NOTE: Definitions, exceptions, and more extensive guidance on issues shown here are available in a separate document titled: ‘LEED 2009 MPR Supplemental Guidance'. Terms that are italicized here are defined in the Supplemental Guidance document (they are marked as such only the first time that they appear).
This screen identifies the Minimum Program Requirements (MPRs), or minimum characteristics that a project must possess in order to be eligible for LEED Certification. LEED projects must comply with each applicable MPR described below. These requirements define the types of buildings that the LEED Green Building Rating Systems were designed to evaluate, and taken together serve three goals: to give clear guidance to customers, to protect the integrity of the LEED program, and to reduce complications that occur during the LEED Certification process. The requirements here will apply to all those, and only those projects certifying under LEED 2009. Projects that upgrade to LEED 2009 from earlier versions of LEED are subject to the MPRs. It is expected that MPRs will evolve over time with the LEED rating system, however only those MPRs in place at the time that a LEED project registers or upgrades will apply to that project.
LEED for New Construction, Core & Shell, Schools, and Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance were designed to evaluate commercial, institutional, or high-rise residential buildings; as such, any project applying for LEED Certification under one of these rating systems must include a building that falls under one of these categories.
LEED for Commercial Interiors was designed to evaluate interior spaces of commercial or institutional buildings; as such, projects applying for certification under LEED for Commercial Interiors must include a space that falls under one of these categories.
NOTE: CERTIFICATION MAY BE REVOKED FROM ANY LEED PROJECT UPON GAINING KNOWLEDGE OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH ANY APPLICABLE MPR. IF SUCH A CIRCUMSTANCE OCCURS, REGISTRATION AND/OR CERTIFICATION FEES WILL NOT BE REFUNDED.
All exceptions to MPRs that are not already defined in the LEED 2009 MPR Supplemental Guidance document will be considered on a case-by-case basis for special circumstances. Details on the process for review of MPR clarification requests will be posted in summer 2009.
LEED 2009 Minimum Program Requirements
1. Must Comply with Environmental Laws
The LEED project building or space, all other real property within the LEED project boundary, and all project work must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local building-related environmental laws and regulations in place where the project is located. This condition must be satisfied from the date of LEED project registration or the initiation of schematic design, whichever comes first, until the date that the building receives a certificate of occupancy or similar official indication that it is ready for use.
+ For Existing Buildings: O&M: The LEED project building, all other real property within the LEED project boundary, any project work, and all normal building operations occurring within the LEED project building and the LEED project boundary must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local building-related environmental laws and regulations in place where the project is located. This condition must be satisfied from the start of the LEED project’s first LEED-EB: O&M performance period through the expiration date of the LEED Certification.
2. Must be a Complete, Permanent Building or Space
All LEED projects must be designed for, constructed on, and operated on a permanent location on already existing land. No building or space that is designed to move at any point in its lifetime may pursue LEED Certification.
+ For New Construction, Core & Shell, Schools: LEED projects must include the new, ground-up design and construction, or major renovation, of at least one building in its entirety. Additionally, construction prerequisites and credits may not be submitted for review until substantial completion of construction has occurred.
+ For Commercial Interiors: The LEED project scope must include a complete interior space distinct from other spaces within the same building with regards to at least one of the following characteristics: ownership, management, lease, or party wall separation. Additionally, construction prerequisites and credits may not be submitted for review until substantial completion of construction has occurred.
+ For Existing Buildings: O&M: LEED projects must include at least one existing building in its entirety.
3. Must Use a Reasonable Site Boundary
- The LEED project boundary must include all contiguous land that is associated with and supports normal building operations for the LEED project building, including all land that was or will be disturbed for the purpose of undertaking the LEED project.
- The LEED project boundary may not include land that is owned by a party other than that which owns the LEED project unless that land is associated with and supports normal building operations for the LEED project building.
- LEED projects located on a campus must have project boundaries such that if all the buildings on campus become LEED certified, then 100% of the gross land area on the campus would be included within a LEED boundary. If this requirement is in conflict with MPR #7, Must Comply with Minimum Building Area to Site Area Ratio, then MPR #7 will take precedence.
- Any given parcel of real property may only be attributed to a single LEED project building.
- Gerrymandering of a LEED project boundary is prohibited: the boundary may not unreasonably exclude sections of land to create boundaries in unreasonable shapes for the sole purpose of complying with prerequisites or credits.
+ For Commercial Interiors: If any land was or will be disturbed for the purpose of undertaking the LEED project, then that land must be included within the LEED project boundary.
4. Must Comply with Minimum Floor Area Requirements.
For New Construction, Core and Shell, Schools, Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance
The LEED project must include a minimum of 1,000 square feet (93 square meters) of gross floor area.
For Commercial Interiors
The LEED project must include a minimum of 250 square feet (22 square meters) of gross floor area.
5. Must Comply with Minimum Occupancy Rates
For New Construction, Core & Shell, Schools, and Commercial Interiors:
Full Time Equivalent Occupancy
The LEED project must serve 1 or more Full Time Equivalent (FTE) occupant(s), calculated as an annual average in order to use LEED in its entirety. If the project serves less than 1 annualized FTE, optional credits from the Indoor Environmental Quality category may not be earned (the prerequisites must still be earned).
For Existing Buildings: O&M:
Full Time Equivalent Occupancy
The LEED project must serve 1 or more Full Time Equivalent (FTE) occupant(s), calculated as an annual average in order to use LEED in its entirety. If the project serves less than 1 annualized FTE, optional credits from the Indoor Environmental Quality category may not be earned (the prerequisites must still be earned).
Minimum Occupancy Rate
The LEED project must be in a state of typical physical occupancy, and all building systems must be operating at a capacity necessary to serve the current occupants, for a period that includes all performance periods as well as at least the 12 continuous months immediately preceding the first submission for a review. Click here for additional guidance.
6. Must Commit to Sharing Whole-Building Energy and Water Usage Date
All certified projects must commit to sharing with USGBC and/or GBCI all available actual whole-project energy and water usage data for a period of at least 5 years. This period starts on the date that the LEED project begins typical physical occupancy if certifying under New Construction, Core & Shell, Schools, or Commercial Interiors, or the date that the building is awarded certification if certifying under Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance. Sharing this data includes supplying information on a regular basis in a free, accessible, and secure online tool or, if necessary, taking any action to authorize the collection of information directly from service or utility providers. This commitment must carry forward if the building or space changes ownership or lessee.
7. Must Comply with a Minimum Building Area to Site Area Ratio
The gross floor area of the LEED project building must be no less than 2% of the gross land area within the LEED project boundary.