GUIDE TO PARKSMART CERTIFICATION

VERSION 1.2
June 2017

Green Business Certification, Inc (GBCI)

Washington, DC
OVERVIEW
Parksmart, (formerly known as Green Garage Certification) is the world’s only rating
system that defines, measures and recognizes high-performing, sustainable garages. An
industry-driven, field-tested road map for new and existing parking structures, Parksmart
recognizes forward-thinking facilities shaping tomorrow’s sustainable mobility network.

Parksmart helps parking structures to:

 Reduce environmental impact

 Increase energy efficiency and performance
 Manage parking spaces efficiently
 Promote alternative mobility options
 Strengthen community relationships

Parksmart awards points to parking structures for sustainability achievements in garage

management, programming, design and technology. The Parksmart certification process
allows parking structures to demonstrate their achievement through a documentation
review. Structures that achieve a minimum number of points as part of the review
process will be recognized with a Parksmart certification.

Certification Levels

Commissioned more than two years prior to project registration

Certification Level Points
Parksmart Pioneer 90+ points earned
Commissioned within two years of project registration or not yet commissioned
Certification Level Points
Parksmart Bronze 110-134 points earned
Parksmart Silver 135-159 points earned
Parksmart Gold 160+ points earned

Projects achieving Parksmart Pioneer must earn a minimum of 15 points in each of the three main certification
categories (management, programs and technology and structure design)

Projects achieving Parksmart Bronze, Silver or Gold must earn a minimum of 20 points in each of the three main
certification categories (management, programs, and technology and structure design)

ELIGIBILITY
Parking Structure
1. Any multi-level structure that stores vehicles is eligible for Parksmart certification.
This structure may be a stand-alone building or integrated into a mixed-use
building (e.g. office building or shopping mall).

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 2. Both existing and new construction structures are eligible for Parksmart
certification. Projects commissioned more than two years prior to registration are
considered existing structures and must seek Pioneer certification. Projects that
are not yet commissioned or were commissioned within two years of registration
are considered new construction and may seek Bronze, Silver or Gold
certification.

3. Applications for Parksmart certification should include only one parking structure.
Email parksmart@gbci.org if your property contains multiple parking structures.

Project Boundary
1. The Parksmart project boundary must include all space within the structure
dedicated to parking, including occupied space integral to garage operations.

2. Public spaces (e.g. plazas, gardens) managed by garage ownership or

management and ancillary surface parking may be included in the project
boundary at the discretion of the applicant.

3. The project boundary must be consistent throughout the Parksmart application.

Fees
Registration fee: The registration fee is charged on a per-project basis and must be paid
at the time of registration.

Certification fee: The certification fee is charged on a per-project basis and must be paid
by the time of the preliminary review submission.

Parksmart Certification Standard: The certification standard defines each of the 48

certification measures, point values, and documentation requirements.

Measure Interpretation Request (MIR): This is a question about whether a design,

technology, or practice will meet the objective of a given Parksmart measure (and
thereby be awarded Parksmart points). Parksmart approved MIRs provide a clarification
or alternate compliance pathway for a given measure when the project cannot meet
the option(s) stated in the Parksmart Certification Standard.

Appeal: This is an additional round of review that allows you to submit supplementary
information, amend the application or add new measures not previously attempted. The
appeal fee is charged for each measure that is appealed.

Fee Amount
Registration $250
Certification $6,500
Parksmart Certification Standard - PDF $149 (member price is $99)
Parksmart Certification Standard - Hard Copy $219 (member price is $169)
MIR (if applicable) $220
Appeal (if applicable) $500
As of May 16, 2016. Fees are subject to change.

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CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Parksmart certification begins with thinking about how a parking structure interacts with
its surroundings, customers, employees and the ecosystem of cars, trains, bikes and other
mobility forms around it. Review the Parksmart Certification Owner Checklist to assess
sustainability opportunities within your existing or planned facility.

Next, dive into the Parksmart Certification Standard. The Certification Standard contains
detailed information on each of the Parksmart certification measures and will help you to
understand which certification points your project is likely to achieve.

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the Parksmart Certification Standard you’re ready
to begin the official certification process.

