CI-2009 MRc4: Recycled Content

  • CI MRc4 Type3 Recycled Content Diagram

  • Allow time for documentation

    Documenting this credit can take time, since cost and exact percentages of post- and pre-consumer materials must be collected for each recycled item used. 

    LEED requires the base materials budget to be consistent across all MR credits. The LEED Online credit forms help provide consistency across MR credits by applying the same data to multiple credits. Materials used to earn this credit cannot also be counted for MRc3: Materials Reuse, nor for MRc7: Certified WoodWood from a source that has been determined, through a certification process, to meet stated ecological and other criteria. There are numerous forest certification programs in general use based on several standards, but only the Forest Stewardship Council's standards, which include requirements that the wood be tracked through its chain-of-custody, can be used to qualify wood for a point in the LEED Rating System., but they can contribute to MRc5: Regional Materials and MRc6: Rapidly RenewableTerm describing a natural material that is grown and harvested on a relatively short-rotation cycle (defined by the LEED rating system to be ten years or less). Materials. 

  • Most projects easily earn both points

    The 10% point threshold is easy to achieve for this credit, especially if your project has a lot of concrete or steel. There is also an increasing number of products on the market that have recycled content, making the 20% threshold achievable for some projects. Concentrate on buying “big ticket” items with high recycled content levels. Depending on the building construction, you will generally get more (due to a higher cost) out of tracking the recycled content of concrete and steel over lower cost items like tile.

    Analyze your budget early in design to help inform which materials are more important to specify as having recycled content, this is dependent on your project construction type. Doing your homework early can prevent costly change orders during construction. Big-ticket products that often have recycled content include steel, drywall, insulation, ceiling tiles, concrete, VCT, commercial carpet, and composite substrates.

    Learn the lingo

    Recycled content can be pre-consumer (also known as post-industrialRefers to material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process. Excluded from this category is reutilization of materials such as scrap that are generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process. Generally synonymous with "pre-consumer."), or post-consumerWaste generated by end users (households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities) of a product no longer able to be used for its intended purpose that is recycled into raw material for a new product.. These are valued differently in LEED calculations. Pre-consumer content is worth 50% of its cost value, while post-consumer is worth 100%.

    DRecycled bottlesPost-consumer plastic being collected for recycling.on’t assume that because an item has recycled content you can count the whole cost of that item towards the credit—the value contributing to the credit equals the percentage of recycled content times the value of the material. (See the Recycled Content Assembly Calculator in the Documentation Toolkit.)  

    People sometimes confuse recycled content material with material reuse and with construction waste management, but they are different:

    Recycled Content material, covered in MRc4, has reused content as a result of the industrial process of making the product—for example, recycled-content carpet may be made of recycled plastic bottles. 

    Material Reuse, covered in MRc3, is the use or repurposing of material from a previous place or role—for example, buying antique wood doors salvaged from an old church. 

    Flooring panelAt this Denver building under construction, the raised floor panels being installed have recycled steel. Photo – YRG SustainabilityConstruction Waste Management, covered in MRc2, is the act of diverting materials from the landfill during the construction process by sending to a place where the material can be repurposed, such as a salvage yard or recycling plant.

  • FAQs for MRc4

    I have recycled content information for a product, but it doesn’t specify whether it is pre-consumer or post-consumer. What should I do?

    Try getting clarification from the manufacturer. If you can’t get any further information, you should take a conservative approach and assume that it is pre-consumer.

    Why can’t I include mechanical, electrical and plumbing components in this credit? What if I consistently include MEP materials in the calculations for all of the MR credits I’m attempting?

    LEED is very clear that no MEP or specialty items can be counted in the MR credit calculations. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that MEP items are very expensive relative to their weight, and including these materials skews the calculations and performance thresholds achieved. Also, LEED considers the performance of mechanical equipment paramount, and so consideration of these materials really falls under performance based energy and water credits.

    The recycled content percentage on the product data sheet is given as a range. What should I do?

    Unless the manufacturer can provide more specific information, teams must use the lower recycled content value in the given range.

    The manufacturer can't give me product-specific recycled content data, but they say that they fall within the national industry average. Can I use that?

    No. Per LEED InterpretationLEED Interpretations are official answers to technical inquiries about implementing LEED on a project. They help people understand how their projects can meet LEED requirements and provide clarity on existing options. LEED Interpretations are to be used by any project certifying under an applicable rating system. All project teams are required to adhere to all LEED Interpretations posted before their registration date. This also applies to other addenda. Adherence to rulings posted after a project registers is optional, but strongly encouraged. LEED Interpretations are published in a searchable database at usgbc.org. #10246, recycled content claims must be specific to installed product. Average regional and national claims do not meet the credit requirements.

    This Interpretation has been misinterpreted, however, to mean that recycled content figures must come from specific plants. That is not what USGBC intended. It is allowable to use a company- and product-specific national average, as long as the company has performed the necessary tracking to assure that that average is accurate at the product SKU level.

    Is the default average recycled content value of 25% for steel still allowed?

    Yes. LEED Interpretation #10246 does not apply to steel and teams may still use the default value of 25% post-consumer recycled content. Many steel products have higher levels of recycled content, however, so it may be advantageous to track down product-specific recycled content information.

    Can site materials, such as soil, be included in the MR credit calculations?

    Site materials (31.60.00 Foundations, 32.10.00 Paving, 32.30.00 Site Improvements, and 32.90.00 Planting) that are permanently installed can be included in the MR credits. Just be sure that your material budget assumptions and material costs are consistent across MRc3, MRc4, MRc5, MRc6, and MRc7.

    Are there recycled content claims that I should be wary of?

    Based on review comments that LEED users have reported, LEED reviewers are on the lookout for inaccurate recycled content claims in cases where a manufacturer is claiming pre-consumer recycled content for scrap material that comes off the end of a product line, and is put back in to the same line. According to common definitions, this should not be considered recycled content. This practice is common with certain kinds of glass, and metals like aluminum. Keep an eye on your documentation and do your best to make sure it is valid. If you are asked to justify a specific claim, you could get more documentation from the manufacturer, or plan on having a cushion in your credit threshold.

    Can I count FSC-certified MDF toward both MRc4 and MRc7?

    No. MRc7 counts only new wood, and MRc4 counts recycled content, so there is no overlap in the credits. You must choose one credit, and not double-dip.

    If I have one cut sheet that meets the requirement to upload 20% of cut sheets by cost, for this credit, is that acceptable?

    Yes, subject to any questions that may come up during a normal LEED review process.

Legend

  • Best Practices
  • Gotcha
  • Action Steps
  • Cost Tip

Schematic Design

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  • Look at opportunities to use recycled content materials for the project’s potential “big ticket” items.

  • Big-ticket products that often have recycled content include: steel, drywall, insulation, ceiling tiles, concrete, VCT, commercial carpet, and composite substrates. There are more and more products in nearly every category that use recycled content as a way to help LEED projects earn this credit.  

