CS-2009 MRc5: Regional Materials

  • NC CS Schools MRc5 Type3 Local Mat Diagram

  • Multiple options for "regional"

    Regional materials are those that are extracted, harvested, and manufactured within a certain distance of your project site.

    How far, exactly? Historically LEED has used a 500-mile radius to define regional products, but that made it difficult or impossible for coastal or remote regions to pursue this credit. A July 2012 LEED addendum added a more flexible approach, and now MRc5 offers two options to LEED 2009 projects:

    • Option 1: The old familiar option, uses a simple 500-mile radius from the site for both extraction and manufacturing distance.
    • Option 2: This new option allows you to do a prorated calculation based on the lower relative impact of shipping materials by rail or water. Calculate a 500 mile (800 km) total travel distance to the project site using a weighted average. Distance by rail can be divided by 3; distance by inland waterway by 2, and distance by sea by 15.

    The Option 2 credit calculation is much more complicated, and finding the necessary information could be a lot of work. It will be a most effective option for projects that really need to earn the credit, and can ideally focus their calculations on a handful "big ticket" items—see below. However, projects can choose either option on a per-product basis, so they don't need to commit to just one or the other.

    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.

    500-mile radius map, NYCThe 500-mile radius is big enough to cover a lot of ground, but depending on your location, can be tough to work with. Seeing the radius on a map can help quickly assess the product areas where you might have better luck.

    The 500-mile radius is big enough to cover a lot of ground, but depending on your location, can be tough to work with. Seeing the radius on a map can help quickly assess the product areas where you might have better luck.

    “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. 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. This strategy has the benefit of reducing the number of items you need to track and document.

    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.

  • FAQs for MRc5

    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.

    We are pursuing IEQc4.5 as an ID credit. Are we thus required to include the cost of furniture in MRc3–7?

    No. See 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. #3901 for additional information.

    What if different parts of a product are manufactured at different locations?

    All steps of the manufacturing process must be within the required distance in order for the product to qualify. If the product meets this requirement, you must list the manufacture location farthest from the project site as the “manufacture distance” for the material.

    What is the purpose of the newly added Option 2? Can I pursue both options?

    Option 2, which originated as an Alternative Compliance Path for non-U.S. projects, but which is available to all projects, allows a material to come from a farther distance than 500 miles if it reaches the site by more fuel-efficient modes of transportation (ship and rail).

    The two options are available to be used on the basis of an individual product or material, so you can mix and match as needed.

    How do we account for materials using the new Option 2 equation?

    The new equation is embedded in the BD&C Materials and Resource Calculator. The calculator has a spot for materials that comply using the standard 500-mile radius (Option 1), and a spot for those that comply using the weighted average calculation (Option 2). See LEEDuser's Documentation Toolkit tab for a copy of the calculator.

    With steel and aluminum products, why do I often get review comments questioning why my extraction distance is the same as my manufacture distance?

    Unless the manufacture location (steel mill, steel coil producer, aluminum extrusion/fabrication facility, etc.) contains a recycling facility, scrap yard, depository, ore mine, or some kind of collection point on-site, it is very unlikely that the manufacture and extraction distances are the same.

Legend

  • Best Practices
  • Gotcha
  • Action Steps
  • Cost Tip

Schematic Design

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  • Flooring from salvaged woodLook 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. 

  • Denver area 500-mile radiusThe 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.

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. 

  • Include in your new wood materials baseline budget the material cost (excluding labor) of all new wood items that apply under CSI Master Spec 2004 Format Divisions 3–10, 31.60 Foundations, 32.10 Paving, 32.30 Site Improvements, and 32.90 Planting. Division 12 Furniture is optional. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing and equipment costs are excluded. (See Resources for Master Spec information.) 

  • 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.

  • A default budget is useful if you don’t want to break out the cost of materials and labor separately. 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%.

  • 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. 

  • You can alternatively use the actual materials budget (excluding labor) of all materials purchased in the applicable CSI categories.  

  • How do you decide whether to use the actual material budget or the default budget as your baseline? The lower you can get the baseline, the easier it is to purchase enough regional material to reach the credit threshold. For example, a project that is renovating an existing building will have low material costs and high labor costs. It might be better for this project to use the actual budget as the 45% default may bring the baseline too high.

  • How do you know how many regional materials you need to incorporate into your project? Look at the baseline material budget. Determine how much you want to spend on regional materials. Ten percent of the budget cost will give the project one point and 20% will give the project two points. Go through the project’s preliminary budget and identify specific items that are manufactured and harvested/extracted locally. Do these items add up to the amount needed to get one or two points?  

  • Include a cushion for this credit, in case of changes in design and purchasing. For example, if you are counting on points for using 20% regional materials, plan for 30% of your budget to be spent on regional materials to avoid coming up short.

  • Using the estimated budget to integrate regional materials into the design and specs early on can help prevent costly change orders during construction. 

