The U.S. Green Building Council launched LEED v5, the latest version of its flagship LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building program. LEED v5 builds on the 25-year legacy and global impact of LEED, updating and strengthening this sustainability standard for the building industry while providing user-friendly tools for building owners and teams to pursue certification through enhanced technology updates.
"Since its public launch 25 years ago, LEED has profoundly impacted millions of people in cities and communities around the world,” says Peter Templeton, president and CEO of USGBC. “LEED v5 raises the bar, further defining and evolving best practices and giving stakeholders across the building industry clear pathways to address today’s challenges to our health, climate and communities.”
Meeting today’s pressing challenges
The newest version of the LEED standard was developed with input from thousands of green building professionals to respond to today’s most pressing challenges and the significant opportunities at the intersection of sustainability and buildings. LEED v5 focuses on impact areas that touch decarbonization, human and ecological health, and resilience. The new version further defines what it means to be a high-performance building today, creating even greater investment potential.
Decarbonization accounts for half of all points for LEED v5 certification to confront current climate needs. The new rating system provides clear, actionable steps to deliver ultra-low-carbon buildings by targeting emissions reductions across all aspects of the building life cycle, including operations, embodied carbon, refrigerants and transportation. All LEED v5 projects will complete an operational carbon projection and will be given tools to craft a comprehensive, long-term decarbonization strategy, creating pathways for sustainable transformation.
Quality of life credits focus on human-centric strategies that address the health and well-being of occupants and the communities in which buildings are located. Global demand for healthier and greener spaces has grown in recent years, with occupants increasingly demanding more transparency and accountability around sustainability and health in the built environment.
Resilience is another major theme across the rating system, addressing both human and natural systems to strengthen communities. All LEED v5 projects will complete climate resilience assessments to enhance awareness of hazards, increase transparency of risks, reduce vulnerabilities, and ensure long-term safety and sustainability. These assessments equip projects to conserve and restore ecosystems, mitigate risks, and minimize business disruptions while protecting asset value—contributing to economic prosperity and safety across communities. Once projects conduct their assessments, LEED v5 offers a variety of strategies that can be incorporated at every stage of the building life cycle to reduce risk and enhance resilience.
“Investors, owners, occupants and policymakers are asking for high-performing buildings that reduce emissions; mitigate climate risk; provide healthy, productive spaces; positively impact communities; and protect natural systems,” says Sarah Zaleski, chief products officer of USGBC. “LEED v5 provides the best practices and accountability to drive performance across all these dimensions, delivering tangible benefits to building owners and their stakeholders.”