  • The decision to use recycled content material can help guide design decisions, such as using recycled-content steel framing instead of wood framing. However, only letting recycled content drive basic design decisions may be shortsighted and lead to tradeoffs with other credits, not to mention other environmental impact areas. Look for materials that contribute to multiple LEED credits.

  • This credit can often be achieved at no added cost, as there are many products with recycled content that building projects already use. 

  • Use LEED point calculators built into online product catalogs such as those powered by ecoScorecard to streamline data collection and generate submittal documents:

    • Invision Carpet Systems
    • Shaw Contract Group
    • Tandus
    • lees

Design Development

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  • Begin by creating a baseline materials budget. This is the total amount of money that will be spent on building materials. Use the Materials Calculator from the Documentation Toolkit to compile the baseline material list in a way that facilitates adding information on environmental attributes.

  • Your material budget assumptions and material costs should be consistent across MRc3, MRc4, MRc5, MRc6, and MRc7. The LEED Online credit form helps ensure this automatically. 

  • In your materials budget include the material cost (excluding labor) of all construction items and Division 12: Furnishings. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and equipment costs are excluded.

  • You must use the actual budget of all materials purchased in the above CSI categories. The default 45% materials budget option that is available for other rating systems is not available for CI projects.

  • The LEED-CI Reference Guide does not explicitly mention what CSI division items to include in your baseline material budget. Based on the NC, CS, and Schools rating systems you should include items as defined in CSI MasterFormat Divisions 3-10. Foundations and sitework don’t apply to most LEED-CI projects. 

  • Include in your materials baseline budget, the material cost (excluding labor) of all items that apply under CSI MasterFormat 2004:

    • Divisions 3–10 
    • Section 31.60: Foundations
    • Section 32.10: Paving 
    • Section 32.30: Site Improvements
    • Section 32.90: Planting
    • Division 12: Furnishings is optional
    • Mechanical, electrical, plumbing and equipment costs are excluded.

  • How do you know what amount of recycled content material you need to incorporate in your project? Look at the baseline materials budget. Determine how much you need to spend on recycled content materials to reach the credit thresholds. To earn one point, allocate 10% of your material budget; for two points, allocate 20%. Go through your project’s preliminary budget and identify which items could be purchased with recycled content, and what percentages of recycled content they can contribute. Do these items add up to the amount needed to get one or two points?  

  • For some CI projects, like high-end office buildings, furniture costs can be equal to or greater than building materials. Choose furniture that helps the project gain multiple MR points—for example, the materials could be locally harvested and contribute to MRc5 while also having recycled-content materials contributing to MRc4. 

  • Use your estimated budget as a guide throughout the project. Don’t fail to earn this credit because you waited until all the materials were purchased before calculating whether you used enough materials with recycled content to gain the LEED credit. 

  • Research products by looking at product cut sheets and manufacturing data to see if a product contains recycled content.  Often a product will appear to meet the credit requirements, but you'll need to ask for more specific information from the manufacturer—see the Documentation Toolkit for examples of this.

  • Instead of tracking recycled content in everything, focus first on big ticket items, materials like steel, drywall, furniture, and flooring to see if you get enough value to earn the credit. This approach allows you to Iimit the overall number of items you need to track and document, reducing contractor headaches. If big-ticket items are not enough, target a medium-priced item next, and so on, until you reach your goal.

  • A single product or material can contribute to multiple LEED credits. For example, a chair made locally, with urea-formaldehyde-free, recycled, composite wood contributes to MRc4, MRc5, MRc6, and IEQc4.4. Not all credits allow this double-counting. Materials counted here cannot also count towards MRc3 nor MRc7—although separate components within a product can. If a product has both certified wood and recycled content steel, for example, each component can contribute to earning the appropriate credit. Focusing on products and materials with multiple environmental attributes also can limit the overall number of items that must be tracked. 

  • Don’t assume that because an item has recycled content you can count the whole cost of that item towards the credit—the value contributing to the credit equals the percentage of recycled content times the value of the material. Recycled content can be pre-consumer (also known as post-industrial) or post-consumer recycled content. These are valued differently in LEED calculations. Pre-consumer content is worth 50% of its cost value, while post-consumer is worth 100%. See the Documentation Toolkit for a Recycled Content Assembly Calculator. For example, if a piece of plywood costs $100, it has 40% pre- and 15% post-consumer content. How much of the total cost can be counted towards this credit?

     

  • Steel is a special case—all steel is made from recycled materials, and it is the only material for which LEED allows you to claim a default recycled content value (25% post-consumer) without providing any documentation. Some steel has 90% or more recycled content, however, so you’re better off documenting the actual amount if you can try to get documentation from your suppliers showing their post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content. 

  • Drywall can be specified with synthetic gypsum, which is a byproduct or removing sulfur from the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants, and counts as pre-consumer recycled content. Before using it, however, check to see if it made in your region because the environmental impact of trucking it long distances is likely far greater than any benefit of using it instead of natural gypsum. Either way, the paper facing on drywall is almost always entirely post-consumer recycled.

  • Assemblies

  • When a product is made of multiple components that have different recycling rates, note the following special considerations.

  • The cost value for the LEED calculation is determined by separating each component as a percentage of the total by weight, while accounting for the value of pre- and post-consumer recycled content. See the assembly example below, and a calculator in the Documentation Toolkit.

  • Request that manufacturers provide assembly information broken down by weight. 

  • Using the project’s estimated budget early on to integrate materials with recycled content in the design and specs can help prevent costly change orders during construction. 

Construction Documents

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  • Revisit your baseline materials budget as the design evolves to make sure the numbers remain accurate and that you remain on track to achieve your goal for the credit.

  • Research specific products. Incorporate recycled content product requirements into individual construction specification sections.

  • MasterSpec and the federal Whole Building Design Guide (see Resources) offer guidance and sample specification language on how to incorporate LEED specifications in construction documents.

  • Incorporating the LEED requirements directly on the drawings as well as in the specs is a good way to remind the contractor and subcontractors of the requirements. 

  • Analyze the initial cost budget to know what materials the project can target and incorporate LEED requirement language accordingly into construction specs for those specific materials.  The contractor will appreciate not filling out forms for materials that are not recycled, or that have so little cost value that it is a waste of time. 

  • Whenever possible, designate in the construction specifications that contractors use specific sources you have verified as suppliers of recycled content items. This will help save research time for the contractors and ensure credit compliance.

  • Include submittal requirements within each targeted construction spec section and add general requirements to the Division 1 bid package. Include copies of any submittal documents that the subcontractors and general contractor may need to fill out.

Construction

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  • Preparation Before Construction Begins

  • The general contractor (GC) should be oriented to all LEED construction-related issues, such as IAQ management, low-emitting materials, environmental materials tracking tools, and construction waste management. 

  • LEED documentation and materials tracking are usually the GC’s responsibility even though specific materials selection may have been already determined by the architect or designer.

  • The GC should hold an orientation meeting with the subcontractors to review the LEED responsibilities related specifically to their trades. This exercise helps to build trust and is crucial for obtaining buy-in from all participants in the process.

