CCS CCS Sustainability & Green Building 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which LEED credit category addresses indoor environmental quality for occupant health and comfort?
- Energy and Atmosphere
- Indoor Environmental Quality (Correct answer)
- Sustainable Sites
- Materials and Resources
Correct answer: Indoor Environmental Quality
LEED's Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) credit category focuses on improving air quality, thermal comfort, lighting, and acoustics for building occupants.
Question 2: What does the term 'embodied carbon' refer to in construction specifications?
- Carbon emitted by HVAC systems during operation
- Carbon dioxide released by occupants
- Greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacture, transport, and installation of building materials (Correct answer)
- Carbon credits purchased to offset energy use
Correct answer: Greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacture, transport, and installation of building materials
Embodied carbon refers to the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with materials and construction processes, excluding operational energy use.
Question 3: Which organization publishes the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) standard used in green building specifications?
- USGBC
- ISO (Correct answer)
- ASHRAE
- CSI
Correct answer: ISO
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are standardized under ISO 14025 and ISO 21930, providing third-party verified environmental data for building products.
Question 4: What specification requirement ensures materials used in a project are free of persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs)?
- Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) limits
- Material Health Disclosure (Correct answer)
- Recycled Content Documentation
- Chain of Custody Certification
Correct answer: Material Health Disclosure
Material Health Disclosure requirements, such as those in LEED's Building Product Disclosure and Optimization credits, require manufacturers to report and optimize out harmful chemicals including PBTs.
Question 5: Under LEED v4, which prerequisite requires a minimum level of energy performance before any credits can be earned?
- Enhanced Commissioning
- Minimum Energy Performance (Correct answer)
- Fundamental Commissioning and Verification
- Optimize Energy Performance
Correct answer: Minimum Energy Performance
The Minimum Energy Performance prerequisite under LEED v4 Energy and Atmosphere requires projects to meet a baseline energy standard before attempting any additional credits.
Question 6: When specifying recycled content for steel in a LEED project, which two types of recycled content are recognized?
- Pre-consumer and post-consumer (Correct answer)
- Primary and secondary
- Structural and non-structural
- Domestic and imported
Correct answer: Pre-consumer and post-consumer
LEED recognizes pre-consumer recycled content (manufacturing waste diverted before consumer use) and post-consumer recycled content (material recovered after use by consumers).
CCS CCS Sustainability & Green Building 1
Which LEED credit category addresses indoor environmental quality for occupant health and comfort?