> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.acelabusa.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# LEED v5 Overview
> A guide to LEED v5, how it differs from previous versions, and how Acelab's Materials Hub supports your LEED workflows.
*Written by Patricia Causey · Updated April 15, 2026*
## Summary
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the world's most widely used green building rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED v5, officially launched on April 28, 2025, is the most significant update to the rating system in over a decade. It restructures how building products contribute to certification — consolidating multiple fragmented materials credits into a single, unified framework focused on multi-attribute sustainability outcomes.
This article explains what changed, what stayed the same, and how Acelab's Materials Hub helps you navigate LEED product selection and documentation across all active versions.
**Both LEED v4.1 and LEED v5 are currently active.** LEED v4.1 registrations remain open, and many projects already in progress will certify under v4.1. Acelab supports both versions simultaneously.
For more information on how Acelab supports LEED v5 Material Scoring, see [LEED v5 Scoring in Acelab](/help-center/our-product-database/leed-v5-scoring-in-acelab).
***
## How LEED Has Evolved: v4, v4.1, and v5
Think of each LEED version like a building code update — the foundation is the same, but the thresholds rise and the approach gets more sophisticated with each cycle.
## LEED v4 and v4.1: The BPDO Framework
Under LEED v4 and v4.1, product-related sustainability was addressed through three separate credits grouped under **Building Product Disclosure and Optimization (BPDO)**:
| **Credit** | **What It Rewarded** | **Max Points** |
| --------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------- |
| **BPDO – Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)** | Products with third-party verified EPDs documenting life-cycle environmental impacts | 2 pts |
| **BPDO – Sourcing of Raw Materials** | Recycled content, FSC-certified wood, biobased materials, extended producer responsibility programs | 2 pts |
| **BPDO – Material Ingredients** | Products with disclosed chemical ingredient transparency documentation (HPDs, C2C, Declare labels) | 2 pts |
In addition, **Low-Emitting Materials** under Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) covered VOC emissions and content limits — a separate credit that overlapped with product selection.
The BPDO framework rewarded product counts and cost thresholds. For example, under v4.1, earning the EPD Option 1 point required documenting at least 20 qualifying products from 5 manufacturers. These three credits were pursued independently, and documentation was tracked separately for each.
## LEED v5: One Unified Credit
LEED v5 retires the three BPDO credits and replaces them with a single, consolidated **Building Product Selection & Procurement (BPSP)** credit worth up to **5 points**. Rather than evaluating products through isolated lenses (EPDs here, ingredient transparency there), BPSP evaluates every product across five interconnected **criteria areas**:
* **Human Health** — ingredient transparency, indoor air quality, and occupant well-being
* **Climate Health** — embodied carbon, low-carbon manufacturing, EPDs
* **Ecosystem Health** — responsible sourcing, habitat impact, FSC, recycled content
* **Social Health & Equity** — fair labor practices, equity certifications
* **Circular Economy** — recycled content percentage, biobased content, end-of-life recyclability
A product that performs across multiple criteria areas is considered **multi-attribute** and earns greater credit value. The more criteria areas a single product addresses, the more efficiently a project team can accumulate points — rewarding smarter product selection rather than sheer product volume.
***
## What Changed for Reporting
| | **LEED v4/v4.1** | **LEED v5** |
| ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Materials credit structure** | Three separate BPDO credits | One unified BPSP credit |
| **Max product-related points** | 6 pts (2+2+2 across BPDO) | 5 pts (single BPSP credit) |
| **Evaluation approach** | Per-credit product counts or cost thresholds | Multi-attribute scoring across 5 criteria areas |
| **Achievement levels** | Pass/qualify per option | Tiered: Entry (1), Advanced (2), Elite (3) per criteria area |
| **EPDs** | Counted toward EPD credit | Contribute to Climate Health criteria area within BPSP |
| **HPDs / Material Ingredients** | Counted toward Material Ingredients credit | Contribute to Human Health criteria area within BPSP |
| **Recycled content / FSC** | Counted toward Sourcing of Raw Materials | Contribute to Ecosystem Health and Circular Economy areas |
| **Low-Emitting Materials** | Separate EQ credit | Integrated into BPSP under Human Health |
| **LEED v4.1 registrations** | Open through early 2026 | LEED v5 available now; both active during transition |
***
## LEED v5's Three System Goals
Every LEED v5 credit — not just BPSP — connects back to three overarching impact areas:
* **Decarbonization** — targeting reductions in operational, embodied, refrigerant, and transportation carbon emissions (\~50% of available points)
* **Quality of Life** — occupant health, social equity, and resilient design
* **Ecological Conservation & Restoration** — protecting natural systems and biodiversity (\~25% of available points)
This means product selection is no longer just a materials exercise. Under LEED v5, the products a team specifies directly support decarbonization and ecological goals at the building scale — making early-stage product research more strategically important than it was under previous versions.
