LEED v5 Assessment Prerequisites: Building a Strong Foundation for Sustainable Design
LEED v5 introduces a set of key assessment prerequisites that every project must complete to qualify for certification. These early-stage evaluations ensure that sustainability is embedded from the start—before design and construction begin. Project teams are now required to assess climate risk, carbon impact, waste strategies, and resilience planning as part of their foundational approach.
Hazard Risk and Climate Resilience Assessment (FEMA)
Resilience is no longer optional—it’s a core requirement in LEED v5. Projects must evaluate how climate change and natural hazards could affect their site and operations, then integrate design strategies to reduce vulnerability.
This assessment helps teams:
- Identify relevant hazards
- Evaluate risk levels
- Prioritize mitigation strategies
The results inform other resilience-related credits, such as site design, resilient spaces, and operational planning—ensuring that every strategy is tailored to the project’s specific risks.
Emergency Response Planning
LEED v5 requires projects to be prepared for emergencies—protecting occupants, maintaining critical operations, and enabling meaningful recovery.
This planning is directly tied to the Climate Resilience Assessment. The hazards identified in that assessment become the focus of the Emergency Response Plan, ensuring alignment between risk and response.
Embodied Carbon Assessment
In LEED v5, assessing embodied carbon is now a prerequisite under the Materials & Resources category.
The goal is to:
- Quantify the embodied carbon of the structure, enclosure, and hardscape
- Identify top sources of embodied carbon
This establishes a baseline that projects must evaluate before pursuing additional embodied carbon reduction credits.
Decarbonization Plan
Carbon emissions—both operational and embodied—are now central to LEED v5. The Decarbonization Plan ensures that buildings are designed not just for current performance, but for continuous improvement over time.
This plan:
- Aligns certification with real-world outcomes
- Provides a roadmap for reducing emissions
- Supports long-term accountability as grids decarbonize and policies evolve
Together with the required Operational Carbon Projection, it ensures every project has a strategy for ongoing carbon reduction.
Planning for Zero Waste Operations
Zero waste planning is now a prerequisite under the Materials & Resources category.
The intent is to:
- Minimize waste sent to landfills or incineration
- Promote reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting
- Set up building operations to support zero-waste goals
This proactive approach helps teams design buildings that support sustainable operations from day one.
Conclusion
LEED v5’s new prerequisites represent a major shift toward proactive, performance-based planning. By requiring early assessments of climate risk, carbon impact, and waste strategies, the framework ensures that sustainability is not an afterthought—it’s the foundation. These steps may require deeper collaboration and coordination, but they also empower teams to make smarter, more resilient decisions from the start. As sustainability consultants, we’re here to guide teams through these assessments, helping turn planning into measurable impact.