Every acronym and term a LEED Green Associate candidate needs, grouped so that related ideas sit together rather than scattered alphabetically. The confusable pairs — the ones that actually cost marks — are set side by side at the end.
Definitions here match what the exam expects. Where a term is commonly misunderstood, that is noted.
Organisations and credentials
| USGBC | U.S. Green Building Council. Develops the LEED rating systems |
| GBCI | Green Business Certification Inc. Administers LEED certification and issues the professional credentials. USGBC writes the rating system; GBCI does the verifying |
| LEED | Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design |
| LEED GA | LEED Green Associate. The foundational credential |
| LEED AP | LEED Accredited Professional, always with a specialty. Requires an active Green Associate credential at registration, unless both are taken together as a combined exam |
| BD+C | Building Design and Construction. The specialty covering new construction and major renovation |
| ID+C | Interior Design and Construction |
| O+M | Operations and Maintenance |
| ND | Neighborhood Development |
| CMP | Credential Maintenance Program. The continuing education requirement that keeps a credential active |
| CE hours | Continuing education hours, reported under the CMP |
| MPR | Minimum Program Requirements. Eligibility rules every project must satisfy, distinct from prerequisites and from points |
Process and assessment
| Integrative process | Early, collaborative, iterative design of the building as one system |
| Charrette | An intensive collaborative working session at the start of a project |
| Cx | Commissioning. Verifying that systems perform as intended against the owner’s requirements |
| OPR | Owner’s Project Requirements. What the owner needs the building to do, written down |
| BOD | Basis of Design. How the design team intends to meet the OPR |
| LCA | Life-Cycle Assessment. Evaluating environmental impacts across all stages of a product or building |
| LCC | Life-Cycle Costing. Weighing purchase cost and operating cost together. LCA is about impact; LCC is about money |
| Prerequisite | Mandatory for every project in that rating system. Earns no points |
| Credit | Optional. Earns points |
Energy and carbon
| EA | Energy and Atmosphere |
| HVAC | Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning |
| REC | Renewable Energy Certificate. Funds renewable generation elsewhere on the grid. Not the same as on-site renewables |
| PV | Photovoltaic. Solar panels generating electricity |
| GHG | Greenhouse Gas |
| CFC / HCFC / HFC | Chlorofluorocarbon, hydrochlorofluorocarbon, hydrofluorocarbon. Refrigerants with ozone-depletion or global-warming impacts |
| ODP | Ozone Depletion Potential |
| GWP | Global Warming Potential |
| Operational carbon | Emissions from running the building day to day |
| Embodied carbon | Emissions from making, transporting and installing materials, and from construction |
| Demand response | Adjusting a building’s electricity demand in response to grid conditions |
| Peak demand | The highest rate of electricity use in a period, which is what strains the grid |
Materials
| MR | Materials and Resources |
| EPD | Environmental Product Declaration. Discloses life-cycle environmental impacts in a standardised format |
| HPD | Health Product Declaration. Discloses ingredients and their hazards. Neither an EPD nor an HPD certifies that a product is good — they disclose |
| VOC | Volatile Organic Compound. Emitted by paints, adhesives, sealants and finishes, and a principal indoor air pollutant |
| C&D waste | Construction and Demolition waste |
| Waste diversion | Keeping waste out of landfill and incineration through reuse, recycling and composting. An outcome measure — it says nothing about how much waste was created |
| Circularity | Keeping materials in use rather than discarding them. Design for disassembly, salvage and reuse |
| FSC | Forest Stewardship Council. Certifies responsibly sourced wood |
Water
| WE | Water Efficiency |
| Potable water | Clean water suitable for drinking and human contact |
| Non-potable water | Water not meeting drinking standards but usable for appropriate purposes |
| Graywater | Wastewater from sinks, tubs, showers and clothes washers. Not from toilets |
| Blackwater | Wastewater from toilets, and generally kitchen sinks. Needs the highest level of treatment |
| Process water | Water used by building systems and equipment rather than by people |
| Make-up water | Water added to replace what a cooling tower evaporates or drains |
| Cycles of concentration | How many times cooling-tower water is recirculated before being drained |
| Xeriscaping | Drought-tolerant landscaping designed to minimise irrigation. Not the absence of planting |
| Flush rate | Water per use — fixtures, meaning toilets and urinals |
| Flow rate | Water per minute — fittings, meaning taps and showerheads |
