From Black Box to Glass Box: Introducing Verifiable AI Extraction in Core Runway

One of the biggest barriers to adopting AI in compliance workflows isn’t capability — it’s trust.

Construction teams, environmental consultants, and compliance officers aren’t just asking:“Can AI extract the data?”

They’re asking:“Can I prove it’s right?”

Today, we’re introducing a major step forward.

🔍 Verifiable AI Extraction — Now Live in Core Runway

Core Runway now automatically marks up source PDFs after data extraction, showing:

• Exactly where each data point came from

• Which field in your report it populated

• A clear, visual link between source → extraction → output

This turns AI from a black box into a fully auditable system.

🧠 How It Works

1. Upload your documentsWaste dockets, invoices, material submittals, VOC certificates — any standard compliance input.

2. Gemini AI extracts structured dataOur pipeline reads and interprets the document, identifying relevant fields (weights, material types, certifications, etc.).

3. Automatic PDF markupCore Runway highlights the exact regions of the document used for each extracted value.

4. Field-level traceabilityEach highlighted section is tied directly to a specific field in your LEED, CALGreen, or internal report.

5. Human-in-the-loop approvalYour team reviews, verifies, and approves — in seconds, not hours.

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⚡ Why This Matters

1. Instant Auditability

No more hunting through PDFs to verify entries.

Every number in your report is now traceable back to its source in one click.

2. Faster Human Review

Instead of re-reading entire documents, reviewers can focus only on:

• Highlighted sections

• Extracted values

• Exceptions

This reduces review time by 90%+ per document.

3. Increased Confidence in AI

AI adoption often stalls because teams don’t trust automated outputs.

By showing exactly how each value was derived, Core Runway enables:

• Confident approvals

• Reduced rework

• Clear accountability

4. Built for Compliance (Not Just Automation)

This isn’t generic document AI.

It’s purpose-built for:

• LEED reporting

• CALGreen compliance

• Environmental and materials tracking

Where accuracy and auditability aren’t optional — they’re required.

🏗️ Real-World Example

A waste hauler uploads 150+ haul tickets for a project.

Instead of manually entering:

• Material types

• Diversion weights

• Facility destinations

Core Runway:

• Extracts all values automatically

• Highlights each value directly on the ticket

• Populates the LEED waste report

The reviewer:

• Clicks through highlighted fields

• Confirms accuracy

• Approves

What used to take hours now takes minutes.

🔐 From AI Automation to AI Accountability

There’s a reason many AI pilots fail to deliver ROI:they stop at automation.

Core Runway goes further.

We combine:

• AI extraction

• Visual traceability

• Human verification

This creates a system that is not just faster — but defensible.

🚀 What This Unlocks

• Scalable compliance across hundreds of projects

• Reduced reliance on manual data entry

• Faster submissions with higher confidence

• A clear audit trail for owners, regulators, and certifying bodies

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Final Thought

AI shouldn’t replace human judgment — it should amplify it.

By making every extracted value transparent and verifiable,Core Runway ensures your team stays in control — while moving 10x faster.

LEED 4.1 vs LEED 5: What’s Changing for Construction Reporting?

As LEED continues to evolve, the shift from LEED v4.1 to LEED v5 represents more than just incremental updates—it reflects a fundamental change in how sustainability is measured, verified, and reported during construction.

For general contractors, sustainability consultants, and project teams, the biggest impact isn’t just what needs to be reported—but how much, how often, and how connected that reporting must be.

Below is a practical breakdown of how construction-phase reporting is changing—and what it means operationally.

1. From Static Submissions to Continuous Data Reporting

LEED 4.1

• Reporting is largely snapshot-based

• Teams compile documentation at key milestones or at project closeout

• Heavy reliance on manual uploads (PDFs, spreadsheets, cut sheets)

• Limited real-time visibility into compliance status

LEED 5

• Moves toward continuous, lifecycle-based reporting

• Greater emphasis on performance tracking over time, not just design intent

• Encourages (and increasingly expects) digitally structured data

• Alignment with platforms like Arc for ongoing performance monitoring

👉 Impact:Teams will need systems that track compliance as work happens, not just at submission deadlines.

2. Increased Depth in Material Reporting (EPDs, HPDs, VOCs)

LEED 4.1

• Focus on collection of documentation

  • Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)

  • Health Product Declarations (HPDs)

  • VOC data from product datasheets

• Reporting is often binary: document present vs not

LEED 5

• Shifts toward quantified impact of materials

• Greater integration of embodied carbon (GWP) into reporting

• More scrutiny on data quality and completeness

• Less tolerance for missing or placeholder documentation

👉 Impact:Simply attaching datasheets is no longer enough—teams must extract, structure, and validate the underlying data.

3. Waste & Circularity: From Diversion Rates to Full Transparency

LEED 4.1

• Construction waste reporting focuses on:

  • Total waste generated

  • Diversion rates (% recycled vs landfill)

• Typically tracked via waste hauler reports and spreadsheets

LEED 5

• Expands toward circular economy principles

• Likely requirements include:

  • More granular waste categorization

  • Traceability of materials

  • Alignment with regulations like California SB 54

• Increased need for audit-ready, verifiable data

👉 Impact:Manual tracking via spreadsheets becomes fragile—data lineage and auditability become critical.

