LEED v5: What Do Assessment Prerequisites Mean for Fenestration?

With LEED v5’s launch, the U.S. Green Building Council achieved its most significant update since LEED 3.0 launched in 1998. LEED v5 focuses on decarbonization, health and resilience. Now that it’s official, let’s discuss its assessment-driven prerequisites and their implications for fenestration. 

Assessments fit with fenestration 

The following assessments are now prerequisites for every LEED v5 project: 

• Climate Resilience Assessment 
• Human Impact Assessment 
• Carbon Assessment 

1. Climate Resilience Assessment

Evaluates a structure’s ability to mitigate climate-related hazard risks. This includes service life, emissions scenarios and exposure risk levels. This can drive greater selection and specification of high-performance fenestration offering risk mitigation and resilience. As examples, we’ll see an emphasis on systems that contribute to buildings’ impact-resistance in hurricanes and high wind events, and energy efficiency and thermal comfort in extreme temperatures. 

2. Human Impact Assessment

Evaluates a structure’s ability to safeguard and promote health, equity and quality of life, and helps “ascertain real, tangible outcomes.” This can include where the project is located within a community to ensure inclusivity and accessibility, how the project incorporates universal design practices, and how its design and materials support occupant wellness. 

Fenestration products have beneficial outcomes for humans that also can minimize our impact on our surrounding environment. Fenestration promotes daylight and outdoor views, which are fundamental to human health and wellness. Transparency promotes visibility and connectivity with each other. With accessible hardware, operable windows and doors allow equal opportunities for natural ventilation and egress. 

Fenestration also can harmonize with biodiversity, such as bird-friendly glass and finishes that feature earth tones and mimic natural materials. Low-emitting materials contribute to healthy air quality. In addition, fenestration products that meet climate-resilient considerations also support people’s safety, comfort and well-being. 

3. Carbon Assessment

Evaluates the impact of a structure’s carbon footprint. Decarbonization is a significant focus for LEED v5. It addresses embodied carbon, which is measured as Global Warming Potential, or GWP. Project teams must quantify construction materials’ GWP by calculating the cradle-to-gate embodied carbon emissions for each material. The GWP per unit is multiplied by the material amount used. 

The intention is to determine areas for improvement, and to prioritize material selection that minimizes the carbon footprint. This encourages or requires material transparency documentation, such as EPDs, HPDs and Declare labels. Circularity principles—recyclability and reclamation without reduced performance properties—also are central to decarbonization within this assessment. 

Fenestration products supported with recognized documentation and recycled content are well suited for this assessment. Fortunately, aluminum framing members and fenestration components can be manufactured with recycled composition. At the end of their long life, they can be locally recycled, easily reclaimed, and repurposed into new building materials and other products. 

Easier effort, greater potential 

LEED v5 and its assessment-driven prerequisites offer a streamlined process, an easier compliance path and clear documentation requirements. Ultimately, LEED v5 positions knowledgeable fenestration manufacturers and glazing contractors for continued success in supporting buildings designed with intention to achieve sustainable, tangible outcomes.