116-O. LEED EBOM/LEED CI comparison.pdfATTACHMENT 0
In an effort to provide more information on LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance
(EBOM), the following is a description of the rating system, in what scenarios it is applicable, and how
stringent it is as compared to LEED for Commercial Interiors (CI) in terms of two Tenant Improvement
scenarios.
LEED EBOM was designed to implement ongoing sustainable practices throughout the buildings
operational life -cycle. The most notable difference in LEED EBOM as compared to the other rating
systems is the processes of recertification. Recertification can happen as often as every year, but must
be completed every five years. This process ensures that the building continually address building
operations, processes, systems upgrades, minor space- use changes, and minor facility alterations or
additions
LEED EBOM is applicable to buildings new to LEED certification as well as buildings previously certified
under LEED for New Construction, LEED for Schools, or LEED for Core & Shell. The following building
types are applicable under the rating system: office, retail and services establishments, institutional
building, and residential buildings of four or more habitable stories. It is a whole -building rating system
where individual tenant spaces are not eligible.
In comparing LEED EBOM to LEED Cl, the fundamental difference is that LEED EBOM requires an
inventory of the whole building regardless of the project scope in order to assess and improve the
performance while LEED Cl is contingent on the project scope of work. The following two scenarios
outline this fundamental difference and how it affects the level of stringency of LEED EBOM as
compared to LEED Cl.
Scenario one is a TI project with a scope of work that does not address any of the energy systems and
does not have any indoor plumbing fixtures or fittings within the tenant space. LEED Cl would not
require any improvements to the existing energy or water use since the systems are not within the
project scope and therefore not applicable to the requirement. The mechanical system requirements
under Clare applicable and must meet the minimum ventilation requirements. LEED EBOM, however,
will require an inventory and adjustment to all the systems since they are within the building. Under
this scenario LEED EBOM is more stringent because all the systems within the building are being
evaluated, modified and improved to the highest relevant standard required. Scenario two is a TI
project where the scope of work does include the energy and water systems. In this scenario, LEED Cl is
more stringent because energy and mechanical system needs to be consistent with or better than new
construction standards, while water usage needs to be 20% better than a baseline case. Similar to
scenario one, LEED EBOM requires that buildings function to the best of their existing capacity.
Overall, LEED EBOM is more comprehensive in its approach to sustainability and in some scenarios can
be more stringent in terms of meeting LEED requirements. It can be considered equally sufficient to
other Rating Systems and a viable approach to sustainably within the Green Building Ordinance in that
operations and maintenance is often more costly and harmful to the environment than new
construction.