9.2 Regional Priority Credits
Key Takeaways
- Regional Priority (RP) is worth up to 4 points and rewards achievement of credits USGBC has identified as priorities for the project's specific geographic location.
- USGBC designates 6 Regional Priority credits per region; achieving any one of them earns 1 bonus RP point — up to a 4-point cap.
- RP designations are looked up by ZIP code (U.S.) or postal code (international) on the USGBC Regional Priority lookup tool.
- RP points are 'bonus' points layered on top of the original credit — the team still earns the base credit and adds the RP point.
- Common regional priorities reflect local environmental pressures: water in the arid Southwest, materials in dense urban centers, heat-island reduction in hot climates, and rainwater management in wet climates.
What Regional Priority Does
LEED is a national (and international) rating system, but environmental priorities vary by location. A project in Phoenix, Arizona faces very different challenges than one in Portland, Oregon or Manhattan, New York. The Regional Priority (RP) category exists to close that gap by awarding bonus points for credits that address each region's most pressing environmental issues.
Regional Priority is the only LEED category that pays out for credits you already earned — it is essentially a multiplier on geographically relevant work.
How the Math Works
- USGBC's Regional Councils identify 6 Regional Priority credits for each defined region.
- A region is bounded by ZIP code in the United States and by postal code internationally.
- For each of those 6 credits a project achieves, it earns 1 bonus RP point.
- The RP category is capped at 4 points per project, even if the project earns all 6 RP-designated credits.
- The project still earns the base credit in its original category — RP adds a point on top.
Example: If a Phoenix project earns 4 RP-designated credits (say, WE Credit Outdoor Water Use Reduction, WE Credit Cooling Tower Water Use, SS Credit Heat Island Reduction, and SS Credit Rainwater Management), the project receives those credits' base points plus 4 RP bonus points.
How to Look Up Regional Priorities
- Visit USGBC's Regional Priority lookup tool on usgbc.org.
- Enter the project's ZIP/postal code.
- The tool returns the 6 designated credits and their thresholds (some RP credits award the bonus only at higher achievement tiers).
Teams should perform this lookup in the pre-design phase — knowing the regional priorities early can shape which credits the team pursues at higher thresholds.
Typical Regional Patterns
| Region Type | Common Priority Areas | Example Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Arid Southwest (AZ, NM, NV) | Water conservation, heat islands | WE Outdoor Water Use Reduction, SS Heat Island Reduction |
| Dense urban cores (NYC, SF, Chicago) | Materials reuse, transit access, density | MR Building Product Disclosure & Optimization, LT Access to Quality Transit |
| Hot, humid climates (FL, TX Gulf Coast) | Cooling-energy reduction, ventilation | EA Optimize Energy Performance, EQ Enhanced IAQ Strategies |
| Pacific Northwest (OR, WA) | Rainwater, daylight, sustainable forestry | SS Rainwater Management, MR Sourcing of Raw Materials |
| Cold climates (Upper Midwest, New England) | Heating energy, snow/ice runoff | EA Optimize Energy Performance, SS Rainwater Management |
| International dry climates (UAE, Israel) | Water and energy combined | WE Indoor Water Use Reduction, EA Optimize Energy Performance |
These are illustrative — actual designations vary credit-by-credit and update over time. The exam will not ask you to memorize specific ZIP codes, but it may ask you to explain how to find the priorities or to recognize that the cap is 4 points.
Exam Tips for Regional Priority
- The category is worth up to 4 points, not 6 — even though 6 credits are designated.
- Points are automatic once a designated credit is achieved at the listed threshold; the team does not submit a separate RP form.
- A team cannot choose different RP credits than the ones USGBC has designated for that ZIP — the list is fixed by location.
- RP is not a category of new credits — every RP credit is an existing credit elsewhere in LEED.
A LEED BD+C project located in Tucson, Arizona, achieves all 6 credits designated as Regional Priority for that ZIP code. How many Regional Priority bonus points does the project earn?
Which statement about Regional Priority credits is MOST accurate?