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What’s considered “regional”?
The regional materials requirement of the 500-mile radius is big enough to cover a lot of ground, but depending on your location, can tough to work with. Seeing the radius on a map can help quickly assess the product areas where you might have better luck.Regional materials are those that are extracted, harvested, or manufactured within 500 miles (as the crow flies) of your project site.You may already be aware of the materials that are produced in your region, and in some areas this is easy—it’s no surprise, for example, that the town of Gypsum, Colorado, extracts the raw materials to make drywall, and projects within 500 miles of Gypsum would be wise to source their drywall from there.
Five hundred miles is a long way and you might be surprised how much is extracted and produced in your region. Some coastal or remote regions, or those with less of a manufacturing base, may not find it worthwhile to pursue this credit, however.
Research early and often
Begin researching products early—this will help ensure that there are sufficient regional materials available to specify. If you delay your research, you run the risk that non-regional materials may be specified and purchased before you find a regional alternative. Use the estimated project budget to keep tabs on your performance against the credit threshold.
Many projects fail to earn this credit because they wait until all the materials are purchased before doing the credit calculations.
“Big ticket” items are just the ticket
If there are enough materials available in your region, this credit can be very easy to achieve. Focusing on a few more expensive items that can be sourced regionally—like structural steel or concrete, for example—may represent enough value to earn the credit. This strategy has the benefit of reducing the number of items you need to track and document. If you combine these big-ticket items with the requirements of other MR credits, you can earn multiple points for a relatively small number of product selections.
Focus on furniture in CI
Furniture can often be more expensive than building materials, and it may be quite easy to find refurbished furniture within a 500-mile radius.
Other special considerations for CI
LEED-CI approaches this credit differently than the other LEED rating systems. There are two points available under this credit; the first is easier to achieve because it only requires that you collect manufacturing information, which is not usually difficult to get. The second credit is more challenging because you must research and obtain extraction locations as well, which are often quite difficult to find.
Finding the origins of your materials
Often, product manufacturers will get their materials from a wide variety of sources, making extraction location trickier to determine. It can also be challenging to understand how LEED determines the manufacturing locations for materials that are salvaged onsite or reused, those that contain recycled content, or are part of assemblies. Use the chart below to clarify how you should document the manufacturing and extraction location for these materials.
You can claim recycled content as a regional material, and you don't have to trace it back to its original extraction location. According to the LEED Reference Guide, the extraction point for recycled materials is the location of the raw material prior to the manufacturing of the final building product. That might be the recycling facility, scrapyard, depository, stockpile, or another location where the material was collected and packaged for market purchase before manufacturing. It is not necessary to track the raw material back to its original point of extraction.
For a product with multiple points of manufacture, the point of manufacture should be listed as the location farthest from the site.
Legend
- Best Practices
- Gotcha
- Action Steps
- Cost Tip
Schematic Design
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The 500-mile radius around a site (Denver shown here), is measured as the crow flies—not the distance that products may actually travel.The 500-mile requirement is measured as a radius around the site “as the crow flies.” In other words, the actual miles and path traveled by the product or material is not as relevant for the calculation.
Look for unique regional resources to help earn this credit, like this wood flooring salvaged from beetle-killed pine, which would help earn this credit in the Colorado region.Early on, research the availability of materials harvested or extracted and manufactured within 500 miles of the project site. Consider resources such as stone quarries, timber resources, agricultural resources, and manufacturing centers.
Design Development
Expand All
Icynene offers a formulation of its foam insulation with some biobased content. Photo – IcyneneHow many rapidly renewable materials do you need to incorporate into your project? Look at the baseline material budget. Determine how much you want to spend on rapidly renewable materials to get the desired LEED point (see point thresholds in the Credit Language). Go through the project’s preliminary budget and identify what items could be purchased that are rapidly renewable. Do these items add up to the amount needed to get the desired LEED points?
USGBC
Excerpted from LEED 2009 for Commercial Interiors
MR Credit 5: Regional materials
1-2 Points
Intent
To increase demand for building materials and products that are extracted and manufactured within the region, thereby supporting the use of indigenous resources and reducing the environmental impacts resulting from transportation.
Requirements
Option 1
Use a minimum of 20% of the combined value of construction and Division 12 (Furniture) materials and products that are manufactured1 regionally within a radius of 500 miles (800 kilometers).