  • Give the GC and subcontractors the following tools to help them track materials data for all MR and IEQ credits. (See the Documentation Toolkit for access.)

    • Materials Calculator:  This is a master tracking spreadsheet that the GC can use internally to compile product information received from the subcontractors. The spreadsheet tracks LEED values across multiple LEED MR and IEQ credits.
    • Environmental Materials Reporting Form: This is a material tracking form that helps subcontractors record the environmental values for products they purchase. This can be distributed to each trade subcontractor and submitted to the GC for filing. 
    • Low-Emitting Materials Reporting Form: This is a VOC tracking sheet that helps subcontractors record the low-emitting qualities of the products they purchase and can be distributed to each trade subcontractor and submitted to the GC for filing.
    • Low-Emitting Material Limits: These tables, found with each credit here on LEEDuser, summarize the maximum VOC limits for different types of adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, composite wood, and flooring products. When subcontractors search for low-emitting products, they should consult these charts.

  • Enabling coordination and communication among the GC, subcontractors and design team early in the process can minimize scheduling delays and pushback from subcontractors.

  • Before construction begins, research additional recycled product material availability, not already researched during the design phase to ensure that the project earns this credit. If product decisions are made after construction begins, there may be less time to carefully review data sheets and much greater risk of using a noncompliant product.

  • During Construction

  • The contractor starts gathering and environmental data and cut sheets from subcontractors for approval. 

  • The GC functions as the overall quality assurance provider for this credit. Responsibilities include conducting weekly reviews of subcontractor product submittals and tracking forms.

  • Review subcontractor product suggestions ahead of time to avoid the purchase of inappropriate materials and eliminate the need for costly change orders.  

  • A master spreadsheet facilitates information collection for subcontractors, giving them a road map of exactly what types of information to collect for each product.  

  • Assign a responsible party to input the subcontractors’ tracking forms into the Materials Calculator (see Documentation Toolkit). A LEED consultant or an administrative assistant in the GC’s office may be the best choice for this role.

  • Streamline documentation and research by taking data gathered from subs via the Environmental Material Reporting Form and transfer it into a master spreadsheet for all the items being tracked for each product across MR and IEQ credits. For example, you may need to ask the millworker for regional information for MRc5, recycled content information for MRc4, and information about adhesives installed onsite for IEQc4.1. If one spreadsheet collects all the data, it can streamline your documentation, associated research, and help with quality control. See the Documentation Toolkit for spreadsheets you can work with. 

  • Breaking out specific materials costs (excluding labor) for construction materials that contribute to LEED credits is a requirement for LEED MR credits. Some subcontractors prefer not to do this because there are always hidden markups in the materials that subcontractors purchase at wholesale. However, you can simply include the product markup when breaking out a product’s material cost from installation and labor costs.

  • Transfer all the data collected in the Materials Calculator spreadsheet (see Documentation Toolkit) to the LEED Online form and upload the product cut sheets. 

  • Only a random 20% sampling of product cut sheets need to be uploaded to LEED Online to document this credit.

Operations & Maintenance

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  • Keep a list of sustainable materials used on the project so that operations staff can use these products for future renovations.

  • Develop recycled content material procurement recommendations into a purchasing policy. If pursuing LEED-EBOM certification, that would fall under MRp1: Sustainable Purchasing Policy.

  • USGBC

    Excerpted from LEED 2009 for Commercial Interiors

    COPYRIGHT © 2009 BY THE U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

    MR Credit 4: Recycled content

    1-2 Points

    Intent

    To increase demand for building products that incorporate recycled content materials, thereby reducing impacts resulting from extraction and processing of virgin materials.

    Requirements

    Use materials, including furniture and furnishings, with recycled content1 such that the sum of postconsumer2 recycled content plus 1/2 of the preconsumer3 content constitutes at least 10% or 20%, based on cost, of the total value of the materials in the project. The minimum percentage materials recycled for each point threshold is as follows:

    Recycled Content Points
    10% 1
    20% 2


    The recycled content value of a material or furnishing is determined by weight. The recycled fraction of the assembly is then multiplied by the cost of assembly to determine the recycled content value.

    Mechanical, electrical and plumbing components cannot be included in this calculation.

    Potential Technologies & Strategies

    Establish a project goal for recycled content materials, and identify material suppliers that can achieve this goal. During construction, ensure that the specified recycled content materials are installed. Consider a range of environmental, economic and performance attributes when selecting products and materials.

Web Tools

BuildingGreen.com

Lists of green, recycled content materials organized by LEED credit and CSI section.

Organizations

Steel Recycling Institute

The Steel Recycling Institute provides defaults for recycled content of steel based on furnace type.

MasterSpec

MasterSpec offers guidance on incorporating LEED requirements into specifications.

Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) — Federal Green Construction Guide for Specifiers

Support on incorporating LEED requirements into specifications. 

Materials Calculator

Teams can use this tool to track all materials across various MR and IEQ credits. It helps teams develop a roadmap of what information needs to be tracked for different products. It can also be used early on to create the baseline budget and ensure the products that are being used will apply to the various credit thresholds.

Environmental Materials Reporting Form

This is a materials tracking form that helps subcontractors record the environmental values of products they purchase. This can be distributed to each trade subcontractor and submitted to the GC for filing.

Low-Emitting Materials Reporting Form

This is a VOC tracking sheet that helps subcontractors record the low-emitting qualities of the products they purchase and can be distributed to each trade subcontractor and submitted to the GC for filing. Use it specifically for earning low-emitting materials credits, but in conjunction with documentation for MR credits.

Recycled Content Calculator

Use this spreadsheet to determine the value that a given material or assembly contributes to the recycled content calculations for this credit, based on the type of recycled content in the material or assembly, and the percentage by weight of the assembly that contains recycled content.

Recycled Content – Product Cut Sheets

Look to product cut sheets like these for recycled-content information on products you're specifying or considering specifying. Note that while all three of these examples appear to contribute to MRc4, in all cases more information is needed from the manufacturer (see PDF annotations).

Letter to Contractor for MR and IEQ Credits

Use a letter like this sample to orient the contractor to their responsibilities for all MR and IEQ credits. This letter is an introduction that can be customized for the credits your project is pursuing.

Concrete Tracking

Use this form to track your concrete mixes and their recycled content and distance to the manufacturing and extraction sites.

Construction Submittal

HardhatDocumentation for this credit is part of the Construction Phase submittal.

Recycled Content Specifications

How much recycled content should you look for in key building products? What other sustainability criteria apply? This sample sheet from a project shows how one team set guidelines for different product areas.

LEED Online Forms: CI-2009 MR

The following links take you to the public, informational versions of the dynamic LEED Online forms for each CI-2009 MR credit. You'll need to fill out the live versions of these forms on LEED Online for each credit you hope to earn.

Version 4 forms (newest):

Version 3 forms:

These links are posted by LEEDuser with USGBC's permission. USGBC has certain usage restrictions for these forms; for more information, visit LEED Online and click "Sample Forms Download."

