LEED 101: A Syllabus Supplement for Green Building Coursework
This syllabus supplement provides professors and students with content on LEED from BuildingGreen, LEEDuser, and other relevant resources.
Intended for design professionals, BuildingGreen provides an independent “living textbook” that integrates perfectly with green building courses while exposing students to the most cutting-edge sustainability strategies and real-world green building case studies.
Here we offer an Intro to LEED curriculum especially formulated for institutions that have access to the following articles through a campus-wide BuildingGreen subscription.
Don’t have a subscription yet? Contact our outreach director, Jerelyn Wilson, to get a no-strings-attached free trial for your campus.
Learning Objectives
- Understand what the LEED rating systems are, how LEED certification works, what LEED professional credentials are available, and who the major organizations are in relation to LEED.
- Gain background in the history and process of LEED development and adoption, including organizations and issues that have emerged to challenge LEED’s growth.
- See the wider context of the green building movement, and where LEED fits in with addressing major issues in the environmental and energy performance of the built environment.
Week 1—What Is LEED?
U.S. Green Building Council
U.S. Green Building Council
LEED Rating System Selection Guidance
U.S. Green Building Council
Guide to the LEED Certification Process
Green Building Certification Institute
U.S. Green Building Council
Guide to LEED Professional Credentials
U.S. Green Building Council
Week 2—Development of LEED
The Future of LEED Will Be Positive
LEED Rating System Lurches Ahead
LEED for Existing Buildings Goes Live
Healthcare May Take LEED in New Directions
Thinking Beyond Buildings: LEED for Neighborhood Development
New Tech Startup, Arc Skoru, to Support USGBC, GBCI with Data
Dynamic Plaque Piloted as LEED Performance Path
LEED to Certify Entire Communities, Cities
Resilient Design Pilot Credits Added to LEED
Week 3—Growth and Adoption of LEED
USGBC to Drop Its Resilience Rating System, RELi
LEED Finally Lives Up to Its Promise
Only LEED Meets Its Needs, Says GSA
First U.S. City Resolves to Build LEED Platinum
Cities Mandate LEED But Not Certification
LEED Gold Now Required for Federal Buildings
Automatic LEED Points for CALGreen Code Compliance
California Code Scores LEED Points
Green Building Sees Growth, But Fewer Firms Pursue LEED
Green Building Remains Strong in Commercial Sector
Data Show Plaque Thresholds Push LEED Projects Higher
USGBC Moves to Improve LEED v4
Week 4—LEED in Context
Leveraging LEED Design Strategies for WELL
How RECs Work—and Why You Might Not Own Your Clean Energy
A Review of Healthy Building Rating Systems
Measuring Energy Use in Buildings: Do Our Metrics Really Add Up?
Preliminary Study Supports LEED Productivity Benefits
Retrocommissioning: Big Savings for Big Buildings
Sustainable Design Literacy: A Foundation for Transformed Practice
Circular Economy at Scale: Six International Case Studies
VOCs in LEED v4 and Other Rating Systems
The Great Eight: High-Impact Material Choices for Green Building
Verifying Project Outcomes: Which Metrics Work?
Why Chemical Transparency Matters
GSA Links High-Performance Outcomes to Integrated Design
USGBC Announces RELi As Its Resilient Design Rating System
Week 5—LEED Case Studies
LEED v4 Tips from Early Adopters: Earn High Ratings Without Added Costs
Oberlin College's Lewis Center
Presidio Neighborhood Is First LEED-ND 2009 Certified Project
Take Control of Your Materials: Four Empowering Lessons from Teams That Beat the Red List
Getting the EPD Credit in LEED v4: Canada Green Building Council Fit-Out
Getting the EPD Credit in LEED v4: Atlanta Stadium
Sidwell Friends Middle School, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. First to Achieve LEED at Citywide Scale
Week 6—Challenges to LEED: Issues in Green Building
USGBC Response: Help Create the Next LEED version
Stemming Illegal Logging with a New LEED Credit
Worker Safety on LEED Projects Questioned
All LEED Projects to Provide Actual Performance Data
USGBC Expands Data Collection from LEED Buildings
New Report Criticizes LEED on Public Health Issues
Energy Efficiency of Bank of America Tower Depends on the Metric You Choose
Gifford Lawsuit Against USGBC, LEED Dismissed
Legal Wood in LEED Barks Up Wrong Tree, Say NGOs
LEED Buildings Still Average in Occupant Satisfaction
Week 7—Challenges to LEED: Industry Issues
Green Globes Emerges to Challenge LEED
Webcast: LEED vs. Green Globes: What's the Difference?
Chemical Industry Attacks LEED: BuildingGreen Checks the Facts
Chemical Industry, USGBC Announce Ceasefire
Are FSC and LEED Killing American Jobs? A Look at the Evidence
FSC and Beyond: LEED 2012 Buries the "Wood Wars" Hatchet
FSC, LEED, and the Price of Perfectionism
Three Things You Need to Know About Forests and Climate Change
LEED Pilots Legal Wood, Expansion of Certified Wood
Two New Laws Restrict Use of LEED
Spurred by Chemical Industry, Ohio Moves Anti-LEED Bill Forward
Cascadia Challenges Green to Go Beyond Platinum
Imperfect Consensus in Green Building Standards
Reality Check for LEED v4 Product Credits
LEED v4 and EPDs: How’s That Market Disruption Working Out for You?
Week 8—Achieving LEED Certification
Finding Products for LEED v4 and v4.1
LEED and WELL Product Labels: A Guide and Analysis
Waiting for Take-Back Programs for Green Building
LEED Certified or Certifiable? Making the Case for Earning the Plaque
Protect Your Spec: 14 Strategies
Owners, This RFP Hack Enables Lasting Building Performance
Webcast: Building as an Organism: Understanding the Integrative Process Credit in LEED v4 Projects
Webcast: Essential Playbook to Managing LEED Construction
Webcast: Whole-Building LCA Tools for LEED v4 and v4.1
Visit LEEDuser for credit-by-credit guidance on LEED project certification.
Week 9—What’s Ahead for LEED and Green Building?
New Leadership, New Strategy for U.S. Green Building Council
Deep Dive on Integrative Process with Marcus Sheffer
Net-Zero Energy Isn’t the Real Goal: 8 Reasons Why
Webcast: Building Re-entry with Arc
Reexamining Priorities in Green Building
The Four Core Issues to Tackle for Resilient Design (And the Programs That Can Help)
Find more articles collected on our LEED topic page.
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