OR
Use a minimum of 20% of the combined value of construction and Division 12 (Furniture) materials and products that are manufactured regionally within a 500 mile (800 kilometer) total travel distance of the project site using a weighted average determined through the following formula:
(Distance by rail/3) + (Distance by inland waterway/2) + (Distance by sea/15) + (Distance by all other means) ≤ 500 miles [800 kilometers]OR
Option 2
Meet the requirements for Option 1.
AND
Use a minimum of 10% of the combined value of construction and Division 12 (furniture) materials and products extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured, within 500 miles (800 kilometers) of the project.
OR
Use a minimum of 10% of the combined value of construction and Division 12 (Furniture) materials and products extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured regionally within a 500 mile (800 kilometer) total travel distance of the project site using a weighted average determined through the following formula:
(Distance by rail/3) + (Distance by inland waterway/2) + (Distance by sea/15) + (Distance by all other means) ≤ 500 miles [800 kilometers]Potential Technologies & Strategies
Establish a project goal for locally sourced materials and identify materials and material suppliers that can achieve this goal. During construction, ensure that the specified local materials are installed and quantify the total percentage of local materials installed. Consider a range of environmental, economic and performance attributes when selecting products and materials.
FOOTNOTES
1. Manufacturing refers to the final assembly of components into the building product that is furnished and installed by the tradesmen. For example, if the hardware comes from Dallas, Texas, the lumber from Vancouver, British Columbia, and the joist is assembled in Kent, Washington, then the location of the final assembly is Kent, Washington
Web Tools
Free Map Tools- radius around a point
This free online tool allows you to draw a 500-mile radius around a point on a map, which can help visualize the Regional Materials boundaries for your project location, and help you look for sources within those boundaries.
Reclaimed Material Consultant/Broker
PlanetReuse is a nationwide reclaimed construction material broker and consultant company. At no cost to the design team, they match materials with designers, builders and owners to serve LEED efforts, save money, and sustain the planet. They make it easier to use a wide variety of reclaimed materials in new projects as well as help find new projects for building materials being deconstructed, guiding clients through every step of the process.
Technical Guides
Master Spec
Architectural Computer Services, Inc. (ARCOM) offers a free downloadable PDF of the Master Spec divisions. Check this to verify which materials are included in this and other MR credits.
Specifying LEED Requirements Reference Book and CD ROM
This book and CD-ROM from Master Spec offers useful guidance and sample specification language for incorporating LEED specifications into construction documents. (Requires purchase.)
Organizations
Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) — Federal Green Construction Guide for Specifiers
Support on incorporating LEED requirements into specifications.
Assemblies Calculator
Many products contain materials with different extraction or harvest locations. Use this spreadsheet to determine how much of the assembly you can count toward the Regional Materials credit. Includes sample calculation.
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.
Product Cut Sheets
Manufacturers often highlight regional manufacturing and extraction information in cut sheets and letters, as shown here. In some cases information may be misleading or incomplete, and you'll need to follow up (see annotations on the PDF).
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.
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.
Templates
Concrete Tracking
Use this form to track your concrete mixes and their recycled content and distance to the manufacturing and extraction sites.
Tools
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):
- MRc1.2: Building Reuse—Interior
- MRc2: Construction Waste Management
- MRc3.1: Materials Reuse
- MRc3.2: Materials Reuse: Furniture
- MRc4: Recycled Content
- MRc5: Regional Materials
- MRc6: Rapidly Renewable Materials
- MRc7: Certified Wood
Version 3 forms:
- MRp1: Storage and Collection of Recyclables
- MRc1.1: Building Reuse—Structural
- MRc1.2: Building Reuse—Interior
- MRc2: Construction Waste Management
- MRc3.1: Materials Reuse
- MRc3.2: Materials Reuse: Furniture
- MRc4: Recycled Content
- MRc5: Regional Materials
- MRc6: Rapidly Renewable Materials
- MRc7: Certified Wood
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."
Construction Submittal
Documentation for this credit is part of the Construction Phase submittal.
LEED-CI Silver Office – MRc5
Complete documentation for achievement of MRc5 on a LEED-CI 2009 project.
LEEDuser is produced by BuildingGreen, Inc., with YR&G authoring most of the original content. LEEDuser enjoys ongoing collaboration with USGBC.
