While green standards for new and substantially renovated buildings garner widespread attention, a less spotlighted standard can impact the sustainability of many more structures. LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED EB:O&M) addresses building exterior and site maintenance programs, energy and water resources, purchase of environmentally preferred products and food, waste stream management, and indoor air quality.
LEED EB:O&M includes guidelines for whole building maintenance and cleaning, material use, and recycling programs, as well as system upgrades. Certification requires the project to meet prerequisites and earn a minimum of 34 points. Buildings must also score 69 points on the EPA’s Portfolio Manager Tool.
The building must meet the following requirements:
• The project must include at least one existing building in its entirety.
• The minimum floor area is 1,000 sf.
• The LEED project scope must include 100% of the floor area of each building in the application, with an exception for operations under separate management for up to 10% of floor area.
• Total gross floor area must be at least 2% of gross land area.
• The project must grant the USGBC and GBCI access to whole-building energy and water usage data for at least five years.
• Minimum occupancy rate: The buildings must be fully occupied for at least 12 months preceding certification application. Vacant tenant space of 25% of the floor area is permitted. For an apartment, hotel, dormitory, convention center, classroom, sports facility, or similar structure, ordinary partial occupancy is permitted.
• The performance period is at least three months for all credits and prerequisites, excluding energy performance, for which the minimum is 12 months.
