What is LEED Certification?

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is a rating system to measure the efficiency, sustainability and environmental impact of a building.  LEED Certification is offered by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), a non profit organization organized to promote sustainable green building.  The USGBC offers several rating systems covering homes, commercial interiors, core and shell, new construction, schools, health care, retail and existing buildings.  Each of the systems has 4 different levels of certification (certified, silver, gold, and platinum).  These different levels are achieved by obtaining points in efficiency, sustainability and environmental impact.  The more points your building is able to achieve the higher the level of certification. 

What is LEED for Existing Buildings?

LEED certification for new buildings is widely known and well publicized.  It is hard to read any construction related publication without several references to the LEED certification of another new building.  LEED certification for existing buildings is not as well known but is quickly gaining in public awareness. 

The LEED for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance rating system is a rating system for how your building operates.  The rating system offers guidelines suggestions and checklists by which the efficiency and environmental impact of your existing building can be measured.  There are seven categories in which your building is measured.  (sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere,  materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation and design, and regional priority)  By reviewing and documenting the operations of your building you gain points in each category towards certification.  Documentation is presented to the USGBC and they issue certification.

 How can DWCE Help?

Review the Point Checklist

The process begins by reviewing the LEED EB O and M checklist.  The checklist is a listing of all the available points.  DWCE will review all the possible points with you to determine which points your building can achieve.  The checklist also has several requirements that are necessary for any level of LEED certification.  DWCE will review these required points with you to make sure your facility can achieve them.  After this review you will have a preliminary listing of the points you believe your facility can achieve. 

Review the Facility

The next step in the process is to walk the facility and take a more in depth look at the points you anticipate you facility will achieve.  DWCE will walk your facility with you to see if there are any potential problems or additional points you may want to pursue.  After the walk DWCE will provide a report reviewing each point the facility anticipates achieving and the requirements necessary for those points.

Implement Changes

During the checklist and facility review we will come across potential changes that could be made to achieve more points.  These changes can be categorized into two areas:  operational changes and physical changes. Operational changes will involve changing the way people operate in your facility.  An example would be implementing a recycling program and training staff to participate.  Physical changes involve making changes to the facility itself.  An example would be replacing the urinals with waterless urinals.  DWCE will help you implement both operational and physical changes.

DWCE will help you to implement operational changes by providing suggestions templates and documentation techniques to help train staff and occupants on operational changes.  DWCE will also assist in tracking the changes made to determine if they are working. 

DWCE will help to implement physical changes.   DWCE has extensive construction backround and can offer any level of assistance needed to implement physical changes.  DWCE can help create scopes of work, hire designers and contractors, schedule and coordinating the implementation of the change.  DWCE will also perform a cost benefit analysis of any change to help determine if the change should be made.

Collect and Submit Data

Once all changes have been made the facility is ready to start what is called the performance period.  This is the period of time during which the data will be collected to submit for LEED certification.  DWCE will help with the data collection process during the performance period.  We will review the data and organize it for submittal.  Once the performance period is over DWCE will submit the data for LEED certification. 

There will be some questions and issues that arise over points you thought you would achieve and were not awarded.  DWCE will help to resolve these issues to achieve a final LEED certification.