75 Comments
Electric furniture
Hi all
I'm wondering about electrical supplies for some furniture, i. e height-adjustable work desks. Are these electrical components also included in the regional requirement? Installations are suppose to be excluded from these material credits but when they included in furniture I'm not sure. Our project owner is worried that the elecrical components in our desks are from asia, and our project is located in sweden.
Any thoughts?
Many thanks!
Hi Mathilda,
Based on the LEED CI 2009 Reference guide, electrical components are not included in the calculation for this credit (see pages 236 and 256). I would determine the proportional weight of the electrical component by dividing the weight of the electrical component by the weight of the entire work desk.
Assuming the rest of the work desk was made within 500 miles of the project, to find the cost of the desk, subtract the cost of the electrical component (based its proportional weight) from the total cost of the work desk. The cost of the electrical components should also be subtracted from the total construction material costs for the project. I hope this is helpful.
CONCRETE MIX REPORTING
We are using 2 seperate concrete mixes on our CI project. A letter from the manufacture details the raw materials and ratios for each mix. Each type of mix is clearly identified on the invoice. We are using the concrete submittal form found in the toolkit.Can we sum all of the concrete by each mix type and then average based on the munufactures letter?
Or must we input each indvidual delivery and provide each individual batch mix on a separate line?(possibly 100 line items)Thanks for any suggestions.
I would list only the two mixes instead of each delivery.
Metal Studs - Hawaii
I'm sure this question has been asked before...so if the metal studs are rolled at a site within 500 miles of project location, but the raw material comes from outside 500 mile, does that % of metal studs still count towards MRc5?
Nicole, this meets the requirements of Option 1 under MRc5 for LEED-CI. See the credit language above for clarification. Was there any part of this that you were particularly doubtful of?
Nope, not anymore thank you Tristan. Yes, that wording on top helped clarify my understanding of the credit, thanks!
Error in the LEEDuser CI Materials Calculator re: MRc5 threshold
The MRc5 point threshold notes are incorrect (see the bottom row of both sheets). They reflect NC instead of CI / IDC. Also helpful to note is that USGBC created its own Excel calculator for use with the newer online forms (V4 forms) for MRc3-7, available via the "Credit Resources" link on the credit details page in LEED Online.
Default Budget %
What is the 'Default Budget Percent'? In NC, it is as stated as 45% but CI does not mention this percentage specifically.
Naten, I am assuming you are referring to the Total Materials Cost for the project. Unless I am mistaken, there is no 'default' method for determining total materials cost under LEED CI 2009. Under LEED CI 2009, the total materials cost would include all expenses to deliver the material to the project site (this includes tax and shipping) and excludes labor and equipment once materials are delivered to the site. This applies to materials under CSI MasterFormat 2004 Divisions 3-10, 31 and 32.
This is a serious question- How are you documenting furniture?
I am working on several CI projects right now, and I am having HUGE issues with documenting the furniture for this credit. First, the local dealers want nothing to do with it, so I am calling the manufacturers directly.
Second, when I do call the manufacturers and explain the information I need for the 'extraction' portion of the credit, they act like I have two heads. Many say that this is the first time they have come across this question. These are big companies, too, not small mom and pop manufacturers. Really? So then I guess I am wondering where everyone is getting this info to document this credit in the first place.
And honestly, some of the comments coming from the review teams are getting beyond onerous and ridiculous... like asking for more than 20% of the required back up even if the stuff provided is bullet proof. Having to break down a piece of furniture into a billion raw components by weight and putting it all in separately instead of giving the overall assembly a certain percentage regional? And providing the calcs for all of them? I just.... I don't even know where to start anymore.
Is it just me? Is this all coming easy to everyone else? Does this all seem very reasonable to everyone? Maybe I am in the minority of not understanding this, so please tell me so.
We have had many of the same problems with the furniture reps and manufacturers - I was suprised to get such pushback from the big ones too. It has cost me this credit on a couple of projects that had a considerable amount of new furniture - I no longer consider it easily achievable for CI projects. You would think that all the LEED CI project teams who are requesting this information would spur the furniture industry into action, but we have not seen evidence of this yet either. And don't even get me started on the review comments.....
Are you having any luck with the BIFMA? I'm not having a great time getting more information on their program but I don't have a project pushing for furniture information yet.
I, too, have many difficulties with this. I feel that furniture manufacturers in particular make this credit difficult to document. I am working with a furniture manufacturer directly, right now, to document this credit for their own showroom, and despite multiple letters, examples, conversations, and it being in their particular best interest in this specific case, it's like hitting my head against a brick wall.