122 Comments

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M K
May 01 2013
Guest
127 Thumbs Up

Divisions

Where can I find the list of Divisions stating which materials are under which Divisions?

thanks!

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Michelle Reott LEED AP BD+C, ID+C, Managing Principal, Earthly Ideas LLC May 01 2013 LEEDuser Expert 1304 Thumbs Up

Please check out this post for information on CSI MasterFormat 2004 and materials in Divisions - http://www.leeduser.com/credit/NC-2009/MRc4?page=0#comment-38276.

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JOHANNA SENOTT Architect / Environmental adviser EA Energia y Arquitectura
Apr 01 2013
LEEDuser Member
214 Thumbs Up

Toilet Accessories

Hi,
I would like to know if water faucets, showers, and WCs are considered as toilet accessories under CSI division 10 or should they be considered MEP equipment and be excluded from MRc 4 and 5 calculations? Could the WC be considered to be furniture and be included consistently in MRc 3 through 7?
Thanks!

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Susan Walter Sr Project Architect, Wilmot/Sanz Apr 02 2013 LEEDuser Member 6638 Thumbs Up

No and no. These items are plumbing fixtures. CSI and LEED are very consistent about that.

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Michelle Reott LEED AP BD+C, ID+C, Managing Principal, Earthly Ideas LLC Apr 02 2013 LEEDuser Expert 1304 Thumbs Up

Thanks Susan for jumping in!

Johanna - The fixtures listed are specified in Division 22 and are not toilet accessories or furniture, and hence, they are excluded from the MR credit calculations.

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JOHANNA SENOTT Architect / Environmental adviser, EA Energia y Arquitectura Apr 02 2013 LEEDuser Member 214 Thumbs Up

Ok,thanks Susan and Michelle for your quick response!

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Eric Thompson Architect NBBJ
Jan 11 2013
LEEDuser Member
170 Thumbs Up

Assemblies Calculator

I see that LeedUser has an assemblies calculator for MRc5, but there doesn't appear to be one for c4 - is that correct? I'm looking for something like the sample shown in the Reference Guide for this credit Table 2.

I don't think I'm going to get much out of the furniture for Regional (project's in Norway) but hoping I can for Recycled. The manufacturer has asked for a form to fill in, I can create one myself but was hoping there was one already made!

Thanks Eric

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Eric Thompson Architect, NBBJ Jan 14 2013 LEEDuser Member 170 Thumbs Up

I do see the assembly calculator now but it doesn't exactly match the example in the reference guide. I suppose it'll be OK though.

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Michelle Reott LEED AP BD+C, ID+C, Managing Principal, Earthly Ideas LLC Jan 18 2013 LEEDuser Expert 1304 Thumbs Up

Eric - Glad you found the assemblies calculator (called the Recycled Content Calculator) under the Documentation Toolkit tab. Even though it appears slightly different than the spreadsheet in the Reference Guide, the results are the same.

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SOHA YAMANI
Dec 25 2012
Guest
38 Thumbs Up

Hand drier

hand drier installed in toilets : should it be included in materials ? if yes under which CSI division it is mentioned

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Susan Walter Sr Project Architect, Wilmot/Sanz Jan 02 2013 LEEDuser Member 6638 Thumbs Up

Usually it is specified in division 10 in toilet accessories.

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ADRIENN GELESZ LEED AP ABUD Engineering Ltd.
Dec 19 2012
LEEDuser Member
187 Thumbs Up

Default values

In LEED NC there is an option to use default 25% recycled content for steel. Is this not applicabel to CI?

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April Brown (Wackerman) Projects Manager, Institute for the Built Environment Dec 19 2012 LEEDuser Expert 43 Thumbs Up

This should be acceptable across all LEED rating systems.

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Michelle Reott LEED AP BD+C, ID+C, Managing Principal, Earthly Ideas LLC Jan 18 2013 LEEDuser Expert 1304 Thumbs Up

Adrienn - May I suggest checking the Reference Guide before posting a question here? Twenty-five percent post-consumerWaste generated by end users (households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities) of a product no longer able to be used for its intended purpose that is recycled into raw material for a new product. recycled content for steel is spelled out as an acceptable default value on page 246 of the first edition of the LEED Reference Guide for Green Interior Design and Construction.

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Lee Chin
Dec 05 2012
Guest
59 Thumbs Up

MRc4 - Alum. Frame by Frameworks

I recA Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) is a certificate representing proof that a given unit of electricity was generated from a renewable energy source such as solar or wind. These certificates are able to be sold, traded, or bartered as environmental commodities, where an electricity consumer can buy the renewable energy attributes of electricty to support renewable energy, even if they are consuming generic grid-supplied electricity that may be supplied by nonrenewable sources.'d product data for recycled content on the alum. frame stating material composed of 25% post-consumerWaste generated by end users (households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities) of a product no longer able to be used for its intended purpose that is recycled into raw material for a new product. primary, and 50% post-industrialRefers to material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process. Excluded from this category is reutilization of materials such as scrap that are generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process. Generally synonymous with "pre-consumer." scrap.
The sub only enter the 25% post-consumer on his worksheet, but not the 50% post-industrial scrap, is this correct? thank you

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Dec 14 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

Lee, post-industrialRefers to material diverted from the waste stream during a manufacturing process. Excluded from this category is reutilization of materials such as scrap that are generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process. Generally synonymous with "pre-consumer." recycled content, also known as pre-consumer, can be counted at half of its value, according to LEED.

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Mathilda Jonsson Environmental Certification Engineer
Nov 29 2012
LEEDuser Member
421 Thumbs Up

LEED CS vs. LEED CI

Hi all
I'm working on a LEED CS project and a LEED CI project wich will be located in the LEED CS project. The LEED CS building is beeing designed now and the design of LEED CI is taking place simultaneously. The project owner who gave me the LEED CS asignment says that tenants floor system, false ceiling, interior walls, wall finishing etc will be included in the tenant lease and therefore it will be included in LEED CS since it's the owner who decides on materials etc. If the tenant wants another kind of flooring, another kind of false ceiling etc they will have to extend the tenant lease and it will cost them more. This is the tenant outfit according to the owner. The tenant and the owner will agree on the layout of the different levels togehter.
If the tenant spaceTenant space is the area within the LEED project boundary. For more information on what can and must be in the LEED project boundary see the Minimum Program Requirements (MPRs) and LEED 2009 MPR Supplemental Guidance. Note: tenant space is the same as project space. material (not furniture) is what the owner have decide and is therefore included in the lease and therefore in the LEED CS what kind of materials will be left to do a calculation of recycled content, regional materials, certfy wood? Can we get these credits?

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Dec 14 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

Mathilda, I think the owner is incorrect. Even though they are specifying certain materials in the lease, if buying and installing those materials is in the CI scope of work and budget, then they fall into the CI realm for LEED.

