What’s new in LEED version 5

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) started in 1998 as a one-size-fits-all checklist before evolving into the world’s preeminent green building rating system. LEED is now in use across 185 countries, and there are more than 100,000 LEED-certified projects. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently released LEED version 5, which is the program’s newest iteration and its biggest step forward in more than 10 years.

Given LEED’s prominence, architects need to understand the new version’s changes, which reflect today’s urgent climate and equity priorities. This article covers the updates to know, from the perspective of architects whose firms have collectively worked with LEED for decades: Michael Daly, AIA; Timothy Lock, AIA; and Marc Mondor, AIA.

Reprioritization, Platinum certification, and new credits

Like past iterations, LEED v5 rewards projects credits for including certain features. Credits in turn earn projects points, which build toward LEED certification. As reflected in its credits, LEED v5 brings a high-level shift in priorities, defined by its credits’ three core focus areas: 50% of LEED v5’s credits address decarbonization, 25% address quality of life, and 25% address ecological conservation and restoration.

There is also a new Platinum certification level, which is more difficult to achieve than the previous levels (which are Certified, Silver, and Gold). For Platinum certification, in addition to earning at least 80 points, projects must be: 

• Fully electrified
• Powered by renewable energy
• Highly energy efficient
• Low in embodied carbon

Additionally, LEED v5 brings new ways to earn credits. The new credits reward projects for incorporating transportation demand management, equitable development, quality-of-life considerations, and resilience.

New assessment, monitoring, and planning requirements

LEED v5 calls for several new context assessments, performance monitoring, and planning requirements. The context assessments help teams identify risks and opportunities early. Every project must complete a carbon assessment, a climate resilience assessment, and a human impact assessment.
   
For performance monitoring, teams must register projects in the Arc platform. This ensures simulated design metrics align with actual operational performance, not just one-time documentation.

LEED v5 also brings new requirements for operational impact planning. All projects must plan for:

• Zero waste
• Decarbonization
• Occupant travel
• Embodied carbon

How past versions compare

Marc Mondor and the team at his firm, evolveEA, began broadly applying LEED v2 over 20 years ago and have seen the calibration of each successive release balance impact with market acceptance. As a relative sustainability standard, LEED has always been within arm’s reach of progressive codes and standards while offering a broad framework by which to evaluate sustainability strategies. Meanwhile, at OPAL, Timothy Lock and his colleagues track results against absolute sustainability standards, such as the exacting Passive House criteria, whereas LEED has seemed more complex than necessary to accommodate a variety of strategies. And LEED did not always address existing buildings and material reuse with sufficient weight. Thankfully, LEED v5 changes that. 

The systemic change with LEED v5 centers on a re-understanding of the impact of building design as an ecosystem with holistic impact rather than as a series of discrete decisions. Carbon emissions assessment and reduction are now prerequisites, not optional, with operational energy use and electrification tracked more rigorously. These requirements will empower practitioners to consider possible assessment software like C.Scale, Tally, or OneClick to perform common-practice whole building life cycle analysis.

LEED v5 elevates envelope performance and recovery ventilation as strategies essential to lowering loads and reducing overall system sizing. At the same time, overall point impacts prioritize building reuse and total emissions reductions. Just as importantly, indoor air quality, resilience, and equity are no longer add-ons but are embedded from the start, with a LEED framework that feels closer to an integrated design philosophy that many sustainability practitioners will find useful. This synthesis is likely to result in better-performing, longer-lasting, and healthier buildings for communities.

LEED v5’s influence on policy

Beyond individual projects, LEED v5 is starting to influence policy discussions. Michael Daly’s service on the Maryland Green Building Council (MGBC) lets him offer perspective on how states are exploring ways the new version can inform standards for public-sector buildings. LEED v5 is shaping not only how architects design projects but also how governments think about investment in the built environment.

In Maryland, the state’s High-Performance Green Building Program (HPGBP), which governs state-funded projects, is undergoing updates in response to LEED v5. As part of this work, the MGBC has evaluated LEED v5 alongside existing state requirements and drafted proposed updates that elevate several credits from optional to mandatory. The draft revisions emphasize:

• Electrification (and no on-site fossil fuel combustion)
• Enhanced commissioning for both MEP systems and enclosures
• Resilience assessments with implementation strategies
• Accessibility and inclusion measures (such as nongendered restrooms, adult changing tables, and signage)
• Indoor air-quality monitoring or testing

Although not yet ratified, these proposed changes illustrate how jurisdictions can use LEED v5 as a roadmap to advance their climate, resilience, and equity goals. For architects, it signals how quickly voluntary rating system updates may translate into requirements on public projects.

Why LEED v5’s changes matter and what’s next

LEED v5’s changes are significant, but they are well reasoned. LEED continues to index third-party industry standards and reflects appropriate buildings that are healthy and low impact, much like AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence. 

Per the USGBC, LEED-certified buildings lower water usage, energy needs, and waste by over 20%, and they provide healthier settings for occupants and employees. There are financial benefits, too: LEED-certified buildings sell for 21.4% higher prices, have 11% higher rent rates, and attract better financing options for owners. 

LEED credits reflect a collection of best practices, and they evolve alongside available technology and public awareness. The USGBC plans to update LEED on a five-year cycle, meaning LEED v6 will arrive in 2030. But architects don’t need to wait: LEED’s latest changes are already shaping expectations in both public and private projects. The firms that adapt now will be positioned to lead later.

Key takeaways from this article:

• LEED v5 calls for early assessments of carbon, resilience, and human impact.
• Beyond gathering points, LEED v5’s new Platinum certification requires electrification, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and low-embodied-carbon strategies.
• LEED v5 aligns with broader industry frameworks like AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence.
• Maryland’s HPGBP shows how LEED v5 priorities are already becoming state policy.
• Architects should prepare to integrate these requirements into every project, not just those pursuing LEED certification.

Timothy Lock, AIA, is a management partner at OPAL. Marc Mondor, AIA, is the managing principal and cofounder of evolveEA. Michael Daly, AIA, is the managing principal of Architectural Support Group.