LEED Online may be the most frustrating thing currently available on the internet. You should only go to LEED Online once your project documentation is complete and you have no further edits, updates or reports to do. There are slight variations for your LEED Online requirements depending on which rating system and version you are using. Assuming you’ve already exported everything from Green Badger, here are the typical next steps.
Each credit has multiple options within LEED Online.
Form: The form is the LEED Online template you fill out with final project compliance. It varies by credit, but typically they will ask for your method of compliance, and let you know any required uploads. For this credit, it would ask how many EPDs the project had, and let you know to upload the completed BPDO calculator. If additional backup documentation was required (i.e. the actual EPDS) the form would tell you. Fill in the fields for the Option you are attempting, enter your name at the bottom, and click Save.
Thresholds: Some credits have multiple credit options or point levels. In the thresholds tab, you’ll select the option you are pursuing. In this example, you would indicate if you were pursuing EPD Option 1, Option 2 or both.
Uploads: This tab is where you upload any required project documentation that was identified in the Form.
Upload any required project information. You can only upload 1 file at a time, so have fun with that! In this case, you would upload the BPDO calculator. If the form asks for the actual EPDs, just upload the zip file with all the EPDs you exported from Green Badger. You don’t have to upload the EPDs one by one.
Credit Library: This tab links to the USGBC’s overall LEED Credit Library and is where you’ll find the official credit requirements.
Education: USGBC has a partnership with the good people at LEEDUser to help demystify all the nuances of LEED. They are a great resource to really go down some rabbit holes if you’ve got more questions on a specific topic.
LEED v4.1 Opt-in – Last but not least, you’ll see a little circle all the way on the right hand side of the screen with an up and down arrow. This is how you opt a credit into LEED v4.1. If the circle is not already BLUE, as in the example, that means the credit has not yet opted into v4.1 To do so, simply Click the circle, and hit Confirm on the next screen, and you’re set.
