Introducing the LEED Volume Program

The USGBC recently announced a new program that will streamline the LEED Certification process for multiple buildings. The LEED Volume Program, as it is called, is available for many of the LEED Rating Systems, including LEED AP Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance (EBOM). The purpose of the program is to enable an organization to certify a large number of its existing buildings or new construction projects all at once. The LEED Volume Program establishes verifiable guidelines and simplifies the LEED documentation process.If an organization has integrated sustainable strategies into multiple buildings, they can apply the approved LEED prototype credit to the LEED Certifications of each building. Retailers and hotel chains with a prototypical building are well suited to participate in this program. The LEED Volume Program for existing buildings is compatible with a wide range of market sectors including commercial offices, hospitals, retail, government, and higher education.

This program will enable LEED Green Associates and LEED APs handling the documentation requirements of their LEED projects to meet bulk requirements. This makes the entire process less stressful for those in charge. An organization must define a prototype by choosing a set of prerequisites and credits that are common to all the projects it plans to certify. These can be either technical or managerial uniform practices. The GBCI will “precertify” a prototype or a series of prototypes. Project managers would then apply for certification of actual buildings, relying on the pre-approved documentation and providing additional information only for credits that differ from the prototype.

One stipulation of this streamlined process is that project managers must develop a quality control plan that outlines tools and processes that will be used to consistently meet the LEED credit requirements on all buildings that will be certified. The quality control plan will be accompanied by an education plan, to ensure all participants on the LEED project understand the green building strategies that are being implemented.

In theory, this is a great idea. It’ll be interesting to see how successful this program is. For individuals who are fully entrenched in the industry, and have acquired LEED accreditation, the LEED Volume Program must be a blessing to them. Those who understand the LEED documentation requirements inside and out will be thankful that the USGBC is giving them this opportunity to develop a prototype that will be applied to multiple projects. It will certainly reduce stress and, hopefully, the level of paperwork involved. I’m sure it will take a while to work out the kinks, but in the end, this should be a very simple and helpful program for LEED Certification.