LEED v5: What Facilities Managers Need to Know

Earlier this year, LEED v5 officially launched, marking the most significant update to the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) green building certification system in over a decade. For years, the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) framework has been a trusted tool for facilities leaders striving to operate sustainable, efficient, and high-performing buildings.

With the release of LEED v5, the program has taken a bold step forward, reflecting growing demands for climate action, performance accountability, and human-centric design. Here’s a closer look at what’s new and how FM leaders can take action. 

What is LEED?

The LEED program was first developed in the late 1990s as a response to the growing need for consistent, measurable standards in green building. Over the years, it has evolved into a globally recognized certification system that influences design, construction, and operations in buildings across sectors.

Historically, LEED categories focused on critical areas such as energy use, water efficiency, materials selection, indoor environmental quality, and site sustainability. The LEED certification system continues to operate on a points-based structure, where credits are awarded for meeting specific performance criteria across a range of categories. Based on the total number of points earned, buildings achieve one of four certification levels:

• Certified: 40-49 points
• Silver: 50-59 points
• Gold: 60-79 points
• Platinum: 80+ points

Once certification was awarded, facilities teams often took a back seat. LEED v5 changes that by emphasizing the importance of ongoing operations and the people who manage them as key to maintaining green building performance.

What's New?

One of the most visible updates in LEED v5 is the complete restructuring of credit categories. Rather than organizing around specific building systems, the new version groups credits into three categories that better reflect today’s global priorities:

Climate Action – Accounting for 50% of total points, this category emphasizes both operational and embodied carbon, energy performance, and long-term decarbonization planning.

Quality of Life – This category focuses on human health, well-being, social equity, and inclusive design that improves conditions for all occupants.

Ecosystem & Ecological Stewardship – With this, LEED encourages responsible land use, water stewardship, biodiversity, and the protection of ecological systems.

This reorganization brings clarity to what LEED v5 is really about: reducing carbon, improving lives, and protecting ecosystems. It also aligns the certification system with emerging sustainability frameworks and ESG standards.

Emphasis on lifecycle carbon

Previous versions of LEED were primarily concerned with operational carbon emissions, such as those resulting from heating, cooling, and lighting systems. LEED v5 takes a more comprehensive approach by addressing the full lifecycle carbon impact of a building, from the extraction and manufacture of materials to transportation emissions, refrigerant management, and long-term energy use.

To meet these expanded requirements, every LEED v5 project must now incorporate key elements that address carbon impacts throughout the building's lifecycle, including:

• An operational carbon projection, modeling how the building will perform over time
• A long-term decarbonization strategy, outlining how emissions will be reduced year over year
• Transparent reporting on carbon performance, both at the time of certification and beyond

This lifecycle approach encourages early collaboration between design, construction, and operations teams and places FM at the center of long-term carbon management.

Post-Certification Performance Tracking

One of the most significant shifts in LEED v5 is its move away from static certification. Rather than earning a one-time designation, certified projects are now required to track performance metrics and submit annual reports to maintain their status.

Facilities must monitor and report data in several critical areas:

• Carbon emissions (operational and embodied)
• Resilience indicators, such as backup energy systems or flood resistance
• Quality-of-life metrics, including indoor air quality, thermal comfort, lighting, and acoustics

This ensures that buildings consistently meet their sustainability and wellness goals and highlights the essential role of facilities professionals in maintaining and improving performance after certification.

Built-In Update Cycle and Global Alignment

To stay current with climate science and policy developments, LEED v5 includes a five-year update cycle. This guarantees the program will evolve in step with global frameworks like the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), and Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). It also ensures that certified projects stay up to date with the latest strategies for climate action and resilience.

How LEED v5 Impacts Facilities Management

LEED v5 redefines the role of facilities professionals by elevating their influence. Facility management is no longer a behind-the-scenes function; it's now recognized as a key driver of building performance, sustainability outcomes, and occupant well-being. In this new landscape, FM is positioned as a strategic leader, guiding long-term decisions that directly impact carbon goals, resilience planning, and the overall success of certification efforts.

Strategic Decarbonization PLanning

Under LEED v5, facility teams are expected to actively participate in carbon modeling, especially when it comes to embodied carbon and long-term energy strategies. Decisions made during design and construction, such as selecting low-carbon materials or installing high-efficiency HVAC systems, must be supported by FM teams during day-to-day operations and maintenance.

As decarbonization becomes a shared responsibility, FM teams are called on to help develop carbon reduction plans and ensure they're implemented over time. 

Building Resilience and Mitigating Risk

LEED v5 highlights the importance of climate resilience by requiring that facilities demonstrate readiness for risks like heatwaves, floods, and power outages. This includes:

• Installing backup energy systems
• Creating heatwave-ready protocols
• Documenting resilience strategies in facility plans

These changes give FM greater responsibility over disaster preparedness, business continuity, and environmental risk mitigation, which have become increasingly critical in the face of climate change.

Revisions to O&M Credits

LEED v5 has completely restructured the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) credits to better reflect modern FM capabilities. Credits now reward:

• Advanced metering and real-time monitoring of energy and water use
• Indoor air quality management, including filtration and ventilation performance
• Long-term maintenance planning to extend equipment life and preserve sustainability gains

These updates acknowledge that ongoing operational excellence is just as critical as design innovation and that FM teams are central to building performance.

Social Responsibility and Wellness at the Forefront

New credits in the Quality of Life category prioritize occupant wellness, inclusion, and equitable access. This includes optimizing daylight, managing noise, improving thermal comfort, and ensuring that shared spaces are accessible and welcoming to all.

Facilities teams are encouraged to partner with departments like HR and Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) to implement wellness strategies that go beyond compliance to enhance human health.

Data Integration and Transparent Reporting

Finally, LEED v5 places a strong emphasis on data-driven operations, requiring facility teams to manage tools and systems that support:

• Carbon dashboards
• Annual sustainability reports
• Post-certification audits and performance reviews

This elevates FM's role in corporate ESG reporting and makes transparent data a requirement of modern facility operations.

FInal Thoughts

As LEED v5 reshapes the standards for sustainable building operations, it also reshapes what it means to lead in facilities management. Success under this new framework requires more than updated systems; it calls for a fully integrated strategy that embeds sustainability into every aspect of facilities planning and execution.

Whether aligning preventive maintenance with decarbonization goals or incorporating LEED priorities into capital projects, facility teams are now expected to take a long-term, performance-focused approach to operations. Collaboration with LEED experts, ESG advisors, and FM partners will be critical in navigating the complexities of this new era.