It's particularly frustrating given how simple a concept this is. Many other product manufacturers are very bad at only listing on their environmental documents "will contribute to MRc5 if the project is within 500 miles of the manufacturing facility"....while never actually providing any information, even an address, of where that facility is... And yet, some companies in other industries, such as Armstrong, have it down so pat that you can generate a custom project letter to document their product's compliance in a matter of moments.
Unfortunately, furniture comprises far too much of an ID+C project budget, particularly modern benching and open office environments, to not continue to soldier painfully on.
For Assemblies - What is the Location of Extraction?
My client has a chair which was manufactured within 500 miles of the project site. The chair is composed of foam (5%), plastic (2%), wood (13%) and steel (80%) by weight.
The steel is sourced from a company in Toronto that makes steel furniture frames (within 500 miles of project site). The Toronto company purchases steel bars from a company in Ontario (not within 500 miles of project site). The Ontario company gets their steel from a quarry/recycling plant in Alberta (not within 500 miles of project site).
It is my understanding that LEED only cares about the manufacturing location and the location that the manufactured materials have come from (the previous location.) LEED does not track more than two levels of where materials come from. There is no clear guidance I can find on which of the three locations listed above (Toronto, Ontario or Alberta) should be considered to be the extraction location.
Based on your experience, is this chair 80% extracted within 500 miles of the project site or not?
Regional Materal Credit - Furniture
Do I need to document new furniture as an assembly when trying to acheive regional credit?
Mark, you do, depending on the derivation of the components and which option you are going for under this credit.
Documenting assemblies under MRc5 Regional Materials
See Techinical advice from USGBC. I am not clear on how to document this as evrything I list in the spread sheet impacts other credits.
COMMENT: Several products include a value less than 100 in the % Reg data field. This appears to be an attempt to document an assembly when only a portion of the raw materials have been extracted regionally. Products in question include: Versa Bond Thin Set Mortar, Poly Blend Grout and Caulk, Certain Teed Insulation, Oldcastle Concrete Pavers, M and S Machine Stainless Steel Benches, and Shaw Carpets.
TECHNICAL ADVICE:
Revise the Form as necessary to ensure that assemblies have been documented correctly. If some, but not all the raw materials were extracted regionally, then the product is considered to be an assembly and documenting#credit compliance must be accomplished using two lines on the form.; The sum of the cost between the two lines must equal the total cost of the product. One line will include the percentage of the cost that was both manufactured and extracted regionally. The other line will include the percentage of the cost that was only manufactured regionally. The applicable percentage will be indicated in the % Reg data field for each line.
This is the vendor letter for this product:
The CBP product VersaBond- Gray for the above referenced project has 20% post
consumer recycled content and 0% pre-consumer content. (LEED Credit MR4)
This product is manufactured in Lithia Springs, GA which is approximately 203 miles from the project. (LEED Credit MR5 - Extract I Process I Manufacture within 500 miles from the project).
The following table outlines the raw materials that make up this product that are extracted within 500 miles of the project.
Raw Material
Within 500 Miles from Project Percentage of Product
Extracted Regionally
Portland Cement Yes 35%
Sand Yes 45%
Total % within 500 miles 80%
The VOC content ofVersaBond is 0 g/L which complies with Rule 1168 of Californi a's South Coast Air Quality Management District's Volatile Organic Compmmds (VOC) limits, which are the mandatory requirements set by U.S. Green Building Council 's LEED program's Indoor Environmental Quality category, IEQ 4.1.
Mark,
I'm not completely sure what you're asking... but I'll take a shot anyway.
I would list the VersaBond product as one product, not an assembly and fill in the recycled content as 20% and the regional materials content as 80%. (Although I'm a bit confused about the "table" listed as 35% and 45%, then total 80%. I assume that those numbers do not mean that the portland cement has 35% recycled content, but rather that whatever the recycling content percentage is, portland cement makes up 35% of it.)
location info source
Very simple question:
What should I write in the "Location Info Source" column of the template: the location of manufacture extraction, the info source or the location of the info source?
Thanks!!!
The info source.
