Getting ahead of risk
LEED v5 assessments encourage owners to think about climate resilience, human impact, and decarbonization.
- Rating System/Standard
- LEED
- LEED v5
- Theme
- Green Building
Building owners and developers are facing increasing pressure to protect the long-term value, performance, and competitiveness of their assets. Climate resilience, decarbonization, and performance are becoming more closely connected to how assets are valued or attract investment, influencing how buildings are designed, developed, and managed.
Building owners and developers are facing increasing pressure to protect the long-term value, performance, and competitiveness of their assets. Climate resilience, decarbonization, and performance are becoming more closely connected to how assets are valued or attract investment, influencing how buildings are designed, developed, and managed.
For both new and existing buildings, understanding how an asset addresses these considerations will influence its position in the current and future market. As a result, failing to account for these factors can increase exposure to financial, regulatory, and operational risks.
LEED v5 certification makes climate resilience, human impact and decarbonization measurable considerations in project planning
Identifying risks and opportunities earlier
LEED v5’s new prerequisite assessments help building owners understand their assets’ potential risks, vulnerabilities and performance opportunities. LEED v5 offers project teams a structured framework for evaluating climate resilience, human impact, operational carbon, and embodied carbon. The assessments provide valuable insights that can unlock value by informing design and retrofit decisions earlier in the project. Evaluating these impact areas gives owners and project teams a clearer understanding of where improvements can be made, enabling them to establish priorities, and find solutions to potential issues faster. As a result, these prerequisites can strengthen delivery outcomes before they become more difficult or costly to address.
The table below lists LEED v5 prerequisite assessments, the factors they evaluate, and examples of the project-specific insights they can provide:
| LEED v5 prerequisites assessments | What the requirement evaluates | What the assessment can reveal |
| Climate resilience assessment (IPp1) (BD+C, ID+C, and O+M) | Promotes the comprehensive assessment of observed, projected, and future natural hazards for climate resilience with an aim to enhance awareness of hazards, increase transparency of risks, reduce vulnerabilities, and ensure long-term safety and sustainability. | Example: A climate resilience assessment could identify that a project site is exposed to future flood risk, prompting the project team to evaluate measures such as site grading, drainage capacity, finished floor elevations, and flood-resistant design strategies to reduce the asset’s vulnerability to extreme weather events. |
| Human impact assessment (IPp2) (BD+C, ID+C, and O+M) | Considers the project development through an understanding of the social context of the local community, and workforce, helping to address potential social inequities. Additionally, specific to O+M, it also considers the supply chain and incorporates the effect of people impacted, into the operation considerations | Example: A human impact assessment could identify that a local community group is working to provide a connection corridor between local parks in the area; the design team can then work to integrate that connection onto the project site for both the benefit of the occupants and the wider community. |
| Carbon assessment (IPp3) (BD+C and ID+C) | To understand and reduce long-term direct and indirect carbon emissions, including on-site combustion, grid-supplied electricity, refrigerants, and embodied carbon. | The carbon assessment calculates the results of the design team’s work in projecting the anticipated greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated with the project’s projected energy use, as well as the expected embodied carbon from the design, and emissions from refrigerant leakage. The team can then use this information to adjust the design to reduce GHG emissions. |
| Operations Assessment and Policy (IPp3) (O+M) | Supports holistic, high-performing, sustainable operations that address the LEED system goals: decarbonization, quality of life, and ecological conservation and restoration. | Through this work, the team assesses current operations and compares them to an identified desired state, identifying gaps and strategies to meet stated goals, and then revises those policies. For example, the team might identify that the current housekeeping program does not meet the needs of a green cleaning goal and update the policy accordingly. |
Delivering value through certification
LEED certification is no longer simply a discretionary sustainability measure. It is becoming a strategic tool for managing risk and protecting long-term asset value.
“Across the market, owners are looking for ways to understand and demonstrate how to adapt and mitigate risks affecting their assets and portfolios,” says Diana Mokhallati, Vice-President, Market Growth at CAGBC. “LEED v5’s required assessments provide a structured way to evaluate these considerations, identify areas for action, and generate tangible evidence of progress.”
CAGBC’s research report, Rethinking Value: The Business Impact of Green Buildings, examines the gap between perceived cost premiums and realized outcomes. The report explores how owners are proving value in pursuing green building certification and applying recognized standards to strengthen asset positioning and respond to evolving market and regulatory expectations.
“LEED v5 is designed to reflect where the market is heading and the factors owners will need to consider across the building lifecycle,” says Mark Hutchinson, Senior Vice President, Green Building Programs & Innovation. “The required assessments provide owners greater understanding of a building’s projected impact and its exposure to climate-related physical and transition risk.
LEED v5 introduces new credits and prerequisites that support proactive planning and resilient design.
Explore the new LEED v5 resiliency requirements and the tools available to assess and address climate risks.
Learn what the new prerequisites under LEED v5 mean for projects.