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carbon emissions. Teams learn to identify how carbon emissions will change over time due to changes in the grid.

Then, through the credits of the EA category, LEED v5 provides a simple framework for designing zero carbon - ready buildings. This framework, through the EA category, lays out critical steps and additional strategies for decarbonization. These critical steps are the design strategies inherent to the building itself, which must be incorporated from the beginning of the project. The additional strategies, which also provide significant carbon impacts, complement and build upon the primary strategies.

EAc1: Electrification is a new credit within LEED v5. As electrical grids decarbonize, the carbon emissions from electrical usage will decrease drastically. However, the emissions from fuelpowered systems in buildings, usually for space heating and service hot water, will remain. Replacing those fuel-powered systems with electrically powered equipment, which can provide heat efficiently, will help emissions shrink to near zero by 2050. The Electrification credit rewards projects that electrify as many of their systems as possible, while providing compliance options for operations during extreme low temperatures and with emergency backup systems.

Energy efficiency, a cornerstone of LEED and high-performing buildings, is the third critical step in the decarbonization framework. All LEED v5 projects will begin with a baseline of energy efficiency, pairing climate zone - appropriate building envelopes with building systems and management practices ( EAp2: Minimum Energy Efficiency, EAp4: Energy Metering and Reporting, EAp3: Fundamental Commissioning ). Energy efficiency provides critical benefits, including lower operational costs, less damage due to the extraction and transport of fuels, and less air pollution and accompanying health issues. Moreover, efficiency reduces carbon emissions, even from electricity, because most grids are not yet and will not soon be carbonneutral. For teams that prefer an alternative to energy modeling, LEED v5 offers an updated prescriptive option for full achievement of points ( EAc2: Enhanced Energy Efficiency ).

The additional decarbonization strategies represent industry-leading best practices, found in EAc4: Enhanced Commissioning, EAc3: Renewable Energy and EAc5: Grid-Interactive, as well as EAp5: Fundamental Refrigerant Management and EAc6: Enhanced Refrigerant Management . Carried over from earlier versions of LEED and refined in LEED v5, these approaches continue to be highly effective in reducing carbon emissions and minimizing energy waste.

LEED v5 Platinum projects will achieve industry best practices for energy efficiency, eliminate on-site combustion (except for emergency and back-up needs), use 100% renewable energy, and reduce embodied carbon.

U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Interior Design and Construction, April 2025 Launch Edition 96