Sealant field applied by HVAC Contractor
Should sealantsA sealant has adhesive properties and is formulated primarily to fill, seal, or waterproof gaps or joints between 2 surfaces. Sealants include sealant primers and caulks. (SCAQMD Rule 1168. )Sealants are used on wood, fabric, paper, corrugated paperboard, plastic foam and other materials with tiny openings, often microscopic, that may absorb or discharge gas or fluid. that are field applied by the HVAC Contractor be included in the MR credits? Does the sealant fall under Div. 7 or is it considered a Mechanical component, and thus cannot be included for the MR credits?
Since the HVAC engineer specifies this, the product is not in Div 3 - 10 and should now show up in your MRc5 calculations. The sealantsA sealant has adhesive properties and is formulated primarily to fill, seal, or waterproof gaps or joints between 2 surfaces. Sealants include sealant primers and caulks. (SCAQMD Rule 1168. )Sealants are used on wood, fabric, paper, corrugated paperboard, plastic foam and other materials with tiny openings, often microscopic, that may absorb or discharge gas or fluid. applied inside the building will definately show up in your IEQ c 4 credits.
Can anyone else confirm that Susan is correct? My LEED Consultant does not share the same opinion.
Marie:
I agree with Susan. These should show up under IEQc4.1 but be excluded from MRc5. I would think it's such a small amount of material that it wouldn't have any significant impact (positive or negative) on your MR credits.
Documentation Word of Caution
I may just have a bad reviewer, but I wanted to warn people starting the process so they don't end up in the same situation as myself. For this credit we provided the required spreadsheet with all the applicable information and cut sheets for at least 20% of the items (we did 100% just be to sure) as is stated here and just about everywhere else. It appears this is insufficient for some reviewers. This was the comment I received back from the reviewer:
"TECHNICAL ADVICE: Please provide documentation confirming the products listed above have been manufactured within 500 miles of the project site. Provide an affidavit from the manufacturer stating that the product was manufactured within 500 miles of the project site. Alternatively, provide supporting documentation such as a map with a 500 mile radius around the project site, showing the locations of manufacture stated in the provided documentation are within 500 miles of the project site."
This is the first I've heard of an affidavit being required and personnally, I'm not sure what the difference between a spec sheet stating our item is manufacturered in X city with the distance calculated in the official spreadsheet and a map showing the same thing is, but so it goes.
Relocating Furniture
Hello,
I am working on a LEED CI project and we are reusing most of the furniture at the new office location. The distance between new and the previous office is with in 500 miles. As we are reusing the furniture can we have attempted MRc3.2 and the calculations are projecting to be more than 35%. My question is if we can use this furniture for MRc5 calulcations as well.
Sheela, you can count the furniture in that situation, yes.
I have a similar question, but it has to do with Division 11 food service equipment, which is typically excluded from these credits. But it is common for certain stainless tables, etc., and/or used equipment that is still good to be refurbished and relocated into a remodeled kitchen. Since some of this equipment can be very expensive, and the re-use of stainless is sustainable, would this potentially qualify for an ID/Exemplary ? Thanks.
Suzanne, let's distinguish ID and EP (exemplary performanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements.). The latter is based on exceeding the given credit requirements. Since this Div. 11 stuff falls outside of that, that's clearly not a choice here.
As an ID point, I think there is some potential, but I don't know of any specific precedent here. I would review our IDc1 pages and comments for more discussion of how to successfully do an ID point.
Components to be included in the calculations for MRc5
Should lighting be included in the calculations? It is neither a Division 12 component, nor a construction material. However, p.256 of CI Ref.Guide includes "Ceiling light fixtures" in the sample spreadsheet.
Sprinklers should not be included in calculations, as they are a part of mechanical system, right?
What CSI Master Format division numbers are to be included in this calculation?
Thanks in advance!
Diana, MF divisions 3 through 10, and 31 and 32 are to be included. I don't know why light fixtures show up on that example—they shouldn't. Sprinklers would also be MEP, and not included.
Thank you, Tristan! Hope next version of the CI Ref.Guide will be more clear on this.
MRc5 Metal Stud... Assembly? Reused Furniture Manftr AND Extrxn?
In review comments recently received by our team for a LEED-CI Retail project, the following portions have confused us:
1. "Products from _____ vendor... have the same extraction and manufacture distance. It is not clear that the products would be extracted and manufactured from the same location."
This comment is in reference to furniture that is 100% reused, relocated from one of the client's existing office locations. None of these items were purchased new for the project, however, a price quote from the original vendor was provided as a value reference to help calculate the % of reused furniture.
Are we incorrect to list both the manufactured and extraction location as the identical address of the previous office where the furniture was located?
