LEED Specialists

LEED for Existing Buildings – Operations & Maintenance – An Introduction

LEED for Existing Buildings – Operations & Maintenance is a certification system used in the operations and maintenance of large, commercial buildings. This system identifies the best practices used in the operations and maintenance of buildings, such as energy conservation, using less water and power and other natural resources and offers incentives for the same. The purpose of the LEED certification is to monitor operations and to identify inefficiencies, if any, and to transform the inside environment.

Benefits of LEED for Existing Buildings- Operations & Maintenance

LEED helps the commercial establishments that own buildings solve problems related to the operations and maintenance of the building, improve its performance over time and maintain the building. LEED helps to cut down the costs associated with the building maintenance and operations, minimize environmental impacts, if any, on the building and helps improve employee productivity and efficiency at the workplace.

Implementing best practices as under LEED creates excellent publicity for the commercial establishment. What LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance certification essentially does is to encourage the management of existing buildings to implement environmentally sustainable practices and helps reduce the impact of the environment on the building’s functional life cycle.

NAR’s Green Business Network allows its green industry product and service providers or participants to connect with NAR Green Designees. All participants in the program are required to meet a specific set of sustainability criteria to be considered eligible for the same.

Difference between LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance and other LEED certification systems

Other LEED certification systems such as the LEED for New Construction and Commercial Interiors Rating Systems are exclusively focused on construction and or renovation; they have nothing to do with the maintenance and operations of the building unlike LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance. This certification and rating system is only concerned with the operation and maintenance of the building and considers its physical systems such as land use, design and equipment in relation to the way the building is used and operated by its owners. This means looking at the waste management, commuting programs, temperature monitoring and other practices.

The most important thing that LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance does is to create a process of reviews, reporting and inspections for as long as the building remains in use. LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance is only concerned with certifying building that are operational and fully functional, not those that are under construction.

LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance – Who is it for?

LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance is for building owners and building managements that are trying to solve problems related to the building and to increase the building life cycle. LEED uses a rating system which is exclusively targeted at the building, regardless of whether it is multi-tenanted, occupied by a single owner or consists of multiple-building campus projects. A LEED certification will require at least 3 months of operational data. This means that the building has to be fully operational for 3 months at least in order to be considered for the LEED certification.

Projects that have already been certified under certifications such as

LEED for New Construction, LEED for Core & Shell or LEED for School will be allowed to register for FREE for the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance program.

Is LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance the right choice for my project?

If your project meets all the prerequisites of LEED certification and achieves the minimum points that are required in a rating system, then you should consider taking part in the program. It is really up to you to decide which LEED certification to pursue. You can send an email to leedinfo@usgbc.org for more information on this.

How many times is a building required to certify under LEED?

A building may apply for LEED recertification as often as the management wants TO. But generally, they will need to apply once every 5 years in order to maintain the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance status. In case a building does not recertify at the conclusion of the 5 years period, the next application made will be considered to be an application for an initial certification.

The building must then recertify all prerequisites. However it can add new credits or drop previously earned credits according to the strategy adopted by the management.

How old should a building be in order to participate in LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance?

The building must be operational for a minimum of 12 continuous months in order to certify for in LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance.

What is the process for LEED certification?

The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) grants the LEED certification through a network of third-party certification bodies. Visit www.gbci.org to register your project for LEED certification.

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