4. Carbon Becomes Central (Not Optional)

LEED 4.1

• Embodied carbon is introduced but not consistently central across all credits

• Often treated as an additional analysis

LEED 5

• Carbon is a primary metric across the system

• Requires:

  • Integration of EPD data into carbon calculations

  • Clear reporting of Global Warming Potential (GWP)

• Links construction decisions directly to climate outcomes

👉 Impact:Construction teams must connect procurement data to carbon reporting in near real-time.

5. Auditability and Data Integrity Requirements Increase

LEED 4.1

• Review process relies on submitted documentation

• Audit trails are often implicit or manual

LEED 5

• Stronger emphasis on:

  • Traceability to source documents

  • Consistency across submissions

  • Reduced tolerance for errors or gaps

• Aligns with broader ESG and regulatory reporting standards (ISSB, CSRD)

👉 Impact:Every reported number must be defensible, traceable, and reproducible.

6. Integration with Construction Workflows

LEED 4.1

• Reporting is often parallel to construction workflows

• Data is re-entered from systems like Procore or spreadsheets

LEED 5

• Push toward embedded reporting within project systems

• Integration with:

  • Procore

  • Autodesk

  • Procurement and material tracking tools

👉 Impact:The future is “reporting without reporting”—data captured once, used everywhere.

What This Means for Project Teams

Across all categories, the direction is clear:

Shift	LEED 4.1	LEED 5
Reporting Style	Periodic	Continuous
Data Format	Documents	Structured data
Carbon	Emerging	Core metric
Waste	Summary-based	Detailed + traceable
Auditability	Manual	System-driven
Workflow Integration	Limited	Required

The Bottom Line

LEED 5 doesn’t just increase reporting requirements—it changes the operating model.

• Manual workflows → Automated data pipelines

• Document collection → Data extraction and validation

• End-of-project reporting → Real-time compliance tracking

For teams still relying on spreadsheets and manual uploads, the gap between current workflows and future requirements is significant.

Those who adapt early—by digitizing data flows and embedding compliance into construction workflows—will not only reduce reporting burden but gain a competitive edge in delivering faster, more predictable, and audit-ready projects.

Looking Ahead

As LEED 5 rolls out, expect further alignment with:

• State-level regulations (e.g., CALGreen 2026, LL97)

• ESG disclosure frameworks

• Real-time performance platforms like Arc

The winners won’t be those who report better—they’ll be those who design systems where reporting happens automatically.

CALGreen 2026: What General Contractors Need to Change Now

The Quiet Regulation That’s About to Disrupt Construction

Most General Contractors aren’t ready for CALGreen 2026.

Not because they don’t care about sustainability—but because the reporting burden is about to increase significantly, and current workflows (spreadsheets, email chains, disconnected vendors) simply won’t hold up.

The result? Delays, failed compliance checks, and in some cases, meaningful financial penalties.

What’s Actually Changing in CALGreen 2026

While previous versions focused on setting sustainability targets, CALGreen 2026 shifts toward proof, traceability, and enforcement.

Key changes include:

• More granular waste tracking→ Not just diversion rates, but detailed breakdowns of material streams

• Stricter documentation requirements→ Every claim must tie back to verifiable source documents

• Embodied carbon and material transparency→ Increased focus on EPDs, HPDs, and lifecycle impact

• Fewer assumptions, more validation→ Auditors expect clean, structured, audit-ready data

Why This Breaks Current Workflows

Today’s process looks like this:

• Waste haulers send PDFs (often incomplete)

• Subcontractors provide datasheets inconsistently

• Teams manually enter data into spreadsheets

• Sustainability consultants spend weeks assembling reports

This approach was already fragile. Under CALGreen 2026, it becomes unscalable.

Common failure points:

• Missing or outdated documentation

• Inconsistent formatting across vendors

• Last-minute data gaps before submission

• No clear audit trail

The Real Risk: It’s Not Just Time—It’s Compliance

This isn’t just about efficiency.

With tighter enforcement, projects face:

• Delayed approvals

• Rejected submissions

• Potential fines tied to reporting errors

• Lost LEED / sustainability credits

In California, where regulation drives behavior, this becomes a forced buying event, not a nice-to-have upgrade.

The Shift: From Manual Reporting → Automated Compliance

To meet CALGreen 2026 requirements, teams need to move from:

❌ Manual aggregation❌ Static spreadsheets❌ Reactive reporting

To:

✅ Automated data extraction✅ Real-time compliance tracking✅ Audit-ready outputs on demand

What a Modern Workflow Looks Like

A new approach replaces weeks of effort with minutes:

1. Upload waste dockets and material data

2. Automatically extract and structure key fields

3. Identify missing documentation and source it automatically

4. Generate CALGreen- and LEED-ready reports instantly

5. Push data into systems like Procore or export in required formats

The ROI is Immediate

• 100+ hours of reporting → minutes

• $30K–$100K in consulting costs → dramatically reduced

• Fewer delays, fewer errors, fewer compliance risks

More importantly, teams gain confidence that submissions will pass audit the first time.

Strategic Insight: Compliance Is Moving Upstream

The biggest opportunity isn’t just faster reporting.

It’s enabling teams to:

• Understand compliance impact during design and procurement

• Make better material choices in real time

• Avoid issues before they become reporting problems

This is where the industry is heading.

Final Thought

CALGreen 2026 doesn’t just raise the bar—it changes the game.

Teams that adapt early will:

• Win more projects

• Reduce risk

• Deliver faster

Teams that don’t will spend more time chasing paperwork than building.

👉 See How This Works in Practice