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guidance in creating effective TDM strategies and insights in designing projects that aim to reduce travel distances, encourage alternative transportation modes, and lead to more sustainable and resilient communities. USGBC will provide a calculator to help to complete the calculations below.

Projects that participate in a local or regional government-mandated TDM program are considered to have met the Transportation Demand Assessment requirement because these programs are typically designed to achieve the same goals of reducing traffic congestion, lowering emissions, and supporting more sustainable transportation systems. Residential affordable housing projects in infill locations, as well as office, mixed-use, residential, or retail projects located within a Transit Priority Area or within a walking distance of 0.5 miles (800 meters) from an existing or planned major transit stop, are exempt from the TDM assessment requirements because their location inherently promotes sustainable transportation options, high trip frequency, and close proximity to sustainable transportation alternatives.

Estimate the annual VMT Project teams must estimate the annual VMT as part of assessing transportation demand. This process involves determining the number of days the project will be occupied, identifying the number of regular project occupants commuting to and from the site - using either actual occupant data or supplementary LEED guidance published by USGBC - and calculating the VMT. Project teams can refer to federal transportation reports, data from metropolitan planning organizations, and information from local or state transportation departments to estimate commute distances accurately. If local data cannot be found, consider a regional source. These resources provide insights into average commute lengths, which help refine the VMT calculation and support the development of effective TDM strategies. Equation 1. Calculating the total annual VMT 𝑇 𝑇 𝑇𝑇 𝑎 𝑎 𝑎 𝑉 𝑉𝑉= 𝑅 𝑅 𝑅 𝑅𝑅 𝑝 𝑝 𝑝 𝑝𝑝 𝑜 𝑜 𝑜 𝑜 𝑜𝑜 ×

𝑁 𝑁 𝑁 𝑜 𝑑 𝑑 𝑤 𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑖 𝑎𝑎 𝑦 𝑦 𝑎 𝑎 𝑎𝑎 𝑏 𝑏 𝑏 𝑏 𝑜 𝑜 𝑜 𝑜 𝑜 × 𝐷 𝐷 𝐷𝐷 𝑉 𝑉𝑉 Estimate annual baseline case for carbon emissions Project teams must estimate the annual baseline case for carbon emissions. Teams should identify a vehicle emissions factor for a typical passenger vehicle, such as the amount of CO2 emitted per unit of distance traveled. This factor serves as the foundation for estimating transportation-related emissions from commuting to and from the project building in a singleoccupancy vehicle. While it is not necessary to account for multiple fuel types or vehicle models, the emissions factor should reflect an average vehicle commonly used in the region. All trips are assumed to be a single mode of travel. Once the emissions factor is determined, teams must calculate annual baseline emissions based on a worst-case scenario, which assumes maximum

U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Interior Design and Construction, April 2025 Launch Edition 54