Many design decisions associated with environmental impacts are made in the first part of the design process.

Predesign entails gathering information, recognizing stakeholder needs, establishing project goals, and selecting the site.

Schematic design (SD) explores several design options and alternatives, with the intent to establish an agreed-upon project layout and scope of work.

Design development (DD) begins the process of spatial refinement and usually involves the first design of a project’s energy systems.

Commissioning takes place near the end of construction, once the systems have been installed and are operable.

During occupancy, periodic maintenance must occur.

Recommissioning along with occupant surveying (via a post-occupancy evaluation) should take place at regular intervals.

The project owner defines the intended function of the building and selects the primary members of the project team.

The architect holds the primary responsibility for the design of the building as a whole and is responsible for coordinating all of the design team.

70% of the decisions associated with environmental impacts are made during the first 10% of the design process.

Each LEED rating system has 100 base points

The weighting and level of importance of a LEED credit depends on the credit’s ability to address various environmental and human health concerns, such as smog formation and ozone depletion.

Reasonable site boundary means that the LEED project must include all contiguous land.

You must commit to sharing with USGBC and/or GBCI all available actual whole project energy and water usage data for a period of at least 5 years.

Gross floor areas must be no less than 2% of the gross land area within the LEED project boundary.

The project boundary is the platted property line of the project defining land and water within it.

LEED professional accreditation is available at three levels.

 LEED Green Associate,
 LEED Accredited Professional with specialty, and
 LEED Accredited Professional Fellow.

Provides a marketable credential to an employer, prospective employer, or client.

Reducing the number of vehicles on the road, is a key priority for green projects.

Encourages and promotes a higher understanding of LEED

The general principles of the Disciplinary Policy require that LEED-certified
individuals must:
Be truthful, forthcoming, and cooperative in their dealings with GBCI;
Be in continuous compliance with GBCI rules (as amended from time to time by GBCI);
Respect GBCI intellectual property rights;
Abide by laws related to the profession and to general public health and safety.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, the largest use of energy within buildings is for space heating.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, 38% of all energy used within buildings is used for space heating.

Lighting is the second largest user, at 20%.

Integrative design, conversely, brings together owners, operators, architects, engineers, and other stakeholders to identify cross-disciplinary opportunities to improve the environmental performance of building projects.

The conventional bottom line evaluates only economic prosperity.

The triple bottom line, in contrast, is a way to evaluate performance relative to overall impact, including the human and environmental effects associated with performance.

Life-cycle assessment is a method used to analyze the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service.

The predesign period of an environmentally responsive design process is the first phase in the development of a project.