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Chris Miller Owner Miller Consulting Group, LLC
Nov 09 2012
LEEDuser Member
37 Thumbs Up

RE: LEED CI and furniture

Just to clarify, in LEED CI (based on both the materail data spreadheet available on LEED online & in the LEED CI reference guide v2009) it states furniture cost is to be included in our total material cost for the calculations, is this correct? Unlike LEED NC (and other systems) which gives you the option to include this CI states it has to be included. Again just looking for clarification or if any addenda has come out stating otherwise.

Thanks in advance

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Nadav Malin USGBC LEED Faculty, President, BuildingGreen, Inc. Nov 09 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

That's correct, Chris.

The only wiggle room you might have on this is if the furniture is clearly not included in the project team's scope of work, and is purchased by the owner through an entirely separate process. Even then, it's a bit dodgy. Generally, the furniture must be included.

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Taylor Ralph President, REAL Building Consultants Feb 26 2013 LEEDuser Member 308 Thumbs Up

we just received a review comment in reference to this--stating that 'no matter who specifies and provides them, all furniture and furnishings installed at the time of occupancy must be included in the calculations for LEED-CI projects.'

This is a little frustrating, because we considered this purchase outside of the Scope of Work of our project (Tenant Fit Out was provided by leasor for the leasee with little interaction), but I don't think they are giving any wiggle room here...

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Michelle Reott LEED AP BD+C, ID+C, Managing Principal, Earthly Ideas LLC Feb 26 2013 LEEDuser Expert 1304 Thumbs Up

Taylor - The LEED Reference Guide for Green Interior Design and Construction states on page 208 (2009 version): "Regardless of who specifies or provides them, all furniture and furnishings in the project should be included in the calculations for LEED for Commercial Interiors. Unlike in other LEED rating systems, project team do not have the option to exclude certain materials (exception: MR Credit 3.1)." There's really no wiggle room that I can see based on that.

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Sean Falvey XL Construction
Oct 03 2012
LEEDuser Member
2 Thumbs Up

Creating own IDC Form?

We are having lots of issues using the IDC Form that LEED provides, i.e., form not saving, formulas not working. Has anyone ever mimicked the IDC spreadsheet and created their own to upload to MRc4?

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Nov 24 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

Sean, I have heard of people doing this, but I've been asking around for confirmation that it is readily accepted by GBCI... anyone?

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Michele Helou Principal, Sage Design & Consulting Mar 03 2013 LEEDuser Member 438 Thumbs Up

I have had my own form for MR credits accepted in previous projects. However, last month, a review for a LEED CI project came back with the following comment for each MR credit:
'The LEED Materials and Resource Calculator has not been provided as required. Note that this calculator may be downloaded from the Credit Resources tab of this credit'
So, I today I planned to translate my entire excel spreadsheet over - line by line to their format. But the IDC June 2012 is difficult to work with - you need to know the totals before you start, there are hidden columns for subtotals that is not standard excel formatting, and formulas are not secure, so it's very easy to overwrite a cell accidentally without knowing. I also don't get 'sustainable materials' and 'total materials' - if this is supposed to be a check - it's silly - the only way you know 'total materials' is because you've entered everything as 'sustainable materials'. Unless you've used the default 45% - which in LEED CI - you cannot do.

Nonetheless, it seems to me that reviewers have a difference of opinion as to whether the official IDC Materials & Resources Calculator is required and this is causing a lot of headache and busy work - twice. Can LEEDUser get an official ruling - and can reviewers stick to it ?

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Michelle Reott LEED AP BD+C, ID+C, Managing Principal, Earthly Ideas LLC Mar 04 2013 LEEDuser Expert 1304 Thumbs Up

Michele - When I met with someone from the GBCI Certification Team a few weeks ago in DC, she noted in passing that they expect the Excel version of their spreadsheets to be uploaded so that they know no formulas have been modified.

Could you just use their spreadsheet instead of translating yours? That’s what I decided to do. I know that it has been frustrating for me over the years to create resources and then have them replaced with official versions but put yourself in the reviewer’s shoes for a minute… Since an uploaded spreadsheet is required for this credit, wouldn’t you want it to be the one most projects are using. And the v4.0 version of the form is pretty explicit: “Download, complete and upload the Materials and Resource Calculator (found under "Credit Resources") to document sustainable criteria values for MR Credits 3-7. Upload L-10. Provide the complete Materials and Resource Calculator.”

Granted I haven’t worked with the ID&C Materials Calculator like I have with the BD&C one and it might not have been adapted correctly, which could be another source of angst.

But hopefully Tristan will see this forum and ask an official answer from GBCI or maybe someone from GBCI will answer directly. And take note of the “silly check” you mention and tell us what that’s about.

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Strada A
Aug 22 2012
LEEDuser Member
68 Thumbs Up

% of Cutsheets required?

A project I just received review comments on included 20.81% recycled content (as determined the correct formula to calculate recycled $ value).

The review comments I received took no exception to the percentage claimed - and thus I should earn two points - but the comments state that I need to provide "manufacturer documentation for at least 20% of the compliant materials by value." To me, this means 20% of the 20%, they being the “compliant” materials.

I had thought I’d included ample backup, as I’d provided cutsheets for about 40% of the 20.81% in compliant materials.

What, exactly, are they looking for?

If 20.81% of the materials on the project were recycled, do they need 100% of those materials cut sheets? 100% of the compliant 20.81%? In this case, it would mean following up with a lot of vendors to get them to verify small quantities of material, break down assemblies, etc. It’s a lot of documentation to sift through and follow up on to get the last few percent. At this point, I’m pondering whether I just take 1 of my deserved 2 points to avoid the many hours of work.

I've never had review comments on this credit before. Any comments from the forum?

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Kristina Bach CORE Steward, Cooper Carry Aug 22 2012 Guest 96 Thumbs Up

You definitely had the correct understanding -> you only need to provide manufacturer documentation for 20% of the compliant materials value and not 20% of all listed materials. I'm thinking that you might’ve gotten that comment due to one of the following common issues (apologies if none of these apply):

1) Did you make sure that you were providing documentation for 20% of the compliant value and not 20% of the listed materials? For example, if you had $10,000.00 worth of materials listed in the form and your MRc4 "Sustainable Criteria Value" is $2,000.00, you would need to provide manufacturer documentation for enough products/materials to verify compliance for at least $200.00 worth of that sustainable value. This is a fairly common issue as the IEQc4 credit 20% documentation minimum is based on the number of items; the MR credits 20% documentation is based on the sustainable value of all claimed materials. It can also be somewhat tricky to calculate as you need to be looking at the sustainable portion of the material and not the overall cost when determining the amount of manufacturer documentation to provide. For example, if your doors cost $100 and are composed of 50% post-consumerWaste generated by end users (households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities) of a product no longer able to be used for its intended purpose that is recycled into raw material for a new product. recycled content, providing manufacturer documentation for that product would be equivalent to providing manufacturer documentation for $50.00 of your compliant sustainable materials value - not $100 ($100 door x 50% post-consumer recycled content = $50.00 MRc4 compliant value). This could be the reason you got that comment if you happened to provide documentation for lower-cost and/or less compliant materials as these materials would have a lower sustainable value to contribute towards your overall value…

2) Alternatively - did you make sure that the manufacturer documentation you were including/counting for that credit actually spoke to the requirements of that specific credit? Each MR credit requires that minimum 20% documentation level separately. This means that if a manufacturer statement only includes information regarding one MR credit and not another, the documentation would only qualify towards the 20% documentation minimum for one of the MR credits. For example, if you are providing a manufacturer statement that only includes information about the recycled content, that document would help you meet the documentation minimum within MRc4 but it would not help you meet the documentation minimum within MRc5 (regional materials). In the older versions of the Credit Forms, the manufacturer documentation information was all linked and so it may have indicated to you that you provided sufficient manufacturer documentation. However, when the reviewers were going through your documentation and looking specifically at what was provided that spoke to just the requirements of MRc4, for example, it may have been that there weren’t sufficient cut sheets to verify the 20% minimum documentation threshold for that specific credit.

