Sustainable Sites Prerequisite, No Invasive Plants requires that all site vegetation:

The LEED for Homes v4 Sustainable Sites (SS) Prerequisite, "No Invasive Plants," requires that no invasive plant species be included in the project's landscaping. To verify compliance, project teams must ensure that all selected plants are not found on invasive species lists maintained by the state or local jurisdiction. The USDA Cooperative Extension Service, along with state departments of agriculture or natural resources, are the primary authoritative bodies that publish and maintain these lists. Therefore, checking plants against these official lists is the core requirement of the prerequisite.

A. This is a strategy for earning points under SS Credit: Native Plants, which encourages using native species, but it is not a prerequisite for all vegetation.

B. This is a strategy for earning points under the Water Efficiency (WE) Credit: Outdoor Water Use Reduction, not a requirement of the SS prerequisite.

D. This is a strategy for earning points under SS Credit: Heat Island Reduction and is unrelated to the No Invasive Plants prerequisite.

1. U.S. Green Building Council. (2021). LEED v4.1 Homes and Multifamily Reference Guide. Washington, DC: U.S. Green Building Council. "SS Prerequisite: No Invasive Plants," page 101. The guide states, "Do not plant invasive species. All selected plants must not be listed as invasive by the state or local jurisdiction where the project is located." It directs teams to state-level resources and the USDA for these lists.

2. Krygiel, E., & Nies, B. (2016). Green Building: Principles and Practices in Residential Construction. Cengage Learning. Chapter 4, "The Site and Landscape," discusses LEED requirements, noting that the No Invasive Plants prerequisite relies on checking official state or federal lists to define what is considered invasive for a specific project location.

3. University of Florida, Program for Resource Efficient Communities. (n.d.). LEED for Homes v4: Sustainable Sites. Courseware document. In the section covering SS Prerequisite 1, the material clarifies that compliance involves "checking plants against your state's invasive species list" and identifies sources like the USDA National Invasive Species Information Center and local Cooperative Extension offices as key resources.