Green Building Rating System: Leed Certificate

Green buildings are also vital for the future of our planet as they are constructed with the goals of protecting natural resources, ensuring energy efficiency, and minimizing environmental impacts. Today, rating systems are developed to evaluate and certify the sustainability of buildings. One of them, the Leed Certificate, which is accepted worldwide, is the most widely used rating system in Turkey. So, what is a Leed Certificate and how do you get one?

What is Leed Certification?

Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a green building rating system that is widely used and has become a standard in the world. Developed by the USGBC (US Green Building Council), the Leed Certificate has been accepted all over the world over time. This certificate is prepared for various building types and is an important symbol of sustainability. It evaluates and rates buildings on factors such as water and energy efficiency, cost savings, material quality, health, and environmental impacts.

LEED criteria evaluate buildings not only on factors such as construction and interior quality but also on factors such as operation and maintenance. Since these criteria are constantly updated, it is necessary to follow the current criteria and integrate them into projects to obtain a green building certificate.

LEED Certificate is an incentive to minimize environmental impact. Buildings with this certificate have a higher return on investment and facilitate the marketing process by creating brand value. It is also considered an environmentalist approach as it supports the use of sustainable resources. It is of vital importance in terms of protecting the planet and leaving a livable world for future generations.

What are the Levels of Leed Certification?

Leed Certificate consists of four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Let us take a brief look at the point equivalents and details of these levels:

• Leed Certified (Lean Certificate): This certificate is given to buildings with a score range of 40-49 points. Lean certification means that the building fulfills the main LEED criteria and is fundamentally committed to sustainability. The project has taken the first steps to minimize negative environmental impacts.

• Leed Silver (Silver Certificate): It is the certificate received by buildings with a score range of 50-59. Buildings that receive this certificate have demonstrated a moderate level of achievement in areas such as water efficiency, water sanitation, and energy efficiency. It indicates that the project goes beyond basic measures, incorporates sustainable practices, and has a significant commitment to environmental management. Buildings contribute to reducing the carbon footprint.

• Leed Gold (Gold Certificate): Awarded to buildings with a score range of 60-79 points. Buildings that receive this certificate are almost perfect in terms of sustainability. This is because the project has comprehensively adopted the best sustainability practices. Energy has been saved, water use has been reduced, and indoor air quality has been improved through innovative designs. Projects that have received LEED Gold certification can be used as an example for other buildings in terms of sustainability.

• Leed Platinum (Platinum Certificate): Leed Platinum, the highest level of certification, is awarded to projects with 80 or more points. This means that the latest, most advanced green building technologies and practices are used in the project. Energy efficiency is at the highest level in certified buildings. Water use and carbon emissions are minimized. The health and well-being of the people living in these buildings is also guaranteed. Gold-certified projects set new standards in sustainability and green building designs as well as reducing negative environmental impacts. Thus, they inspire others to achieve excellence in green building.

All projects can apply for LEED certification if they meet the minimum requirements. The criteria used for the rating system are divided into various categories and each category is scored differently. The main categories are location and transportation, water efficiency, sustainable sites, regional priority, innovation, materials and resources, energy and atmosphere, and indoor quality.

If buildings continue to meet the requirements for a higher certification over time, their score can be increased. For example, a lean-certified project can move up to silver certification or higher levels through improvements.

What are the Requirements for Leed Certification?

The more perfectly the Leed Certificate requirements set by the USGBC are fulfilled, the higher the score the building will receive. Some of the requirements to be followed in projects can be listed as follows:

• A sustainable site must be chosen. In this context, it is a prerequisite to prevent soil erosion and minimize pollution caused by construction.
• Care should be taken to protect ecological systems and natural areas.
• To help protect water resources, steps such as recycling wastewater, increasing treatment techniques, and reducing water consumption should be taken.
• Energy savings should be made both in terms of design and systems used.
• Materials should cause minimal damage to the environment both in their use and supply. In addition, these materials should be recyclable at the end of their life.
• Indoor air quality should be improved with fresh air circulation.
• Innovative technologies should be used, and negative environmental impacts should be reduced with design solutions that adhere to sustainability principles.
• The rating system is constantly being updated and USGBC plans to publish a new framework, Leed v5, by 2025. You can follow the updated requirements on USGBC’s official website.

How to Apply for a Leed Certificate?

To apply for a Leed Certificate, it is first necessary to know the appropriate rating system for the building. Some of these rating systems are as follows:

• LEED BD+C: Covers building design and construction. Suitable for new construction or major redesign of buildings.
• LEED O+M: Covers building operation and maintenance. Can be applied for improving the water, energy, and material efficiency of previously constructed buildings and improving indoor air quality.
• LEED ID+C: Covers interior design and construction. It can be applied to the interior design of commercial buildings by sustainability principles. Also includes hospitality and retail applications.
• LEED ND: Includes residential or non-residential uses, new land development projects, or a mix of these. The project to be applied for can be at any stage of the development process, such as planning or construction.
• LEED Homes: Suitable for single-family residential buildings as well as low- or mid-rise multi-family buildings.

After determining the appropriate rating system for the project, you can submit your application through USGBC’s official website. It is critical for the successful completion of the application process that the documents required are fully prepared and uploaded to the system. At this point.

• First, the data on credits are uploaded to the LEED system for evaluation.
• After a certain period, a report is prepared by the evaluation unit, and the scores are determined.
• If necessary, some questions about the details of the project may be asked. After all, questions are answered, either the project is given a score that will allow it to obtain a LEED Certificate, or the application is rejected.
• If the project receives a score, it is awarded the certificate corresponding to this score.

Green Building Application Examples in Turkey

Hundreds of buildings in Turkey have LEED certification. One of them is the Sabiha Gökçen Airport Terminal Building. The building received the gold certificate with sixty-six points.

The building was examined for energy efficiency and the condition of existing systems and equipment was evaluated. First, low-cost improvements were made to ensure optimum efficiency. In addition, a more comprehensive improvement program was prepared to be implemented in the future.

Greenhouse gas inventories were created and monitored in the terminal building. Thus, an emission rate in line with the criteria was achieved. To contribute to environmental sustainability and energy efficiency in outdoor lighting, luminaires that do not create light pollution in the sky were selected. The LED conversion was made in interior lighting.

In addition, water fixtures and water-consuming systems in the building were improved by more than 25% in line with green building standards. In addition, rainwater falling on the hard floors was filtered and stored, and this water was used for landscaping.

Similarly, buildings such as Istanbul Airport Turkish Airlines Domestic Lines Lounge and operations center are also among the buildings with LEED certification. [qc 1]

Steps such as minimizing carbon footprint, protecting natural resources, and paying attention to sustainability are critical for a cleaner, greener, and healthier world. If you want to learn about your organization’s carbon footprint without any consultancy, you can choose QuickCarbon. Thanks to our software that enables the calculation and reporting of corporate carbon footprint according to ISO 14064-1: 2018 standard and GHG protocol, you can determine strategies to reduce carbon emissions or evaluate their impacts.