3) Less likely but just to be safe – Did you make sure that the documentation was actually from the product manufacturer? Statements from the contractor/subcontractor are not considered to be sufficient to verify the claims. If some of your documentation happened to be statements from a contractor/subcontractor, those would automatically be excluded from the 20% minimum documentation threshold.

I definitely wouldn’t just take the 1 point as this could be a relatively easy fix depending on if any of the above issues are true. I’d recommend determining what your minimum sustainable value is that you need to meet with documentation for each MR credit you’re pursuing. Then double-check that the manufacturer documentation you provided for each credit actually includes information specific to how the product complies with that specific credit and then simply add more products/documentation until you make sure that you hit that minimum sustainable value for that specific credit. If you start with your higher-cost items and most-compliant products, you might not have to go through too many products to get to your minimum documentation threshold...

In general for clarity within the MR credits, I’d recommend that you upload a separate file (either combined pdf or zipped file) for each attempted MR credit which only includes documents which have the information relative to that credit (for example – if your door documentation talks to only recycled content, I would include that in the MRc4 documentation file but not in the MRc5 documentation file). Personally, I’ve found that helps me ensure that I have provided enough documentation for each credit separately without having to dig through a mess of uploaded cut sheets trying to figure out what demonstrate compliance with MRc4 vs MRc5 etc. and what value I've provided for each.

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Strada A
Aug 21 2012
LEEDuser Member
68 Thumbs Up

IDC Materials Resources Calculator not calculating correctly

I'm using the "IDC Material and Resource Calculator (June 2012).xls" that's downloadable from the MRc4 Credit Resources page. I'm using it on a Windows machine with Excel macros enabled.

Somewhere along the line, it stopped calculating correctly (if at all). I noticed this prior to my initial project review submittal, when checking the boxes for "Certified WoodWood from a source that has been determined, through a certification process, to meet stated ecological and other criteria. There are numerous forest certification programs in general use based on several standards, but only the Forest Stewardship Council's standards, which include requirements that the wood be tracked through its chain-of-custody, can be used to qualify wood for a point in the LEED Rating System. Vendor Invoices." I had checked the boxes for 100% of of the invoices, but the Calculator only showed 11%. I went ahead and submitted my project for review anyway, along with a text document noting the oddity. I was granted the credit. Life was good.

But... in the MRc4 review comments, the reviewer wanted additional product cutsheets to be uploaded (the calculator was showing 13%). Today, I went ahead and checked enough boxes to put me well in compliance, but the Calculator still shows the same 13%.

I'm no Excel whiz (seriously), but I did download a fresh copy of the Calculator, clicked on the Cutsheet's cell, looked at it's formula, and then at the comparable cell in the completed spreadsheet. Both were similar (same basic formula, just a greater total number of rows in the one I've been working with).

Any thoughts?

I could just write them another "note" explaining the issue, but I'd prefer to have the thing just work.

Many thanks.

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Nadav Malin USGBC LEED Faculty, President, BuildingGreen, Inc. Sep 03 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

Hi, I don't have that calculator handy to play with, but based on your description a possible cause that occurs to me is that the calculation in your form may not be including the additional rows you've added. Have you checked the calc to see if automatically extended to include all the relevant rows?

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Pedro Ribeiro Director of Sustainability Edifícios Saudáveis Consultores
Jul 12 2012
LEEDuser Member
135 Thumbs Up

Materials Cost - Materials and Resource Calculator

I have just received the final application review for a LEED CI v2009 project, and under the MRc4 & c5 the LEED reviewers stated:

“the Actual Materials Cost for Divisions 3-10, 12, 31, and 32 are equivalent to the costs of the materials listed within the form. It is inconsistent with industry norms for the materials listed for credit compliance to be a complete list of all materials used within the LEED-CI for Retail project. Therefore, it is unclear that the Actual Materials Costs include the costs of allmaterials associated with this LEED-CI for retail project as required.”.

I truly do not understand this review…isn’t it supposed to fill up the respective column of Materials and Resource Calculator form with all the materials cost which fall in the Divisions 3-10, 12, 31, and 32, and by doing this does it not make the Actual Materials Cost and the costs listed in the form equal?

Has anyone had this same issue? additionally does anyone know the difference between the Total Materials Cost and the Total sustainable materials cost (as showen in the form).

Thanks

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Pedro Ribeiro Director of Sustainability, Edifícios Saudáveis Consultores Jul 17 2012 LEEDuser Member 135 Thumbs Up

UPDATE
Here is an update regarding this subject. I submitted this question to the responsible LEED review team but their answer has left me even more confused: "The list of materials provided for credit compliance (Table L-3) must be a comprehensive list of all materials used on the LEED-CI project. This often includes materials that do not contribute towards credit compliance; for example, products that do not contain any recycled content and/or products that do not qualify as regionally extracted/manufactured. It is typical that the "Total materials cost" value exceeds the "Total sustainable materials cost" value. When these two values match, there is concern that some materials may have been left off the list of total materials used on the project. These credits are always reviewed on a case-by-case basis, so any particular project circumstances will be considered and should be described in a narrative as part of the Final Review."
The problem is that this is exactly what I've done before, but when I fill Table L-3 with data regarding ALL materials applied, the "Total materials cost" value we'll be ALLWAYS the same as "Total sustainable materials cost" value. Do you think that this can be a bug on the excel file OR am I doing something wrong?
Thank you.

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Susan Walter Sr Project Architect, Wilmot/Sanz Jul 17 2012 LEEDuser Member 6638 Thumbs Up

You are doing something wrong. What you submitted for review essentially said to the GBCI that every single item put into your project has some recycled content. While that is possible, what the GBCI is saying back to you is 'we doubt it'. You need to prove that case or modify your sustainable materials cost.

Let's say that your project added a bathroom and the rest was office space. Do the ceramic tiles installed in the bathroom have recycled content? Does the paint you put on the walls have recycled content? Further, let's assume that the answer is no to both questions. Both products fall into Divisions 3-10 and both products would contribute to total materials cost. Because the tile and the paint do not have recycled content, they would not contribute to the sustainable materials cost. Therefore, total materials cost is a higher number than total sustainable materials cost. It sounds to me like you are saying that your sustainable materials costs is your project cost and doing all your calculations that way which is incorrect. You need to account for all materials in those CSI divisions.

