The creation of the LEED v4 standard is the culmination of years of feedback from various members and users, all of whom influence the adoption of new green building concepts in the marketplace. Given the USGBC’s mission to maintain a consensus and market-driven approach to the LEED standard, the new version will feature new and innovative credits that will propel green building forward.

What’s New in the LEED v4 Standard?

Enhanced International Recognition

Primarily, the new rating system will provide greater recognition of regional context through the inclusion of local and regional equivalences to typical referenced standards. Specific project areas will now be able to obtain points not commonly covered in the standard LEED credit categories. Further, given the international scope of LEED projects, v4 will now provide metric units for all tools and resources through LEED Online.

New Market Sectors

The expansion of green building demand across various sectors has necessitated the inclusion of a wider array of LEED project types. In LEED v4, these specific spaces will have dedicated solutions – addressing needs exclusive to that area. Ultimately, LEED v4 will address new solutions for the following building types:

• Existing Schools
• Existing Retail
• Data Centers (new & existing)
• Warehouses and Distribution Centers (new & existing)
• Hospitality
• Mid-Rise Residential Building

Improved Rating Systems

LEED Green Building Design + Construction

• New: Hospitality, Data Centers, Warehouses & Distribution Centers, Healthcare, Homes, and Mid-Rise Buildings
• Existing: New Construction, Schools, Retail

LEED Green Interior Design + Construction

• New: Hospitality
• Existing: Commercial Interiors and Retail

LEED Existing Buildings: Operations + Maintenance

• New: Hospitality, Data Centers, and Warehouses & Distribution Centers
• Existing: Existing Buildings, Schools, and Retail

LEED Neighborhood Development

• New: Neighborhood Development Plan (projects during planning phase – certifying the plan) and ND Development (completed development certification)

New Credit and Impact Categories

Credit Category: Location & Transportation

Impact Categories: Tools for development and point allocation that will address more impact categories if they have a higher number of points.

Why You Should Get Accredited Today

The USGBC will introduce the final version of LEED v4 at the 2013 Greenbuild Conference & Expo. However, students will not be required to take the new v4 accreditation exams until Spring 2014, providing ample time to take advantage of current training courses. Likewise, project teams can continue to register their projects under LEED 2009 until June 1, 2015. With exam and project requirements becoming more stringent, now is the best time to prepare for a LEED accreditation exam with one of Everblue’s exam prep programs: LEED Green Associate, LEED AP Building Design + Construction, LEED AP Operations + Maintenance, and LEED Credential Maintenance. For questions and concerns, please contact us at (800) 460-2575 or email us at [email protected].