  • Use your estimated budget as a guide throughout the project. Many projects fail to earn this credit because they wait until all the materials are purchased before doing the credit calculations.

  • Focus on “big ticket” items when seeking materials to meet regional purchasing requirements. If you can find regional materials like structural steel and concrete, these more expensive materials will go a long way toward meeting the required percentage of your materials budget. This approach allows you to Iimit the overall number of items you need to track and document, reducing contractor headaches. If these big-ticket items do not get you to the threshold you’re trying to meet, target medium-priced items next until you reach your goal.

  • A single product or material can contribute to multiple credits. For example, a chair made both locally and with recycled materials contributes to MRc5 as well as MRc4. Focusing on products and materials with multiple environmental attributes can also limit the overall number of items that must be tracked. 

  • Product manufacturers may not have extraction information readily available. Allow for time in your process to research this information.

  • The location of final assembly is considered the “manufacturing location.” Extraction locations are determined by the location from which the raw material was sourced. 

  • Products salvaged on site can count the site as the manufacturing and extraction location.

  • Look at product cut sheets and manufacturing data to determine whether a product contains regional materials.

  • Assemblies

  • When a product is made of multiple materials that are manufactured and extracted in different locations, or only part of the product can count as regional, use these special considerations.

  • The cost value for the LEED calculation is determined by weight as a percentage of the total. For example, a $100 piece of casework assembled locally contains 20% wood, and 80% marble, by weight, but only the wood was harvested and manufactured locally. Even though the piece of casework was manufactured and assembled locally, only $20 of the casework would contribute to this credit as being both manufactured and harvested locally.

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

  • Salvaged or Reused Material, and Recycled Content

  • Follow special considerations for products that are salvaged or reused or have recycled content.

  • Use the vendor or salvage location in place of the manufacturing location for salvaged, reused, or refurbished materials. Use the location from which the vendor salvaged the material in place of extraction location.

  • If a material is salvaged onsite and reused again onsite, you can count the site as both the manufacturing and extraction location. For example, parking lot concrete might be ground up and reused as infill on the same site.

  • Use replacement costs of salvaged materials (rather than actual costs) for all LEED materials calculations. For example, if you received free filing cabinets from a local office rehab you would use the cost of what you might spend on a filing cabinet if you had to replace the free one. This can work to your advantage, since the cost of used cabinets would probably be lower.

  • 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.

  • The actual budget method can be more time-consuming for the contractor because it requires tracking the actual costs of all materials purchased, even those in the applicable CSI divisions that do not necessarily contribute to LEED credits.

  • Include in your new wood materials baseline budget the material cost (excluding labor) of all new wood items that apply under CSI Master Spec 1995 Format Divisions 2–10. Division 12 Furniture is optional. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing and equipment costs are excluded. (See Resources for Master Spec information.)

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.

  • Incorporate regional product requirements into individual construction specifications.

  • For guidance and sample specification language for incorporating LEED specifications into construction documents, see MasterSpec, or the Whole Building Design Guide. (See Resources.)

  • Incorporating the LEED requirements directly into the drawings as well as into 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 the specific materials. The contractor will appreciate not having to fill out forms for materials that are not local, 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 product manufacturers that you have verified as producers of locally manufactured and extracted items. This will help save research time for the contractors.

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

  • Carefully review manufacturer data. Don’t pay attention to vague claims such as “Our product will give you a regional LEED point” when in truth it will only contribute to the credit. No matter what the manufacturer claims, you’ll still need to ask for manufacturing and extraction locations.

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.

  • For any materials not yet specified, research the availability of additional regional materials before construction begins to ensure that the project earns this credit. If product decisions are made after construction begins, there may be less time to review data sheets carefully 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.  

  • Streamline documentation and research by taking data gathered from subs via the Environmental Materials 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, certified wood information for MRc7, and information about adhesives installed on site for IEQc4.1. If one spreadsheet collects all the data, it can streamline your documentation, associated research, and help with quality control. Use the Materials Calculator spreadsheet in the Documentation Toolkit.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Even if you use the default budget method for your baseline material budget, you  have to break out the actual cost of materials you are tracking for LEED.  

  • 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 regional procurement recommendations and incorporate the recommendations into a purchasing policy. This will contribute to EBOM 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 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

    Use building materials or products that have been extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured, within a specified distance of the project site for a minimum of 10% or 20%, based on cost, of the total materials value. If only a fraction of a product or material is extracted, harvested, or recovered and manufactured locally, then only that percentage (by weight) must contribute to the regional value. The minimum percentage regional materials for each point threshold is as follows:

    Regional Materials Points
    10% 1
    20% 2


    Option 1

    All building materials or products have been extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured within a 500 mile (800 kilometer) radius of the project site.

    OR

    Option 2

    Building materials or products shipped by rail or water have been extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured 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]

    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 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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Concrete Tracking

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

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."