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Pedro Ribeiro Director of Sustainability, Edifícios Saudáveis Consultores Jul 17 2012 LEEDuser Member 135 Thumbs Up

Dear Susan,
first of all let me thank you for your answer.
I agree with every single line that you wrote and I can confirm that in the preliminary review for this process we filled in the table with all materials applied. This includes all materials that contribute towards credit compliance (i.e., structural steel) and all materials that don't (i.e., ceramic tiles). It seems to me that the problem is the way that the "material & resource calculator" (excel template provided in the resources section on "leedonline") is doing the calculation because by filling table L-3 with all materials applied will allways give as a result for "Total materials cost" (the template checks the value entered on "instructions sheet") the same value as "Total sustainable materials cost" (the template sums the value of all materials entered in table L-3). Can you please check the template? Thank you.

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Susan Walter Sr Project Architect, Wilmot/Sanz Jul 17 2012 LEEDuser Member 6638 Thumbs Up

Are you relying on the total $ number that is at the bottom of the LO form (above the Sustainable Criteria percentage)? This does not calculate the total material cost - just the sustainable materials cost. The total cost figure is on page 1 of the form and isn't physically attached to the excel like table where you enter the materials. If you've entered all your materials into the excel like table, taken the total from that and put that number into page 1 where it asks for the 'actual materials cost' you have short circuited things.

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Marie Kranjack Jul 25 2012 LEEDuser Member 29 Thumbs Up

I have the same exact review comment. I think I filled the form out in the same manner as Pedro, in that I listed all materials from divisions 2-10, 12, 31 & 32, whether they had any contributing value to recycled content or regional materials etc. or not. The "total actual materials and furniture cost" is in fact the same dollar value as the "total sustainable materials cost" because I listed ALL materials that were used for the required divisions. I am confused as to how this is incorrect. Should I remove the items with no contributing values from Table L-3 and just include their cost in the total actual material cost on page 1? Please advise.

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Marie Kranjack Jul 25 2012 LEEDuser Member 29 Thumbs Up

I just found that there is an updated IDC Material and Resource Calculator (June 2012). I had used the July 2011 version when completing my documentation in May. I input my data into this calculator and it seems to be calculating properly. The only thing I did differently was not enter the materials that had no contributing values into Table L-3. The sustainable criteria value as percentage of total is now 97.91% as apposed to 100%.

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Pedro Ribeiro Director of Sustainability, Edifícios Saudáveis Consultores Aug 14 2012 LEEDuser Member 135 Thumbs Up

Dear Marie,
I don't think anything has changed on the newer version of the IDC Material and Resource Calculator (June 2012). The calculator is doing the same calculations as the previous version. As long as I can tell, its what you've done differently this time (inputing only the data regarding materials that contribute towards sustainable criteria) that changed the end result. Have you already submitted your process to LEED and got feedback? I sent a question to my LEED review team a week ago but haven't got any answer yet. Regards.

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Norma Rosowski Sustainability Consultant, The Beck Group Aug 28 2012 LEEDuser Member 1134 Thumbs Up

I am extremely interested in the answer to this question, I am also including ALL materials in qualified divisions in my spreadsheet whether they have sustainable qualities or not as did Pedro and Marie. please advise.

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Marie Kranjack Aug 28 2012 LEEDuser Member 29 Thumbs Up

Hi Pedro,
I have not resubmitted yet as we are waiting on a response from GBCI on an unrelated issue. I am with Norma on this. In regards to Table L-3, I would still like someone to provide an official answer on whether we are to list ALL materials (for Div 03-10,12,31-32), or list only the materials that contribute to one of the MR credits. I am not sure that Susan Walter's response above really addresses this.
Thanks ~ Marie

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Sandra Silla
May 22 2012
Guest
440 Thumbs Up

CSI Division 12 Furnishings

Should the cost of Division 12 furnishings be included in MR4 and MR5 credits if these items were purchased outside of the construction budget?

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Emily Catacchio Sustainability Specialist, Wight and Company Jun 06 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

In my opinion, If you're including furniture in these credits, yes. If not, then they're outside of your contract, so I'd say no. 

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Samala Hartley
Mar 27 2012
LEEDuser Member
6 Thumbs Up

Confidential Materials Cost Budget

This LEED CI project would like to maintain privacy in regards to their materials budget. This conflicts with our need to compare construction cost and new material costs for such credits as “Recycled Content.” Is there another method to use for comparison acceptable to LEED, in order to keep the costs confidential?

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Emily Catacchio Sustainability Specialist, Wight and Company Apr 10 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

Simply, no. However when you registered the project it asked you if the project needed to remain confidential. So as long as you checked yes on that box at the very begining you should be able to convince your owner that their information won't travel further than the USGBC and GBCI. However it is a give and take when seeking certification.

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Studio 804 Studio 804
Mar 23 2012
LEEDuser Member
11 Thumbs Up

MR3 Materials Reuse and MR4 Recycled Content - "Double Dipping"

Did … did you just double-dip that chip?.....

I'm working on a project that emphasizes the use of reclaimed materials and materials with recycled content and have come across a few items for which I'm unsure how to proceed with my LEED documentation. We are using many materials that qualify under both MR3 and MR4 credits and I'm wondering if I can apply the materials towards both credits. One example would be the use of steel angle from reclaimed electrical transmission towers. The steel angle obviously qualifies for 100% materials reuse, but it seems as if it should also be able to apply a standard 25% post-consumerWaste generated by end users (households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities) of a product no longer able to be used for its intended purpose that is recycled into raw material for a new product. recycled content value for the steel. Is this allowable?

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Nadav Malin USGBC LEED Faculty, President, BuildingGreen, Inc. Mar 25 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

Sorry 804--the Reference is really clear on this. If you look at Section 6: Calculations, of the ID&C Reference Guide, at the end of that section is a heading called "Exclusions". And it says that you have to exclude the salvaged and refurbished material value of reused materials per MRc3.1.

That's also stated clearly in the "Hot Tip" above, under Checklists, in the Design Development section (the tip about when you can and cannot double dip).

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Jennifer Berthelot-Jelovic Director of Sustainability Shangri-La Construction
Feb 02 2012
Guest
343 Thumbs Up

Recycled Content Range

What does USGBC/GBCI accept when you have a range of recycled content. For example, Sika/Sarnafil has a 5-10% Post consumer recycled content on one of their projects in their documentation. Do you go with 5% to be safe, 7 or 8% to be middle of the road, or can you claim the whole 10%?

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Susan Walter Sr Project Architect, Wilmot/Sanz Feb 03 2012 LEEDuser Member 6638 Thumbs Up

You use the lowest percentage and urge the manufacturer to give us all better numbers.

