LEED v4 Energy & Carbon Requirements come into effect March 1

Following a successful ballot, updated energy and carbon requirements will take effect March 1, 2024 for new projects registering under LEED v4 BD+C, ID+C, Homes, and Multifamily Mid-rise, extended from January 1. These important updates will ensure LEED requirements remain in line with market expectations. The increased energy performance requirements bring the rigour of LEED v4 into rough alignment with LEED v4.1, and the credit structure is also being updated to match LEED v4.1: half the points available are determined by the reduction in energy using a metric of cost or source energy, and the other half are determined by the reductions in operational carbon (GHG) emissions. Projects that register before March 1 will use the version of the credit that was launched in 2013 (plus any applicable addenda) and will not be impacted by the update.

Read the updated rating system documents here. 

The CAGBC and its Technical Advisory Group strongly support the proposed updates and submitted feedback to the public comment drafts.

An FAQ and guidance tables are available:

• LEED v4 Energy Update FAQ: This detailed FAQ provides answers on a broad range of questions as well as graphs to visually outline threshold adjustments.

• Energy Pathway Tables for BD+C (commercial) and ID+C: The tables articulate the energy pathways available to project teams following the updates, outlining the most suitable paths for various project types.

Note that some of the current pilot Alternative Compliance Paths (ACPs) may be closed following the update. Currently registered LEED v4 projects wishing to use pilot ACPs for energy performance must register before a pilot ACP is closed. Pilot credits are created to test out alternative compliance pathways (ACPs) to credit achievement or to test out new credits; they are not intended to be permanent. Feedback on pilot credits/ACPs informs future changes to the rating system.