CS-2009 MRc4: Recycled Content

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  • 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 MRc6: 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. 

  • 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. 

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. 

  • Adding Division 12 Furniture to your baseline materials budget for this credit is optional, but must be applied consistently across MRc3, MRc4, MRc5, MRc6, and MRc7. Analyze the baseline material budget to see if adding Division 12 furniture works to the project’s advantage. Generally, if the furniture helps contribute to the above MR credits it is in a project’s interest to take credit for it—however, it may help with some while making others more difficult.

  • Choose one of two options in creating a baseline budget—the default budget, or the actual budget (excluding labor). The default budget method gives you a baseline materials budget as 45% of your total budget, while the actual budget gives you a baseline based on what you actually spend.

  • The default budget is less time-consuming because the contractor does not have to break out the material and labor costs of items that are not being tracked for LEED credits, allowing the project to focus on tracking only the materials that contribute to LEED credits. You can take the total cost (material plus labor) of all items in the applicable CSI divisions and assume that cost of materials is 45% and labor cost is 55%. However, this option may put the project at a disadvantage in terms of getting full credit for the actual value of materials. 

  • Your budget assumptions should be consistent across MRc3–6. The LEED Online credit form enforces this.

  • Adding Division 12: Furnishings to your baseline materials budget for MRc4 is optional, but must be applied consistently (either included or excluded) across MRc3–6. Analyze the baseline materials budget to see if adding Division 12 works to your project’s advantage. Generally, if the furniture helps contribute to these MR credits, it is in a project’s interest to take credit for it. Most commercial furniture has recycled content. 

  • How do you decide whether to use the actual material cost or the default budget as your baseline? Try estimating how your actual material costs compare to the 45% default. The lower you can get the baseline, the easier it is to purchase enough recycled material to reach the credit threshold. For example, a project that is renovating an existing building may have low material and high labor costs, so it might be better to use the actual budget instead of the default approach.

  • Even if you are using the default budget method, you still have to break out the actual cost (cost excluding labor) of the specific items that you are tracking to contribute toward LEED MR credits.

  • 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?  

  • 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.

  • 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. 

  • 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 MRc6—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. 

  • 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. 

  • Instead of tracking recycled content in everything, focus first on “big ticket” items, materials like concrete, structural steel, masonry products and gypsum board to see if you get enough value from them 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.

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 Core and Shell Development

    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 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 assembly 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, and specialty items such as elevators and equipment cannot be included in this calculation. Include only materials permanently installed in the project. Furniture may be included if it is included consistently in MR Credit 3: Materials Reuse through MR Credit 6: 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..

    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.

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.

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).

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: CS-2009 MR

The following links take you to the public, informational versions of the dynamic LEED Online forms for each CS-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."

18 Comments

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Michael E. Edmonds-Bauer Edmonds International
Jan 02 2013
LEEDuser Member
76 Thumbs Up

Details on letter stating recycling content

I would like to know if someone has some experience with the level of detail the letters from manufactures need to be made. Specialle regarding the source of recycled content.

For example we have a letter that states the following information regarding post and pre consumer recycled content:

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. scrap accounts for approximately 25.6%, while pre-consumer scrap accounts for approximately 6.8%

My question here are the following:

Will this information will be sufficient to comply with credit's reviewers?

Does the letter need to state where the post/pre consumer recycled content come from?

Is it necesary that the letter be for an individual project, or a generic letter will be enough (like a letter saying all of our xxx products have xx% of pre/post recycled content).

We really appreciate anyone's help.

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Michelle Reott LEED AP BD+C, ID+C, Managing Principal, Earthly Ideas LLC Jan 18 2013 LEEDuser Expert 1303 Thumbs Up

Michael - I have not a reviewer question the validity of a letter from a manufacturer. However, it is important that the letter be specific to the manufacturer and not industry wide averages. The information you have seems sufficient to answer the backup the recycled content. I do NOT think that the letter has to state the source of the recycled content (you would need this if you are using the recycled material for MRc5 and therefore need is origin.) I also do NOT think that the letter has to be addressed to your project but instead can reflect the manufacturer’s products with a letter saying all of xxx products have xx% pre/post recycled content.

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Michael E. Edmonds-Bauer Edmonds International Feb 05 2013 LEEDuser Member 76 Thumbs Up

Thank you very much Michelle.

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Michael E. Edmonds-Bauer Edmonds International May 03 2013 LEEDuser Member 76 Thumbs Up

Hello Michelle,

One question. Our project is located in Mexico City in the country of Mexico. All invoices will be in the local currency which is mexican pesos.

We will provide as supporting documentation at the preliminary review a letter from each material supplier indicating the total cost of the material they supplied. However this letter will indicate cost in Mexican pesos.

Currency changes everyday but it keeps at an average of 13 pesos per dollar.

Can we divide the mexican pesos by thirteen and input the result as the material cost? or is there any other acceptable way to provide this number?

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Michelle Reott LEED AP BD+C, ID+C, Managing Principal, Earthly Ideas LLC May 03 2013 LEEDuser Expert 1303 Thumbs Up

Michael - I wanted to first just note that providing the letters from your suppliers regarding costs is not a requirement. It's good to have it as backup but I would suggest just having the letters available if there is a question from your review team about costs. My philosophy is to only provide required documentation. You could mention in a narrative text box that you have this information to support your costs though.

