Designing for Resilience and Earning LEED Credit with Masonry

This spring, the U.S. Green Building Council officially launched LEED v5, ushering in a new era in sustainable building design and construction. The principal goals haven’t changed; LEED v5 prioritizes decarbonization, quality of life, and ecological conservation, requiring projects meet guidelines in each area to earn certification.

One of the most notable changes in LEED v5 is the elevated focus on resilience, encouraging architects and designers to proactively account for disaster risks. What was once a pilot credit in LEED v4 is now a formal prerequisite: the Climate Resilience Assessment, part of the new Integrated Process, Planning and Assessment (IP) category. Additionally, the Enhanced Resilient Site Design credit is now included under Sustainable Sites. LEED v5 also deepens its commitment to sustainability by adding new credits related to embodied carbon and material reuse.

With these shifts, masonry products stand out as a compelling choice for project teams aiming to meet LEED requirements. Their durability, thermal mass, and potential for carbon sequestration make them valuable assets in both the new IP and enhanced Materials & Resources (MR) categories.

Enhancing Structural Integrity and Earning LEED Credits with Masonry

Natural hazards like flooding, high winds, wildfires, and winter storms have always occurred, but research indicates costly disasters are on the rise. Today’s buildings must be designed not only for aesthetics and efficiency, but also to withstand worst-case scenarios. Doing so protects lives and reduces the environmental, financial, and emotional toll of rebuilding.

LEED v5 acknowledges the increased risk of natural disaster, and the duty of building design to address it, with the addition of a Climate Resilience Assessment prerequisite under IP, newly upgraded from a single pilot credit to a dedicated category.

To meet the Climate Resilience Assessment pre-requisite, building project teams must assess at least two site-specific observed, projected and future natural hazards. Wherever the build, there’s a potential hazard to consider, with nearly half of all U.S. homes and businesses at “severe” or “extreme” risk of flood, wildfire, heat, or winds. For a new development in California, drought, earthquakes, and wildfires will be among the top concerns, while architects in the South may examine hurricanes, tornadoes, and extreme heat. In mountain regions, extreme cold and winter storms present hazards, and in coastal areas, designers may focus on sea level rise or tsunamis.

Each identified hazard must undergo a full resilience assessment, including emissions projections (e.g., IPCC scenarios), hazard risk ratings, and projected impacts on both construction and ongoing use.

To go beyond the prerequisite, project teams can pursue the Enhanced Resilient Site Design credit, worth up to two points. This requires incorporating strategies that directly mitigate at least two of the most significant hazards identified.

To earn this credit, the building project team must leverage information from the Climate Resilience Assessment to reduce the risk of catastrophic impacts from at least two of the highest-priority natural and climate events.

For many of these hazards, concrete masonry is a great choice to reduce risk and enhance the resilience of a building.

Concrete masonry units (CMUs) are inherently noncombustible, meaning they enhance a structure’s fire resistance without relying on electrical or water supply systems. Unlike traditional brick, CMUs reinforced with steel rebar are a seismically safe choice—critical for regions like California where both earthquakes and wildfires are common. For a new office building in San Francisco, designing with CMUs could help an architect reduce the risk of each of these disasters and earn two LEED points.

Where hurricanes, flash floods, and high winds are concerns, the dense and rigid nature of CMUs ensures water resistance and durability. They won’t warp or degrade after water exposure, unlike wood, and the EPA does not require repair or replacement for mold remediation in CMU walls. Plus, CMU walls’ mass and impact resistance protect from flown debris, exceeding ICC 500 storm shelter standards to reduce fatal threats.

Even more, CMUs deliver this resilience at a competitive cost, with wide design versatility. Though typically more expensive than wood, the long-term savings are clear: for every dollar spent on resilient construction, communities save $13 in future damages, cleanup costs, and economic output.

Reduce Carbon with Masonry for Materials & Resources Points

An important category for earning LEED points and achieving certification is Materials and Resources (MR), with 18 points available—second only to Energy and Atmosphere at 33. LEED v5 emphasizes embodied carbon in this category, with a new prerequisite and credit aimed at assessment and reduction.

For building materials, embodied carbon refers to carbon produced over the entire lifecycle of a product, including raw material sourcing, manufacture, transport, use, maintenance, demolition, and disposal. In other words, material carbon footprint is created by simply designing with a material. Once constructed, even the greenest, most efficient building can only reduce operational carbon, not embodied carbon.

It's clear, then, why embodied carbon reduction is a priority for sustainable building design and construction. LEED v5’s new Materials & Resources prerequisite and credit incentivize architects and building project teams to procure materials that minimize a building’s embodied carbon.

The prerequisite, Quantify & Assess Embodied Carbon, mandates a cradle-to-gate quantification of all embodied carbon impacts, including of ancillary structures like parking decks. Projects must also identify three top sources of embodied carbon and describe what strategies were considered to reduce these impacts.

As with the resilience-related factors, architects can take their green building efforts a step further to earn the Reduce Embodied Carbon credit. Projects that show a reduction in embodied carbon that meets the baseline or industry average may earn two points, while those that meet or surpass a 40% reduction in Global Warming Potential will earn a lucrative six points toward certification.

Concrete masonry products are an excellent choice for architects and project teams who want to achieve this credit. For one, EPDs are readily available, and not only for individual products. In November 2024, the Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association released an industry-average EPD, leveraging data from 35 producers to clarify environmental impacts across the category.

CMUs also have a built-in embodied carbon reduction feature known as sequestration. During production, as the concrete begins to hydrate, it chemically binds with carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the environment. Also called carbonation, this process locks the CO₂ molecules into the matrix of the concrete, reducing the overall embodied carbon impact of the product. Dry-cast concrete products, including CMUs, have an open structure that research shows have even higher rates of carbonation than wet-cast concrete.

Striking the Balance in Sustainable Design

LEED compliance isn’t the only driver for sustainable material selection. According to the AIA, one-third of architects feel they should hold responsibility for sustainability along with manufacturers.

Still, architecture is a balancing act. Design teams must juggle budgets, timelines, safety codes, and aesthetics—all while reducing environmental impact.

Materials like concrete masonry that strike a balance between performance and practicality—resilient yet affordable, sustainable yet design-forward—are essential in navigating these tradeoffs.

For projects aiming to earn LEED v5 certification, meet resilience targets, and reduce embodied carbon, masonry offers a proven, pragmatic path forward.