Nope! This has nothing to do with Noah’s ark!
- Arc is a new way to measure your green performance
- Created by U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI)
- Offering a different pathway to obtain LEED O+M Certification OR an innovative way to benchmark your building’s sustainability data
- Instead of focusing on the design and construction, Arc focuses on real-time data tracking.
What type of data is Arc collecting? There are 5 main data requirements
- ENERGY
- WATER
- WASTE
- HUMAN EXPERIENCE
- TRANSPORTATION
Seems simple enough, right?
Since Arc is under GBCI, there are similarities between Arc and LEED including: the same registration fees; same certification levels available (based on your Arc Score you can obtain LEED Certified, Silver, Gold Platinum).
But where does it differ? The overarching differences are seen within the time and effort associated with the new option to obtain a LEED certification – with less data requirements, a certification gained through the Arc platform is seemingly less time consuming and more cost effective, as opposed to the planning and tracking required to meet the traditional credit requirements. Also note that a major difference between Arc and LEED is most apparent within an O+M recertification, in which case the project does not have to re-document any prerequisites.
To put it into perspective –
- If you have an existing building and are looking to organize and review your green performance: start with Arc as a benchmarking tool! Register your project in the Arc platform, input the minimum data requirements (5), and generate your Arc score
- If you have an existing building that is interested in achieved a LEED O+M certification: Certify through Arc! Register your project in the Arc platform, meet LEED O+M prerequisites AND input the minimum data requirements (5), generate your Arc score that directly translates to LEED certification level
- If you have an existing building seeking LEED O+M Recertification: Log into the Arc platform to access your original LEED project profile, review your base points in the Arc platform (totaled based on credits achieved during original certification), skip prerequisites and focus on meeting the minimum data requirements (5), generate your Arc score. Are you satisfied with the score? Then move straight to certification! If not, you can target a select list of LEED O+M credits to gain up to 10 extra points to raise your Arc score.
Have an existing property that fits any of the 3 scenarios above? Give Lorax a call and see what Arc can do for your building!