Construction Submittal

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

16 Comments

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Michael E. Edmonds-Bauer Edmonds International
Feb 25 2013
LEEDuser Member
76 Thumbs Up

Whose invoice is necesary?

We have a situation with a contractor and a manufacturer.

There is one manufacturer of steel bars in Mexico.

This manufacturer is selling steel bars to our "soil stabilization contractor".

Because of contractural agreements this "soil stabilization contractor" is "re selling" to the construction management company the steel bars he bought previously from the manufacturer and will not provide the manufactures invoices, instead the "soil stabilization contractor" is providing its own invoice to the construction management and this invoice includes only material supply (labor and equipment is not included). Will this invoice be taken by GBCI as proof of material cost? or do we actually need the manufactures invoce?

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Mar 22 2013 LEEDuser Moderator

Michael, that second invoice sounds fine.

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Michael E. Edmonds-Bauer Edmonds International Mar 22 2013 LEEDuser Member 76 Thumbs Up

Thanks Tristan!!

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Michael E. Edmonds-Bauer Edmonds International
Feb 22 2013
LEEDuser Member
76 Thumbs Up

Invoices

I would like to know how we must prove GBCI about materials cost. We are requesting our contractor to provide the following for steel rebars:

1. Signed letter from manufacturer about extraction and manufacturing point
2. All invoices to prove the cost for steel rebars

Will this be sufficient? Does GBCI actualli ask you to provide a copy of all invoices when submitting information for construction review?

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Mar 22 2013 LEEDuser Moderator

You should not have to provide invoices to prove cost for this credit, only cut sheets to prove product attributes.

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Jiri Dobias
Dec 18 2012
LEEDuser Member
452 Thumbs Up

Does water count for MRc4 and MRc5

Does water as a part e.g. of concrete count for MRc4 and MRc5 - which distance should I take - Production - from the prouducer tap and excavateted from the nearest point of river it is taken from?
Thanks!

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Tristan Roberts LEED AP BD+C, Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Dec 18 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

No, this would not be applied.

Post a Reply
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Alicja Florczak Skanska
Sep 28 2012
LEEDuser Member
516 Thumbs Up

product names in the Template

Does anyone know how detailed we should be when filling up the MRc5. Template's table?
I mean, should I write "reinforcement steel", "steel beams", "steel railing" etc. or just "steel"? All of that come from one steel mill that is located closer than 500miles from our project.

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Nadav Malin USGBC LEED Faculty, President, BuildingGreen, Inc. Nov 26 2012 LEEDuser Moderator

You should identify the different types of steel products individually, because that will raise the confidence level of the reviewer that you actually know how much steel you're using and where it came from. If you just lump it all together you're inviting further questions to check up on whether there is real data behind that figure. 

Post a Reply
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Tim Murray Sustainability Director Apollo BBC
Aug 17 2012
LEEDuser Member
170 Thumbs Up

MR Calculator incorrect?

It appears that the BDC Material and Resource Calculator (July 2012) provided under the credit resources incorrectly calculates the Regional Material percentage. It is dividing the Sustainable Materials Cost instead of the Total Materials Cost, giving us a higher percentage than we should be earning. We can correct the formula easily enough, but are we missing something in our interpretation of the credit? I see some debate under LEED CI comments about listing every material in the project based on reviewer's comments and we are only listing materials that contribute to the credits in this database.

Post a Reply
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Magnus Stagnäs Life Cycle Engineer Finnmap Consulting Oy
Nov 15 2011
LEEDuser Member
187 Thumbs Up

Length of supply chain

Sometimes the supply chain from the extraction of virgin material to the complete assembly may be very long and difficult to document. When documenting regional materials, how far do I have to go in the supply chain?

Let's for example consider a manufacturer of precast concrete elements, located within the 500 mile boundary. The factory buys the reinforcement steel from a steel factory, also located within 500 miles. However, the raw material used for making the reinforcement steel is extracted outside of the 500 mile boundary. Does the steel constribute to the regional materials credit in this case?

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

Magnus, in that case the steel does not count. With some exceptions, e.g. for recycled material, LEED really does want you to know where the raw material comes from. With many items this many be a combination of too difficult and not worth it. With big-ticket items it is worth overcoming the difficulty.

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Joaquim Lima
May 04 2011
Guest
206 Thumbs Up

Materials - Core & Shell

Good morning!

my project is classified as Core & Shell, I wonder if the calculations for credit 5 (Materials and Resources) should consider only the materials used in the common areas of the building, or considering I calculate the total material used in the total building .

Thank you.

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

The credit would cover any materials used in the scope of the CS project—not limited to common area materials.

Post a Reply
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Steve Salzman Principal GreenWay Partners
Apr 28 2011
Guest
60 Thumbs Up

LEED Letter template

I am looking for the LEED letter template for CS 2.0 MRc5 (the credit requirements specify that this is necessary in order to capture the credit for the tenant lease/sales option). Is this something from I need to get from LEED CI? Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!

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

Steve, I would request it from GBCI.

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