2. "Several of the materials appear to be assemblies and the individual raw components of the product are not separated by the weight of the material (.... Metal Stud, Ceiling Frame...)"
We understand that we must separate the listed assemblies now within our documentation, but both our metal studs and ceiling frame (grid between ACT) are all metal materials.
Are we supposed to provide an assembly breakdown for a metal stud?
Any guidance would be appreciated!
Jason, I may be missing something, but I would have thought that this credit was documented properly based on what you describe.
Jason, according to the LEED 2009 ID+C Reference Guide (pg 255), “Use the location from which [the reused and salvaged materials] were salvaged as the point of extraction, and use the location of the salvaged goods vendor as the point of manufacture.” Based on this information, you will need to revise the manufacture distance listed on the template to the location of the vendor. It may be worth providing the language from the Reference Guide in your response to the GBCI reviewer.
In response to your 2nd question, you do not need to breakdown the assembly of a metal stud. The assembly needs to be broken down into subcomponents only (using the weight of the component elements). In a ceiling assembly this would be ceiling frame, ceiling tiles, etc.
To avoid an appeal, you may wish to contact your GBCI review team directly by clicking on the Feedback link in LEED Online. Be sure to specify the project name and ID number.
Thank you both for your input.
We have revised the re-used furniture manufacturing and extraction distances as you've suggested.
However - for the metal studs and the ceiling frame, these items are all metal. The ceiling frame is listed separately from the ceiling tiles as you've mentioned. We have already used the contact links within LEED online to submit this question to our reviewers, but have received zero response in over a week.
We will just have to move forward with the metal items (non-assemblies) and hope for the best.
Hi Jason,
Did you use the "message" system within LEED-Online v3 to communicate with your review team? Because I recently tried this, waited a week, recieved no response, sent an email to the review team from my work email and got a response the same day.
So I'd suggest contacting them with the email address you'll find in the message center from you're own email if you've waited longer than a week. Hope this helps!
Stones
I was wondering how to determine the regionality of stones as granites, marbles and others. These kind of material chain is composed of at least 3 suppliers, begining 1st with the extraction supplier, who takes huges stones blocks in one state (most of them more than 500 miles). After the extraction, a 2nd supplier from another state buys this block and cut it in various slices (sometimes more, other not than 500 miles). And finally a 3rd supplier processes the slices to fit in our project needs (shape, size, roughness, others). This 3rd supplier is always within 500miles from the project.
The question is:
1) as we buy the produtc from the 3rd supplier that is regional, I understand that the product is manufactured regionally. Do you agree that this interpretation is correct?
2) About extraction, as there are 2 other suppliers I understand that I can only consider regionality if both (extraction 1st and process 2nd) are within 500 miles. Is that correct?
Thank you
Juliana, it sounds to me like this product is manufactured but not extracted regionally. That would allow you to get partial credit under CI MRc5.
Cut Sheets with % Local vs. Assembly Calculations
My question is for 2.0, but I think the content is still relevant to 2009.
We have been asked to provide calculations for how the raw materials were determined for some products and told to reference the assemblies’ information from MRc4 to do so. Manufacturers’ letters or cut sheets have also been requested.
The documentation for these products states that xx% was manufactured (or extracted) within 500 miles. Is this sufficient? Also, the credit asks for product cost but not material cost. If 98% of the product was extracted locally, do I input the whole cost towards the credit or just 98% of the cost? Thanks!
G, the following instructions from the LEED Online form for the 2009 version of this credit should answer your questions, I think:
"In lieu of exact distances, estimated distances may be used. If estimated distances are used, upload the manufacturer's letter stating that the material/
product was manufactured and/or extracted/recovered/harvested within 500 miles of the project site. For items that are regionally manufactured but only partially regionally extracted, split the material/product into two rows. Determine the cost for each row using the percentage by weight of each regional criterion."
Document Checklist
Can we use the forms attached in document checklist for tracking purposes?
Sheela, yes, that is their intended purpose. Note that you will need to copy the data into the LEED Online form when you upload it, but the spreadsheet gives you a convenient way to track compliance prior to the LEED Online documentation phase.
Documentation- No Extraction Location Data
I may have missed this but, what does the project team input in the template if there is no extraction data provided from the manufacturer but they have the manufacturing distance and wish to apply that product for the manufacturering portion of the credit? Do you have to supply distances for materials that you are not counting toward the credit but show up in the template because you applied them in the recycled content credit that is linked? The same lack of extraction data question applies to this instance as well.
