Tommy TafazzoliRESEARCHER · EDUCATOR · ENGINEER
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RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT · 2026

How Project Context Changes LEED Credit Influence

The results support climate-aware certification strategy rather than a single national recipe.

Sustainability & resilienceRegression analysisConference paper

The question

A LEED category may contribute differently depending on climate, project type, size, or certification date. The study tested which contexts materially change the relative influence of major credit categories.

What we did

Standardized regression models examined 884 LEED BD+C v4 New Construction projects. An ordinal logistic model checked the ranking of category influence, while moderation tests compared climate, project size, certification year, and project type.

What we found

  • Energy and Atmosphere and Location and Transportation showed the strongest baseline associations with certification outcomes.
  • Climate was the clearest modifier: heating and cooling degree days changed the relative influence of several categories.
  • Project size, certification year, and project type showed comparatively little moderation.

Why it matters

The results support climate-aware certification strategy rather than a single national recipe. They also distinguish relative diagnostic influence from a causal claim about credits. Read together, the question, method, and findings show how this publication fits within Tafazzoli’s broader program of connecting built-environment evidence with practical decisions. The page intentionally separates documented results from interpretation and directs readers to the complete paper for methodological detail. The study also illustrates a recurring principle across this research portfolio: a useful result must be understood in its original setting before it is transferred to another project, organization, population, or policy context.

Diagram summarizing How Project Context Changes LEED Credit Influence

Context modifies LEED credit influence. This original synthesis graphic is based on the study’s documented question, method, or principal contribution; consult the paper for complete figures, labels, units, and uncertainty.

Original website synthesis based on the cited publication.

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READ THE PAPER

Contextual modifiers of LEED v4 credits: The impact of project type, size, certification date, and climate on predictive power of credit categories

Published · 2026 · Conference paper

Goodarzi, M. L., Goodarzi, A. N., Tafazzoli, M., Parsaee, M., & Garshasby, M. (2026). Contextual modifiers of LEED v4 credits: The impact of project type, size, certification date, and climate on predictive power of credit categories. Construction Research Congress 2026 2026 (pp. 617–626). American Society of Civil Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784487006.061

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DOI: 10.1061/9780784487006.061

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