Which of the following is one of the seven impact categories?

• A. Increase water use
• B. Reverse contribution to climate change
• C. Diminish biodiversity
• D. Increase energy consumption

Answer: (B)

Understanding LEED’s seven impact categories helps explain why this option is best. One of those categories focuses on climate change and the aim is to reduce the building’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and its overall carbon footprint. Saying you want to reverse your contribution to climate change speaks directly to reducing that impact, which is exactly what the climate change category targets. The other choices describe increasing water use, increasing energy consumption, or diminishing biodiversity—actions that would worsen environmental impacts and don’t reflect the climate-change objective.