Register
Register your project:

1. Go to arcskoru.com
2. Select “Log In” on the top right of your screen
3. Log in with your USGBC user credentials. (If you need to create a USGBC user
account, go to usgbc.org/registration/create-user)
4. Once logged in, select the green “+ Add” button on the top right corner of your
screen to create a new project registration
5. Fill in the project details, agree to the service agreement, and click “Next”
6. Make payment or request invoice
7. Get started!

At this stage, you’ll also assemble your project team, which includes at a minimum the
owner (or owner’s agent) and the project administrator.

The owner is the person (or entity) who holds and controls the real and personal property
associated with the project and accepts the service agreement. If desired, the owner
can grant authority to an agent to act on his or her behalf. The project administrator acts
as a project manager, overseeing the Parksmart project as well as which team members
are responsible for certain tasks and measures.

Once registered, you will receive an email providing you access to the Parksmart
application materials, including the Documentation Submission Package.

Apply
Prepare your Parksmart application for review.

Working with your project team, you should identify which Parksmart measures to pursue
and assign them to team members. Your team should then collect information, perform
calculations and analysis, and prepare documentation demonstrating your
achievement of your selected measures. Documentation requirements are outlined in
detail within the Parksmart Documentation Submission Package.

If a sustainability strategy of your project meets the objective of a measure but does not
fit within the bounds of the measure requirements you may make a project-specific

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Measure Interpretation Request (additional fees apply) at this stage of the certification
process. Measure Interpretation Requests must include a detailed description of how
your project meets the objective of a given measure.

Technical questions that arise while preparing your application should be sent to
parksmart@gbci.org.

Before you finish your application and submit your project for review, you have the
opportunity to request a one hour pre-submission call with your reviewer. This call
provides you an opportunity to ask questions about your intended approach prior to
submission.

Once your application is ready for review, submit payment for the Parksmart certification
fee and your completed application to GBCI.

Review
Once the application is received and the certification fee payment has cleared, GBCI
will conduct a thorough examination of your project.

Preliminary Review (20-25 business days)

GBCI will determine if your project complies with attempted measures. If needed, the
review team may request Mid-Review Clarifications during this round or subsequent
rounds of review. Once requested, the certification process will be put on hold until the
Mid-Review Clarification is resolved.

Once the preliminary review is returned, you can accept the results, or submit new or
revised documentation for another round of review. If you have questions about the
review comments, you will have the option of requesting a post-review conference call
with your reviewer.

If you choose to submit for another round of review, GBCI recommends that the
amended application be submitted within 25 business days of receiving the preliminary
review report.

Final Review (20-25 business days)

GBCI will review the resubmitted documentation for compliance. Once the review is
returned, you may accept the results or resubmit particular measures via the appeal
process, if necessary.

Appeal
Appeal Review (optional, $500 per measure, 20-25 business days)

At this stage, you can submit additional information, modify your application, or add
new measures previously not attempted through an appeal. All amendments to the
application included in the appeal must be submitted at once, however, appeal fees
are assessed on a per measure basis, at a rate of $500 per appealed measure. Once the
appeal review is returned, you may accept the results or submit for an additional appeal
review. There’s no limit to the number of appeals you can submit.

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Certify
Sign off on your project’s review.

Accepting GBCI’s review is the last step in the Parksmart certification process. The results
of an accepted GBCI review are final. Once you’ve accepted your review you can no
longer submit appeals.

If you’ve earned certification, congratulations! You will receive a formal certificate of

recognition, and you can begin promoting this achievement. Certification is valid for
three years following the date of your acceptance of GBCI’s review. After three years
your project may renew certification by completing the Parksmart recertification process
(currently under development).

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Review Challenge

We’ve created the Review Challenge Policy to protect the integrity and fairness of the
Parksmart certification process. We anticipate that resolution of technical issues or
disputes related to the requirements of Parksmart can be accomplished though our
traditional customer service channels. If, however, resolution of a technical issue is not
satisfactorily achieved via GBCI’s customer support channels, you may initiate a Review
Challenge.

Revocation of Parksmart certification

In rare situations, a Parksmart certification may be revoked. We’ve created the

Certification Challenge Policy to ensure that all Parksmart project applications and
subsequent reviews by GBCI team members are completed with integrity, accuracy and
truthfulness. A certification challenge may be initiated by GBCI or any third party within
18 months of a project’s certification. We recommend you retain all project
documentation related to your certification for two years in case of a challenge.

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