State and local governments across the United States adopted or will be adopting LEED for public-owned and public-funded buildings. LEED certified or equivalent new construction and modernization projects are fast becoming the standard worldwide. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

In California, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) was formed in 1999 to facilitate the design, construction and operation of high performance schools. A majority of CHPS requirements were adopted by LEED for schools.

As an added service to our clients, PC Associates offers construction document LEED review or CHPS equivalent plan reviews as an option in conjunction with our constructability – interdisciplinary coordination (RemedyCheck®) and code reviews. Since LEED and CHPS certification includes but is not limited to registration, fee and provides credit for non-construction document items such as Site Selection and Building Operations, the PC Associates‘ LEED and CHPS schools equivalent plan review will check for credit items which is provided in the plans and specifications. Non-school projects will be reviewed using a LEED equivalent new construction or modernization checklist while school or CHPS equivalent plan review checklist will be used for educational projects.