LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Innovation is a flexible category used to award
points for performance and creativity.

ID
Exemplary
performance

Innovative
performance

LEED AP
participant
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Exemplary Performance
• Performance above and beyond the LEED requirements is rated
“exemplary.”
• Exemplary performance points are not available for all credits in
the rating systems. There are specific areas where the rating
system will allow a project team to earn these extra points.
Example #1
• Sustainable Sites credit Site development Protect or Restore
Habitat can earn a project one point for using native or adapted
vegetation to restore 30% (including the building footprint) of
all portions of the site identified as previously developed.
• If a project team increases the on-site restoration to 60% (a
doubling of the credit requirements), one Innovation point can
be earned.
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Exemplary Performance
Example #2
Water Efficiency Credit Indoor Water Use Reduction can earn a project 1 to
6 points for using less water than the building baseline:
Percent Reduction Points
• 25% 1
• 30% 2
• 35% 3
• 40% 4
• 45% 5
• 50% 6
Achieving a 55% reduction in water use would earn one Innovation point.
Note that the 55% reduction doesn’t earn seven points for the credit. The
points earned would be:
• WE Credit Indoor Water Use Reduction – 6 points
• Innovation Credit – 1 point
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Exemplary Performance
Example #3
Here are some credits that can earn exemplary performance:
Increasing the use of alternative transportation
Rainwater management
Reducing the heat island effect
Reducing indoor water use
Increasing energy performance
Increasing on-site renewable energy
Increasing green power use
Increasing the use of environmentally preferable materials
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Innovative Performance
The LEED rating system cannot cover every green
building idea or be revised to cover every new
technology – so the system allows for innovative
performance. Innovation is used to describe new and
unique ways of exceeding green building or operating
goals in a significant and, most importantly,
measurable way that is not covered in the LEED
system.
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Innovative Performance
Innovative strategies must meet three criteria:

1. The strategy must demonstrate a quantifiable

environmental performance benefit.
2. The strategy must be applied comprehensively
(wherever possible on the project).
3. The strategy must be transferable to other
projects so that other project teams can replicate
the strategy, while also being a superior design
choice compared to standard building design.
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Innovative Performance
For example, one project used a snow melting system to eliminate
the use of chemicals to melt snow. Using the snow melting
system on 10% of the walkways and chemicals on the remaining
90% would not be considered comprehensive.
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Innovative Performance
Some previous examples used on projects are:
✓ Relocating/transplanting trees onsite
✓ Wood use reduction of 20%, as compared to a baseline
building
✓ A food composting facility
✓ A snow melting system that does not use chemicals
✓ Borrowing (and achieving) a LEED Credit from a
different rating system (i.e. Green Cleaning from LEED
Operations & Maintenance if the project was for LEED
for New Construction)
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Innovative Performance
Education Program
Education is not in the LEED rating system but it is truly
innovative and the most widely submitted innovation strategy for
an ID point. This concept uses the building as an educational tool.

The goal is to inform building users and visitors about the

positive environmental and human health benefits of green
building as well as educating them about green building
strategies incorporated on the project.

An education program can be any combination of giving tours of the

building, adding signage, doing a case study, or even writing a manual
on the green aspects of the building.
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Innovative Performance
Divert Waste
Your project could work with the community to divert waste from
landfills. If your project has a large recycling program, it could
encourage community members to drop off their recyclable
materials or organize other programs that would divert waste from
more than just the project area.
If a property management team is planning on sending in old
computers for recycling and control of toxic materials, the
property management team could publicize a computer collection
drive in surrounding office buildings or neighborhoods.
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
LEED AP on Staff
LEED APs help streamline the application and certification
process. The rating systems allow one ID point for having a
LEED AP on staff.
To earn one ID point, have a LEED AP doing principle work
on the project. This means the
LEED AP must be involved in a substantial capacity on the
project.

Even though there are six ID points, having six LEED APs on the
project would only earn one point.
 LEED –GA Preparatory Training

Innovation in Design
Key words
exemplary performance
innovative performance
principle participant
quantifiable benefits
LEED AP