Regarding your specific question, I checked the LEED Certification Policy Manual (http://www.usgbc.org/sites/default/files/LEED_Certification_Policy_Manua...) and could not find anything that addresses your question. It does outline that English must be used and that units of measurement must be Imperial Units - but there is no mention of cost. Looking at the BDC Material and Resource Calculator, I wonder if you can just leave everything in pesos because your % recycled will be calculated correctly using pesos in the numerator and denominator of the fraction.

Does anyone have experience with international projects and currency conversions that can confirm my statement above or help Michael directly?

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Michael E. Edmonds-Bauer Edmonds International May 15 2013 LEEDuser Member 76 Thumbs Up

Hi again Michelle!!

We submitted this same question to GBCI via "feedback" through LEED online.

This is the response we get:

"Thank you for contacting the Green Building Certification Institute. Note that MRc5 - Regional Materials is earned based on a percentage requirement. Therefore leaving the currency in Mexican pesos should not cause an issue in regards to credit compliance as the percentage would be the same before and after the currency conversion.

I hope that helps, but if you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to use the contact form at http://www.gbci.org/contactus and select "Follow up to GBCI Response," inputting your case number from this email's subject line."

So currency is not an issue for this credit documentation. We wanted to share this and hope can be helpful for other in other countries with a different currency than US dollars.

Thank you very much.

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Michelle Reott LEED AP BD+C, ID+C, Managing Principal, Earthly Ideas LLC May 15 2013 LEEDuser Expert 1303 Thumbs Up

Michael - Thanks for this update directly from GBCI! It is great when LEEDuser members post responses that can help other teams.

And I'm glad my thought on the use of pesos was right on...

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Alicja Florczak Skanska
Sep 27 2012
LEEDuser Member
510 Thumbs Up

different concrete classes

Not sure how it looks in the US, but in Europe we have different concrete classes depending on its strength and - what goes along with that - different material ratio. Therefore, concrete class C20/25 can have different recycled content than concrete class C30/37.

If we used many different concrete classes on our project (as probably every project does), shall we ask our supplier to specify recycled content for every single class, or he can just give us the average percent for a typical concrete mix?

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

Alicja, I would say that if you can't get specific recycled content for each mix, then you'll risk not providing enough documentation to satisfy the LEED review.

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Angela Saggin
Apr 19 2012
Guest
226 Thumbs Up

Assembly Recycled Content

Hi!

I was reading about the assembly recycled contentAssembly recycled content is the percentage of material in a product that is either postconsumer or preconsumer recycled content. It is determined by dividing the weight of the recycled content by the overall weight of the assembly. and I didn't quite get it. Using a window as an example, here we can buy the aluminium frame and the glass separately. Should we consider both as one piece and use the calculation for assembly recycled content? Or can we analyse each material as one?

Thanks!

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Emily Catacchio Sustainability Specialist, Wight and Company Apr 26 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

For this example, I believe, you would analyze the window as an assembly.

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Eeshoo Rehani Sustainablity Coordinator LRS Architects, Inc
Dec 21 2011
Guest
31 Thumbs Up

Aggregating data

One LEED site boundary has two individual LEED projects that are under construction under one contract by the same GC. Would it be acceptable to aggregate the data for MRc4 and MRc5 documentation for the two LEED projects? Both projects are registered under CS 2.0

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

Eeshoo, I am split on this question. On the one hand, it makes sense in terms of your project's process. On the other hand, I could see the reviewer being concerned that you aren't able to verify that the buildings on an individual basis meet the requisite thresholds. I wonder if there is any way to show in your documentation that the sustainable materials are allocated evenly between the projects?

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Sara Neff Director, Sustainability Programs Kilroy Realty Corporation
Apr 21 2011
Guest
500 Thumbs Up

Project Costs

Hello, I have a question about construction costs to calculate the recycled content value of my LEED project. The project scope involves both an office building, which we are LEED certifying, and a parking garage, which will not be certified but will be used to calculate credits like Heat Island-Nonroof. Do the costs associated with the work in the parking garage count toward the total amount of the construction costs, or can those be excluded?

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

Sara, is the parking garage within the LEED boundary? It sounds like it is, and it sounds like it will be part of the LEED-certified project. I would include it in materials costs.

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Zsolt Gyongyosi
Jun 09 2010
LEEDuser Member
34 Thumbs Up

Reinforcing steel

Upon my request the reinforcing steel manufacturer submitted the following information:
"All of our products are produced to 100% from recycled scrap. Additionally you have to take into account personal wages and row materials like alloys, gas, oxygen and electricity. We estimate the value part of recycled material (scrap) is 50% of total value."
Later I found out that the value of the recycled part is 48% and the alloys is 2% while additional costs (wages,gas,oxygen,electricity) are 50% of the total value.
How can I calculate the recycled content according to the these?

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Jun 10 2010 LEEDuser Moderator

You calculate this based on the cost value of what you are paying for. If you're paying $100 for steel, and it's 100% recycled content, you can count $100 toward this credit. You don't need to get into the manufacturer's costs at all. Just your costs, and the % recycled content.

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shashank jain Environmental Analyst , BDSP Partnership Jun 14 2012 Guest 52 Thumbs Up

The scrap in the reinforced steel went through the same process as would a virgin steel go in order to make the reinforcemet bar...

do you still count it towards recycled content.

LEED says that it should have not gone through the same process of manufacturing right ???

Thanks

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