***
## How Acelab's Materials Hub Supports LEED
Acelab centralizes product research, selection, and documentation for LEED-registered projects. Rather than hunting certifications across manufacturer websites and third-party databases, you can use the Materials Hub to find, evaluate, and track products across both LEED v4.1 and v5 in one place.
## Finding LEED-Contributing Products
Use **Product Search** to search by certification type. Acelab's database includes EPDs, HPDs, C2C Certified, FSC Chain of Custody, and other certifications relevant to both BPDO (v4.1) and BPSP (v5). You can filter results by certification to build a qualifying product list for your project.
For LEED v5 specifically, Acelab surfaces four data points for every qualifying product:
| Field | What It Shows |
| ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **LEED v5 Contributing Certifications** | The specific certifications a product holds that are recognized as LEED v5 BPSP contributors |
| **LEED v5 Multi-Attribute Score Details** | A full text summary of contributing certifications, their criteria areas, scores, and any verification flags |
| **LEED v5 Multi-Attribute Score** | The product's total numeric LEED v5 score (max 5) |
| **LEED Pre-checks** | LEED v4/v4.1 pre-check results for the Material Ingredients credit (e.g., "Pre-checked for LEED v4.1 Option 1") |
All of this data is calculated automatically by Acelab — no manual lookup required.
## Tracking Products in Schedules
Once products are saved to a project, your **Schedule** becomes the working layer for LEED documentation. Add any of the four LEED fields as columns to compare products side by side, filter down to only LEED-contributing products, and build a product list that maps to your certification goals.
Because LEED v5 rewards multi-attribute products, the **LEED v5 Contributing Certifications** column is particularly useful: you can immediately see which products carry certifications across multiple criteria areas — the ones that give you the most leverage per product specified.
For LEED v4.1 projects, the **LEED Pre-checks** column shows whether a product has been pre-checked for the Material Ingredients credit, saving the documentation verification step.
See [LEED v5 Scoring in Acelab](/help-center/our-product-database/leed-v5-scoring-in-acelab) for step-by-step instructions on adding and using LEED fields in Schedules.
## Viewing Data on the Product Detail Page
Each product's detail page displays LEED-relevant information in one place:
* **LEED v5 Contributing Certifications** — shown as tags indicating which third-party certifications qualify under BPSP
* **LEED v5 Multi-Attribute Score Details** — the full score breakdown, including contributing certifications and any user verification flags
* **LEED Pre-checks** — v4.1 pre-check status for the Material Ingredients credit, sourced from the product's HPD data
***
## Which Version Applies to Your Project?
| **Situation** | **Recommended version** |
| -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| New project, registering now | LEED v5 (available for BD+C, ID+C, O+M) |
| Project already registered under v4.1 | Continue under v4.1 |
| Project registered under v4 for BPDO credits | Opt in to v4.1 for materials credits |
| Unsure | Check registration and certification sunset dates at [usgbc.org/leed/v5](https://www.usgbc.org/leed/v5) |
LEED v4.1 registrations remain open through early 2026, with certifications accepted through 2032. Projects already registered under v4.1 do not need to transition.
For more information on how Acelab supports LEED v5 Material Scoring, see [LEED v5 Scoring in Acelab](/help-center/our-product-database/leed-v5-scoring-in-acelab).