Building for Health
Healthy places require an ongoing commitment, not just a set of strategies.
The LEED Health Process
The LEED Health Process guides project teams through a systematic consideration of a project’s health, well-being, and equity impacts. This process helps teams prioritize both design and programmatic strategies based on the most pressing health needs of the community.
The LEED Health Process begins when a health champion - a mission-driven individual or organization - makes the decision to intentionally promote health and well-being in their building or community, and continues throughout the life cycle of the project.
To see a full description of the pilot credit, visit the LEED credit library.
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Partner with a public health professional or person with a health and wellness-oriented background.
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Identify pressing community health needs and set goals to address them.
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Prioritize and implement design and programmatic strategies to meet the project’s goals.
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Develop a plan to monitor the health and well-being impact of selected strategies.
In 2014, GHP collaborated with the Health Impact Project and Enterprise Community Partners to define a step-wise health promotion process for use within green building rating systems. We call it the LEED Health Process.
The LEED Health Process (also called the Integrative Process for Health Promotion) is a pilot credit available for use within LEED v2009, v4, and v4.1 rating systems, the Health Action Plan criterion within the 2015 and 2020 Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, and the Integrating Healthy Environments Innovation Challenge within Green Star. Learn more about the process below.
Health and the Built Environment
The built environment impacts both individual and population health. Health and health behaviors are highly influenced by social and environmental determinants – the physical, social, policy, and economic characteristics of the places that we live, work, and play.
The real estate industry is well-positioned to improve population health through its direct influence over the built environment. By making the decision to promote health, green building practitioners are intentionally utilizing public health research to advocate for a culture of health within real estate.
Building for Health Resources.
Green Schools for Health
This guidance document, Green Schools for Health: A District’s Roadmap to the LEED Health Process, guides school district project teams through modernization and new construction using the LEED Health Process.
Using LEED to Promote Health
View this Green Health Partnership report on using LEED green rating systems to promote population health - and unlocking the health and well-being capacity of LEED.
LEED Health Process (Pilot Credit)
Use the LEED Health Process to intentionally promote health and well-being in your next project. Partner for health, engage communities, take action, and plan to monitor.