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This holistic process of research, analysis, and workshops follows an iterative cycle that refines the design solutions. In the best scenario, the research and workshops continue until the project team optimizes the systems, identifies all reasonable synergies, and documents and implements the related strategies associated with all LEED credits.
Integrated Team The first step involves assembling an interdisciplinary design team with relevant and impacted parties, including owners, building users, architects, engineers, contractors, and community representatives. Participants are to consider all project phases — from early design to construction and operations — to collaboratively set goals, refine strategies, and balance performance, feasibility, and costs.
During construction and procurement, contractors and builders provide insights on constructability, materials, and lifecycle impacts. During occupancy, collaboration ensures the team upholds design intent, implements energy strategies effectively, and monitors performance for continuous improvement.
Design Charrette The first charrette with interdisciplinary members is crucial for collective agreement on goals, priorities, and a shared project vision. Teams must proactively address major concerns early to avoid redesign delays and inefficiencies later in the project life cycle. Leveraging tools such as energy and daylight modeling, building information modeling, and lifecycle assessments ( LCA ) during the conceptual design phase ensures a data-driven approach to identifying conflicts and optimizing performance.
To foster engagement and collaboration, project teams must implement equitable processes by facilitating well-structured meetings, workshops, and charrettes. Resources such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Handbook for Planning and Conducting Charrettes [9] provide practical checklists and agendas to guide these efforts.
LEED Goal-setting: Decarbonization, Quality of Life, and Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration Goals
Project teams must establish measurable goals aligned with LEED v5’s core impact areas: decarbonization, quality of life, and ecological conservation and restoration. It is an opportunity for project teams to further connect assessment findings to project outcomes. Clear metrics guide decisions, such as carbon reduction percentages, well-being outcomes, or ecosystem restoration targets.
9 “Handbook for Planning and Conducting Charettes”, U.S. Department of Energy, accessed March 31, 2025, https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/44051.pdf.
U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Interior Design and Construction, April 2025 Launch Edition 37