LEED 2011 – IGBC’s New Version for LEED Certification

The Indian Green Building Council launched updated version of LEED India, LEED 2011 for India. New projects will have to be register under the new rating system beginning 20th October 2011.  LEED India 2011 focuses on reduction of energy usage & carbon di oxide emission.

The new version comes with several changes. The credit categories of Sustainable Sites, Water Effi ciency and Energy & Atmosphere were given significantly more importance while Materials & Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality remained very similar. The extra credit opportunities were expanded including an additional point for Innovation in Design and the addition of Regional Priority credits. The most notable change is the significant increase in points; LEED India v1.0 had a maximum of 69 points available while LEED 2011 for India NC have total 110 points – 100 possible base points plus an additional 6 points for Innovation in Design and 4 points for Regional Priority.

Regional Priority Credits are new to LEED 2011. They offer extra incentive for project teams to address environmental issues that are identified as local/regional priorities by IGBC. IGBC identified following six Regional Priority (RP) credits as having environmental importance for projects in the Indian region

WE c1: Water Efficient Landscaping

WE c2: Innovative Wastewater Treatment and Reuse

WE c3: Water Use Reduction

EA c1: Optimize Energy Performance

EA c3: Enhanced Commissioning

EA c5: Measurement and Verification

A project can earn 4 points of the six regional priority credits

Projects seeking certification using the LEED 2011 for India  must score a minimum of 40 points to be certified.

Certification levels

Rating System/ Certification leve LEED NC LEED CS
No of points No of points
New version Old Version New version Old Version
Certified 40 -49 26 -32 40 -49 23 – 27
Silver 50 – 59 33 – 38 50 – 59 28 -33
Gold 60 -79 39 -51 60 -79 34 -44
Platinum 80 and above 52 -69 80 and above 45 – 61

Points have been distributed as follows in the New Rating System

Rating system /        Section

LEED NC

LEED CS

No of points

No of points

New version Old Version New version Old Version
Sustainable Sites

26

13

28

14

Water Efficiency

10

6

10

6

Energy and Atmosphere

35

17

37

14

Materials and Resources

14

13

13

11

Indoor Environmental Quality

15

15

12

11

Innovation in Design

6

5

6

5

Regional Priority

4

0

4

0

Total

110

69

110

61

Salient Features of LEED 2011
• Enhancement in energy and water efficiency baselines
• Promotion of naturally ventilated buildings
• Encouragement to passive technology
• In tune with local regulations and standards
• Adaptation of the latest versions of standards and codes

Download abridged version of new rating system from IGBC website

Comments 1

  • Hi sir,

    I wish to attend the IGBC AP exam. In website in syllabus Section I : Green Building Design & Construction
    Section II : Building Standards & Codes
    Section III : IGBC Resources and Processes
    Section IV : Green Design Strategies & Impacts
    Kindly suggest whether all these sections covered in LEED 2011 – IGBC’s New Version for LEED book or we need to prepare any other books also.

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