEED project challenges and develop an integrated construction management approach for minimizing LEED challenges. A mixed method approach utilizing surveys and a case study was adopted for this research project. Responses obtained from surveys completed by construction professionals were clustered into common themes and analyzed. Furthermore, interviews and LEED project document reviews were employed to examine the management practices implemented by joint venture partners on an ongoing LEED project. Results revealed four clusters of LEED challenges: Constructing LEED buildings (43%); Tracking LEED credits (26%); Understanding LEED requirements (22%); and Accessing LEED resources (9%). Drawing from these results and the case study, an integrated construction management approach for enhancing LEED project success was developed. The key components of this approach are project-specific, organization, and industry-wide practices. This approach should reduce LEED project challenges, and improve LEED project success.

Data-driven study on the achievement of LEED credits using percentage of average score and association rule analysis

Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifies green buildings into different grades according to the number of credit points each building has achieved. LEED managers often attempt to achieve as many credits as possible with limited budgets and resources. However, referring to the credit requirements alone does not help evaluate the difficulty in achieving those credits. Data on how LEED credits were achieved in previous projects may offer some insights, yet no research has quantitatively analyzed the previous records. This study aims to analyze LEED credit achievements in previous projects using data driven techniques and provide LEED managers with a better understanding on the achievements of individual credits and related credits. 1000 projects certified by LEED-NC v3 were collected as the case base. A measurement called the percentage of average score (PAS) was proposed to analyze how individual credits were attained in the past. Credits like MRc6 and MRc3 were discovered to have stringent requirements and were rarely achieved. In addition, relationships among credits were analyzed using association rule mining. Thresholds for support and confidence were identified by implementing a classification algorithm namely CMAR. Among 224 pairs of related credits that are suggested by USGBC, 50 pairs were identified as strongly related. In addition, 13 new pairs of related credits that have not been suggested by USGBC were discovered.

Performance Evaluation of 32 LEED Hospitals on Operation Costs

Growth in healthcare needs challenges providers to reduce operational costs and is expected to increase construction and renovation of healthcare facilities. Meanwhile, concerns regarding the environmental impacts of hospitals have made the healthcare sector one of the most prominent settings for the green building movement. Despite these environmental concerns, the number of studies that document the benefits of sustainable healthcare facilities is limited. In this study, the authors used national cost report data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and developed a benchmarking tool for comparing the operation and maintenance costs of healthcare facilities with their peers. The authors then used longitudinal data and compared the annual operation and maintenance cost of 32 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) hospitals to the median cost of non-LEED facilities of comparable type, ownership, and location. Analysis failed to provide any evidence that achieving more LEED credits or LEED certification in general lowers operation and maintenance costs of healthcare facilities.

A non-linear case-based reasoning approach for retrieval of similar cases and selection of target credits in LEED projects

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a widely used international green building certification program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Although the need for LEED certification has grown significantly, LEED managers still face challenges in target credit selection and green building technology design. They frequently meet new types of projects with different project characteristics and requirements. Therefore, it would be helpful if LEED managers could refer to other similar certified green building cases when planning and designing LEED projects. However, this is not supported in current studies and research. This paper proposes a case-based reasoning (CBR) approach to provide case studies of similar certified green building projects and suggestions on target LEED credits. Currently, linear formation of Local-Global method is commonly used in the retrieval step of CBR. This paper presents a non-linear formation of Local-Global retrieval based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN), which can provide a higher accuracy. LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC) is the focus of this paper, and 1000 LEED-NC v2009 certified cases were collected for the case base. Pairwise comparison was conducted to generate the local distance (attribute similarity) and the target for training the ANN model. The proposed non-linear CBR approach was tested and evaluated using 20 recently certified projects, and the results showed a prediction accuracy of 80.75% on the LEED credit selection. The results were also compared with those calculated by commonly used linear CBR approaches: Multiple Regression Analysis, Correlation Analysis, and the k-NN approach. The accuracy achieved by these methods was between 71.23% and 77.54%, which was lower than the proposed approach.

Consideration of acoustics in leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) version 4

Acoustical criteria have been added to the LEED rating systems with each new revision, beginning with Schools and Healthcare. With the recent Version 4 update, an acoustical credit has been added for the majority of New Construction LEED rating systems. There are weaknesses in the acoustical LEED credits, including imbalance between cost and benefit, mitigation beyond industry standards, and implementation of requirements within non-sensitive areas. This paper reviews the purpose of acoustics within a sustainable design system, identifies areas where the current language hits the mark or should be revised, and adds areas for future consideration of acoustical design within a sustainable design rating system.