We simply enter 501 miles and had never had a problem with it. Problem solved.
Thanks! I will advise my contractor to do this for our current project.
IDC Material and Resource Calculator (June 2011).xls
In June 2011, a new credit template upload requirement was added, the USGBC version of the materials data spreadsheet. We're running into a problem when we try to add more rows to the spreadsheet using the ADD MATERIAL macro. I've tried it on several different computers (albeit all running Microsoft Excel 2007) and we keep getting a Run-Time Error "1004". Anyone else getting this?
Alternatively, does anyone have the password to this spreadsheet so that we can add more lines manually?
I am having the same issue. Any progress?
Are you each selecting the "enable macros" option when you open the spreadsheet?
I am trying to evaluate the new v4 forms but I cannot find out where to download the Material and Resource Calculator. Anyone?
% Regional
For this credit the form has three columns -
Column 1 - % Regional
Colum 2 - Extraction Miles
Column 3 - Manufactured miles
We are not going for the regionally extracted point only the regionally manufactuered point. What is the % Regional credit for? How do you calulate the % Regional?
Beth, the % regional input indicates the portion of the given product/material that you are calling "Regional." If the whole product is considered regional, it's 100%. If half of it is from the region, and half is not, it's 50%. Regional is then broken down by extraction and/or mfr. location.
We have had the same problem with the %. But when we split the costs based on the % contributing the calulation seemed to make more sense.
MRc5- Regional EXTRACTED
On the LEED-online template- there is a small note at the bottom of the table that reads "For items that are regionally manufactured but only partially regionally extracted, split the material/product into two rows. Determine the cost for each row using the percentage by weight of each regional criterion." It seems to me that if you have a product that is 100% regionally manufactured, and 50% regionally extracted, that the cost of the total materials will become skewed, if you have to plug in 100% percent of the cost on one line, and 50% of the cost again in a second row for the same material. Can someone please explain to me how they have properly documented material that fall within this context of full contribution to manufactured and partial contribution to extracted?
I think there's a method behind the madness...
On one line the material cost is counting toward Option 1 of MRc5. On the other line the material cost is counting toward Option 2. So you're not double-counting the cost because it's basically going toward different requirements.
Tristan, it would help if the sample in the Toolkit demonstrated this split entry (i.e. use a harvest distance beyond 500 miles) approach because it just seems like the template is programmed to auto-sum entries and is not able to ignore duplicate entries of items which would skew the overall materials value total. Thanks again LEEDuser for clarifying grey LEED matter, John
John, I don't totally follow you.... I don't see that the template wants you to duplicate entries. Just enter each item once and it calculates individual sums for extraction and manufacturing distance. The template correctly gives credit for an item that is manfactured but not extracted regionally. Make sense?
I am having the same problem with the LEED Online template. My example is building insulation 100% manufactured within 500 miles but only 78% extracted within 500 miles. So I broke it into 2 rows on the form with the first one filled out 100% and the number of miles and the second one 78% and number of miles. The problem is that the form is double counting in the totals. So my total is giving 100x(cost) plus 78x(cost) in both columns. Should I address this with LEED Online directly? How do I do that?
Opp, just found the feedback link. I will update here if I get a response.
I don't understand this issue. There are separate columns for extracted and manufactured difference, so you can enter that data separately without having to duplicate the item. Maybe I'm missing something, though, if both of you see this same issue.
There seems to be a problem with the online form. When I submitted it to LEED I received the following response:
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The issue you have described will be addressed in the newest version of the form. Please use the attached spreadsheet to document compliance with MRc5. "
I am happy to share the form if it is permitted. (It's an Excel file)
James, I'd love to take a look at the MRc5 spreadhseet the reviewer provided you since we have had a problem with this credit calcs also-- my email is jalbrecht@nelsononline.com. Thanks, John
Here's a recent feedback from GBCi on our problem with the MRc5 template:
"Thank you for the message regarding the issues you received when trying to use the LEED CI MRc5 form for project # ......
Issue:
I see in the MR cr5 form that the regional values should be broken up into separate line items for those that have less extracted value than mfg value. No matter what way I slice it, I cannot get the totals to calculate correctly. .... By splitting up the regional quantities, the total materials budget becomes skewed and therefore depletes the recycled content values. Please provide explanation, with detail and examples, or how we might use this form. OR
Provide a new form with the Regional extraction values calculating correctly. OR Please let us know if we can simply submit our own form.