Site and location
| SS | Sustainable Sites |
| LT | Location and Transportation |
| VMT | Vehicle Miles Traveled. Annual miles driven by a project’s people. Lower is better |
| TDM | Transportation Demand Management. Strategies that cut single-occupancy vehicle travel |
| EV | Electric Vehicle. Charging sits last in the mobility hierarchy, not first |
| SRI | Solar Reflectance Index. A surface’s ability to stay cool in the sun. Higher is cooler |
| Urban heat island | A developed area significantly warmer than nearby rural land |
| Impervious surface | Blocks water from soaking in, so it runs off |
| Pervious surface | Lets water seep through into the ground |
| Brownfield | Previously developed land whose reuse may be complicated by contamination |
| Greenfield | Undeveloped land. LEED steers development away from it |
| Ecosystem services | The benefits ecosystems provide to people — clean air and water, cooling, flood control |
| Native plants | Species occurring naturally in the local area. Preferred |
| Adapted plants | Non-natives that thrive locally with minimal irrigation. Acceptable |
| Invasive species | Non-natives that spread aggressively and damage ecosystems. Avoid |
Indoor environment and people
| EQ or IEQ | Indoor Environmental Quality |
| IAQ | Indoor Air Quality — the air specifically, a subset of IEQ |
| ASHRAE | American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers |
| ASHRAE 62.1 | Minimum outdoor-air ventilation and indoor air quality |
| ASHRAE 55 | Thermal comfort |
| ASHRAE 90.1 | Energy. Belongs to Energy and Atmosphere |
| ETS | Environmental Tobacco Smoke. Secondhand smoke |
| PM / PM2.5 | Particulate Matter. PM2.5 is particles 2.5 micrometres or smaller — fine enough to reach deep into the lungs |
| DCV | Demand-Controlled Ventilation. Matches outdoor airflow to occupancy, usually via CO2 sensors |
| IPM | Integrated Pest Management. Lowest-risk, most effective approach to pests |
| Source control | Eliminating contaminants at their origin. The first line of defence for air quality |
| Biophilic design | Connecting people to nature to improve wellbeing |
| Passive survivability | Maintaining critical conditions if power, fuel or water is lost |
| Inclusive (universal) design | Making the environment usable by people of all ages and abilities |
The pairs that cost marks
If you learn nothing else from this page, learn these. Each row is two ideas that sound related and are routinely swapped under exam pressure.
| This | Not this |
| Certification — awarded to buildings | Accreditation — held by people |
| USGBC — writes the rating systems | GBCI — certifies projects and issues credentials |
| Prerequisite — mandatory, no points | Credit — optional, earns points |
| MPR — eligibility to pursue LEED | 40 points — the threshold to certify |
| ASHRAE 62.1 — ventilation and air quality | ASHRAE 55 — thermal comfort |
| EPD — environmental impacts | HPD — ingredients and hazards |
| LCA — environmental impact over time | LCC — cost over time |
| Embodied carbon — building it | Operational carbon — running it |
| Graywater — sinks, showers, washers | Blackwater — toilets |
| Flush rate — per use, fixtures | Flow rate — per minute, fittings |
| Pervious — water soaks through | Impervious — water runs off |
| Native — occurs locally | Adapted — thrives locally |
| On-site renewables — generated here | REC — funds generation elsewhere |
| Heat island — reflectivity, vegetation, shade | Light pollution — shielding, warmth, control |
Practise these in both directions — given the term, produce the definition; given the definition, produce the term. Recognising a word is not the same as being able to distinguish it from its neighbour at speed, and speed is what the exam measures.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between USGBC and GBCI?
USGBC develops the LEED rating systems. GBCI administers LEED certification for projects and issues the professional credentials, including the exams.
What is the difference between an EPD and an HPD?
An Environmental Product Declaration discloses a product’s life-cycle environmental impacts. A Health Product Declaration discloses its ingredients and their hazards. Neither certifies that a product is good.
What does VMT stand for?
Vehicle Miles Traveled — the annual miles driven by a project’s people. Reducing it is the aim of most of the Location and Transportation domain.
Does a higher SRI mean a hotter or cooler surface?
Cooler. A higher Solar Reflectance Index means the surface reflects more solar radiation and releases absorbed heat more readily.
From vocabulary to understanding
Knowing the words is the entry fee. The exam tests whether you understand how they connect — and that is what our practice questions and the numbers cheat sheet are for. 3FOLD TRAINING teaches all eight domains to LEED v5 in LEED Green Associate training — ask through the course enquiry form.
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