855773644-LEED-v5-BD-C-Reference-Guide-Launch-Edition - Page 028
Extracted Content
INTEGRATIVE PROCESS, PLANNING, AND ASSESSMENTS (IP)
OVERVIEW
As an industry, the built environment has evolved to prioritize whole-building performance and impact over isolated systems. The Integrative Process, Planning, and Assessments (IP) credit category builds on this approach in LEED v5 by emphasizing the importance of early-stage interdisciplinary collaboration and holistic, iterative planning to arrive at interrelated solutions. By using systems thinking to identify synergies among building systems and components before the design phase begins, projects prioritize the value of intentionally integrated design processes.
This holistic approach promotes the proactive consideration of how each project addresses decarbonization, quality of life — including equity and resilience — and ecosystem conservation and restoration from the outset. The strategies within the IP category help shape projects that are environmentally responsible, resilient, and equitable, benefiting both occupants and the broader community. Key aspects of this category include:
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Timing . Initiating analysis in the early stages of the project (pre-design).
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Engagement . Involving the right people.
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Interdisciplinary collaboration . Leveraging synergies across credit categories to maximize efficiencies and inform decision-making.
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Assessment-based understanding . Discovery that provides insights into natural hazards, carbon emissions, and human impacts.
Decarbonization The built environment contributes significantly to global GHG emissions, accounting for 21% of total GHG emissions and 31% of global carbon emissions in 2019 for operational carbon emissions alone. [2] The IP category’s 25-year carbon assessment addresses energy use, refrigerants, embodied carbon, and transportation impacts ( IPp3: Carbon Assessment ). This assessment promotes carbon literacy and equips project teams with knowledge to apply to future projects, fostering industry-wide progress.
This assessment pulls from other sections of the rating system to support consistent and meaningful carbon reduction ( MRp2: Quantify and Assess Embodied Carbon, MRc2: Reduce Embodied Carbon, MRc4: Building Product Selection and Procurement ).
2 “Chapter 9”: Buildings . (n.d.). IPCC. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/chapter/chapter-9//
U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Building Design and Construction, April 2025 Launch Edition 18