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Michelle Bracewell-Musson Owner, LEED AP Musson General Contracting & Green Expectations Sustainability Solutions
Feb 01 2012
LEEDuser Member
651 Thumbs Up

Furniture Used from Previous Location in New Site

First of all, I LOVE this site as it is so helpful and has saved me so much time!
THE ISSUES
I have documented the reused furniture in MR c3.2 Materials Reuse - Furniture and Furnishings and I know it automatically shows up in template MR c4 Recycled Content. My questions are:
1.) Can I put 100% for Post-consumerWaste generated by end users (households or commercial, industrial and institutional facilities) of a product no longer able to be used for its intended purpose that is recycled into raw material for a new product. content for each piece of furniture from the old site? I was able to do this in LEED NC Version 2.2 with success and it seems like "double dipping" now except that the cost of the new furniture is included.
2.) I would think the value of the reused furniture could potentially be subtracted from the Total Project Cost. Your thoughts?
Thanks,
Michelle

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Nadav Malin USGBC LEED Faculty, President, BuildingGreen, Inc. Feb 04 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

Hi Michelle,

The calculations for MRc4 exclude any reused furniture from both the nominator and denominator, so you can't count them toward recycled content, but they don't count against you either. You should NOT deduct them from your Total Project Cost as a separate operation.

If you download the LEEDuser CI Materials Calculator from the Documentation Toolkit tab, you'll see that it does these adjustments for you automatically. 

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severine secret Designer GO2Design Studio
Jan 09 2012
LEEDuser Member
46 Thumbs Up

Wood and recycle content

Is reclaimed wood considered recycled?

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Jan 11 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

No, not usually. It may count as material reuse under MRc3, however.

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Nadav Malin USGBC LEED Faculty, President, BuildingGreen, Inc. Feb 04 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

The line between reclaimed and recycled is fuzzy, and can be crossed pretty readily. If you don't have enough reclaimed materials to earn a point in MRc3 (or if you have extra material, after earning a point), you can count them in MRc4 instead.

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Ryan L Mar 08 2012 LEEDuser Member 26 Thumbs Up

Really? Doesn't this depend on the source and the industrial process?

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severine secret Designer GO2Design Studio
Jan 09 2012
LEEDuser Member
46 Thumbs Up

Furniture Value

When documenting the furniture value of an order for credits MRc4 thru Mrc7, do we include local tax, installation and freight on the total order? The verbiage throws me off as it states all install cost incured by the contractor. Which is not the case for furniture, only the furniture dealership cost is relevant.

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Feb 21 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

Severine, you would only include the price of the furniture, not the other costs you mention.

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Eric Thompson Architect, NBBJ May 07 2013 LEEDuser Member 170 Thumbs Up

Tristan, can you clarify why you think this? If the credit asks for all the costs to get the construction materials to the site, why would this not apply to furniture as well? I've typically included those costs.

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Eric Thompson Architect, NBBJ May 07 2013 LEEDuser Member 170 Thumbs Up

To quote the Reference Guide, "Materials costs include all expenses to deliver the material to the project site"

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. May 07 2013 LEEDuser Moderator

Eric, you're right. I said the wrong thing.... I must have not been as familiar with this topic at the time I wrote that.

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Eric Thompson Architect, NBBJ May 07 2013 LEEDuser Member 170 Thumbs Up

Thanks for confirming that Tristan!

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Holly Himes
Nov 30 2011
Guest
289 Thumbs Up

Material Values

On the IDC Materials Calculator download from LEED-online states in footnote 2 that material value must "include all expenses to deliver the material to the project site, including taxes and delivery costs..."
I assume that means any freight and/or delivery we are charged on furniture and materials as well as State Sales tax. Please confirm this is accurate. Thanks!

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Nadav Malin USGBC LEED Faculty, President, BuildingGreen, Inc. Dec 19 2011 LEEDuser Moderator

Hi Holly, That language is right out of the LEED ID&C Reference Guide (page 245 at the bottom, in my 2009 edition). So I don't see any reason to question it. Yes, it would include freight and state sales tax.

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Susie Spivey-Tilson Project Management Sustainability Services CBRE
Nov 17 2011
LEEDuser Expert
1042 Thumbs Up

LEED CI Retail - Restaurant Kitchen Equipment

We are doing the MRc4 and MRc5 calcs for a restaurant i that is using the LEED CI 2009 Retail rating system.

It is not clear to us whether or not we have to use the kitchen equipment costs in the overall project budget to determine if all qualifying products for MRc4 or MRc5 meet the 10%/20% threshold. The Retail supplement doesn't address this and the Interpretations and Addenda Database doesn't address either .

It seems to me that, like with MEP equipment, it would be excluded b/c it greatly increases the numerator/denominator and those types of products are not really made from recyclable materials. Seems like including it would make it impossible for a CI retail restaurant to get MRc4 or 5. Thoughts?

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Nov 20 2011 LEEDuser Moderator

Susie, I am less familiar with CI than NC, but my understanding from the Reference Guide is that MEP is not excluded from CI as it is from BD&C systems—is that correct? If so then this seems to be consistent.

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Lauren Fakhoury Research Assistant Sustainable Design Consulting, LLC
Oct 28 2011
LEEDuser Member
548 Thumbs Up

Furniture Upholstery

How does furniture upholstery fabric selection play into recycled content and any other miscellaneous credits? How do you document fabric/upholstery for furniture that has recycled content or regional content; is it a separate line item?

Thanks

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Oct 30 2011 LEEDuser Moderator

Lauren, if it is purchased separately and you have separate documentation for it, I think making it its own item would be fine. Alternatively, if it is included in the cost of the furniture, then you could treat the furniture as an assembly with an appopriate percentage of compliant material. For more on the assembly approach, see the Checklists tab above.

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ZEB Tech singapore ESD Consultancy ZEB-Technology Pte Ltd
Oct 03 2011
LEEDuser Member
1779 Thumbs Up

Glass partition system with aluminium frames

We are using an interior partition system which includes aluminium frames and glass partitions.The aluminium frames have recycled content but according to the CSI masterformat list do we need to include recycled content for the partition glass? The master format mentions glass doors , sliding galssdoors, shopfronts etc. but does not mention glass partitions unless it is reinforced or decorative.

Please help.

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Nov 21 2011 LEEDuser Moderator

I'm sure that there must be a MF designation for glass partitions, or the equivalent, no?

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Susan Walter Sr Project Architect, Wilmot/Sanz Dec 19 2011 LEEDuser Member 6638 Thumbs Up

Usually glass is in Div 8 (around 08 40 00 area) and it maybe included as part of an assembly.

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elizabeth warlop
Sep 30 2011
Guest
45 Thumbs Up

PDF Template Question

Hello,
I may have a question similar to above. In regards to the costs that get included in table L-3 CSI Divisions 3-10 as well as Table L-4 CSI Division 12.
AM I correct to assume that the totals in the table according to LEED should be the same as the totals that have been quoted above where we listed the 'actual material costs' at the tops of each sheet?
Thank you very much for any help you can give on this.

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