Response:
The issue you have described has been addressed in the newest version of the form. While this version has not yet been released, we recommend that you wait until the fixed form becomes available to submit for review. We anticipate that the fixed form will be available in 8-12 weeks. If, however, it is not feasible for you to wait until this form is released, please simply use the special circumstances section of your current form to indicate any issues/workarounds. When creating your project-specific documentation, please use the table below as an example.
For Option 1, whatever percentage of the cost which meets Option 1 counts for Option 1. For Option 2, whatever percentage of the cost meets Option 1 AND Option 2 counts toward Option 2. For example, if 50% was manufactured within 500 miles and 50% of this quantity was also extracted within 500 miles, then you may only count 50% of the cost of the 50% which was manufactured within 500 miles (see table below).
[sorry but the sample table would not copy well into this box] Option 1 Option 2
Item Material Cost % Regional Manufacture Distance Option 1 Sustainable Criteria Value % Regionally Mfr that is also Regionally Extr. Extraction Distance Option 2 Sustainable Criteria Value
(miles) (miles)
Paneling $1,000.00 50% 400 $500.00 50% 75 $250.00
Total Materials Cost $1,000.00 % of Total 50% % of Total 25%
We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your continued patience, Bess"
This feedback helped us out of a puzzling situation and maybe others will appreciate it too.
LEED Customer Service
U.S. Green Building Council
1.800.795.1747 | www.usgbc.org
The text above represents a staff opinion of a particular issue, and does NOT set any precedent to be upheld during a LEED Certification Review. For questions about the LEED Certification process, please contact GBCI at www.gbci.org/ContactUs. Get the latest must-have LEED news. Subscribe to LEED Update, a quarterly e-newsletter from USGBC and GBCI.
Reused furniture from old office
Hello,
I am working on a few LEED-CI projects that are reusing furniture from an older (nearby) office to use in their new office. I believe this to be a very sustainable effort that deserves credit from LEED.
The Reference Guide seems to allude to the ability to obtain credit for reused items by stating that: "Reused and salvaged materials that satisfy the requirements of MR Credit 3 may also contribute to MR Credit 5. Use the location from which they were salvaged as the point of extraction, and use the location of the salvaged goods vendor as the point of manufacture." This language kind-of confuses me. Our salvaged goods are coming from our old office and not a recycled goods vendor.
In the case where we have the office furniture coming from an old office that is 7 miles away can we count that 7 miles as the "manufacturing location"? The furniture originally was purchased from a vendor over 2,000 miles away so I'd assume that we'd call the 2,000 miles the "extraction location"? In LEED-CI projects, one point may be obtained by having 20% of your material cost come from products that are manufactured locally and so I am hoping that the furniture helps with that one point.
I feel like that the approach I describe meets the intent of the credit but I don't think this exactly meets the way the credit is written.
Anyone else experience this situation?
Thanks,
Lauren
Since you are not buying the salvaged goods through a middle-man, the location of the office building from which you are salvaging them should be considered the point of extraction AND manufacture. Your method, while more conservative, doesn't fit the language of the credit and actually penalizes you needlessly.
Thanks Patrick.
Have you taken this approach before on another project? You're basically saying that I should list the manufacturing and extraction location as the distance from the old office to the new office?
Correct:
"Use the location from which they were salvaged as the point of extraction" - They are salvaged from your existing building (7 miles away)
"Use the location of the salvaged goods vendor as the point of manufacture" - They are coming directly from the old office and not through an intermediate warehouse or distributor (7 miles away)
We are working on a CI project right now that has a very similar situation and this is the approach we are taking. The tenant is relocating from another building just a few blocks away and reusing most of their existing systems furnitureSystems furniture includes panel-based workstations comprising modular interconnecting panels, hang-on components, and drawer and filing components or a free-standing grouping of furniture items designed to work in concert.. I'll let you know if we run into any issues during our review...
Hi Patrick/Lauren,
Just wanted to know if you guys had any comments back from GBCI on your apporach mentioned above?
Hi Patrick and Lauren,
I am also working on a project in a similar situation (re-using furniture from the same location as the project). Was your approach to 'extraction and manufacturing' points for re-used furniture outlined above accepted during review? Thanks,
Pat
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