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Lots of menu options…
This credit requires your project to demonstrate that at least 25% (by cost) of food and beverage purchases during the performance period meet any of the following standards and criteria:
- Produced within a 100-mile radius of the site
- USDA Certified Organic
- Food Alliance Certified
- Rainforest Alliance Certified
- Protected Harvest Certified
- Fair Trade
- Marine Stewardship Council’s Eco-Label
You can double the value of a purchase in your credit calculations if it meets one of the sustainability standards and is regionally produced. Projects located in regions with significant agricultural activity may have an easier time meeting the credit requirements using the regional option.
…But they may be tough...
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27 Comments
Does beer count?
I'm working on a project within 75 miles of the Anheiser Busch brewery. If 25% of their sales are AB products will that count?
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC Mar 24 2010
"Less filling, tastes great, sustainable"?
Yes, you can definitely to do this. Keep in mind that the 25% threshold is or all food and beverage purchases together, so you don't have to buy it all in beer. Beer and local pretzels? Do they make organic beer at that plant? Double credit.
Chris Nixon replied Manager, Sustainable Solutions, BRSC Mar 24 2010
Thanks Tristan. It's something to think about. I'll work the numbers.
John Ida replied President, Urban Works, Inc. Jun 07 2010
Similarly - we are within 20 miles of the Kona Brewing Company. I noticed some responses below that say "production source" is hazy. the hops are obviously not grown in Hawaii as we don't grow hops, however the beer is definitely brewed locally. Anyone have any ideas? the production is local, but the harvest of the organic materials is not.
Natalie Bodenhamer replied Green Building Consultant, CTG Energetics, Inc Jun 08 2010
John, as it is unclear whether or not the credit is meant to include the point of harvest, I defer to the Reference Guide: “purchases are produced within a 100-mile radius of the site”. As seen in the discussions below, this does leave room for project teams to consider including food items that are assembled/prepared within a 100-mile radius (sandwich, burrito, etc). As I work through this credit, for those questionable items, I ask: is the item produced OR assembled/prepared within 100-mile radius? If the there are significant resources/processes involved (and they occur locally), the item is produced locally and qualifies. However, if the process is a preparation/collection of ingredients (ex. burrito, sandwich, soup), the item is assembled locally and does not qualify. For instance, in the case of whole bean coffee that is harvested in Colombia (>100 miles) but roasted locally, the majority of the effort involved with the production occurs in Colombia, while the final touch of roasting (although crucial) occurs locally – I would not include this as a local product.
Hopefully in the future, there GBCI provides further clarification. For the time being, this point is left to interpretation.
I welcome thoughts/suggestions from anyone else who has a standard by which to make the distinction.
Accounting For Catering
The sample table in the reference guide for this credit has a column for ‘Distance To Site Of Production.’ Please clarify if this means that catering counts as regionally produced even if the food itself does not fulfill any sustainability criteria.
Thanks,
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC Mar 31 2010
Mark, the food being served by the catering company would most certainly be subject to the credit requirements.
Is part of your question about whether the catering labor counts? I am not 100% sure but I would say that like LEED's usual approach with MR credits, you'd have to separate out the cost of the labor and the cost of the "materials," i.e. food.
If the food is regionally produced, that does count as a sustainability criterion.
provide LBS of food products purchased?
I have a vendor that doesn't want to reveal his pre-mark up prices on an existing contract, but will provide the quantities (in lbs) of the different products purchased. LEED wants cost (obviously because some foods weight more than others), but what can I do?
Dan Ackerstein replied Principal, Ackerstein Sustainability, LLC Apr 18 2010
Interesting challenge - Two thoughts come to mind: 1. Would it be feasible to use post-mark up prices for all your food items? That would solve this vendors problem, although it may create others elsewhere. 2. If this vendor purchase isn't a huge part of your overall purchasing, I think you could estimate his prices (he or someone in the industry would probably be willing to give you a rough % markup) and explain to the reviewer your process for doing so. If you estimate conservatively and your process for doing so is transparent, the odds of the reviewer agreeing with your approach increase significantly. Good luck with it!
Performance Period
Hello I'm working on trying to achieve 25% sustainable purchasing. However, I'm still a little confused about what is supose to be the official Performance Period, considering we are trying to Re-certify under the LEED-EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. V3 2009 version. Because its considered a new Credit do we start the minimum 3 month evalution at the start when we first registered to Re-certify. or can the minimum 3 months reflec anytime of the year as long as I have three months worth of data? Please Advise, Thank You ....Rey
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC Apr 18 2010
Rey, I've checked around and there is simply no reliable answer to this question right now from USGBC.
In the absence of guidance I would suggest a) ask GBCI about it, and/or b) choose a common-sense approach that you can justify.
Jason Franken replied LEED Consultant, YRG sustainability Apr 23 2010
Tristan's right - there is not an established process for setting up recertification performance periods right now. However, I'd recommend that, in the absence of a clear answer, you defer to the most recent published instructions from the LEED EB v2.0 Reference Guide. This would mean that your performance period essentially begins the day after you receive your initial LEED certification. In order to recertify, your performance period must then end within 5 years of that date. If your performance period ends later than 5 years from the initial date of certification, your current project would actually be considered a new project and you'd be required to provide full documentation for all credits.
Ice
Also, we purchase Ice instead of making it ourselves. For LEED purposes, do we need to track our ice purchases for this credit?
Reynaldo Castro replied Apr 23 2010
I haven't recieved any comment or feedback regarding Ice as part of Food & Beverage purchasing. I would like to also add this comment as part of my inquiry. Ice is considered food and beverage by the health department because it is served in drinks. For this reason it must be handled lawfully and carefully as a food item.
Please Advise
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC Apr 24 2010
Rey, I don't have specific experience with ice being tracked as a food and beverage purchase, but it seems like you have answered your own question. If it's considered food and beverage in your project building, purchases should probably be tracked for the purposes of this credit. I am also guessing it's likely the ice will be made locally and will thus help you earn the credit.
Definition of Sustainable Purchased within a 100 mile radius
A few questions regarding the 100 mile radius purchases.
1. Does it matter if a project purchases their food and beverage products within a 100-mile radius, and that product which is pruduce or manufactured within the 100-mile radius criteria uses other types of bi-products in the production process. Other bi-products which have been havested or produced elsewhere like cherries used for pastries, or flour for making bagels. Does it matter how the pastry or bagel was produced, so long as it was made or manufactured within the 100-mile radius to qualify.
2. Will a letter of certification from the Food and Beverage company or organization who produces or manufactures a product which complies with the 100-mile radius, be sufficient documentation for proof of purchase. Or must a project have to submit, all of the invoices of products produced and manufactured as proof of purchase in order to qualify? Please Advise,
Thank You-Rey
Bill Amann replied Apr 29 2010
I am also curious about this question. If we buy a pizza from a local restaurant, sandwiches at a local deli, or donuts at a nearby Dunkin Donuts... does that count as being produced within a 100-mile radius? The ingredients are probably from all over, but the final product was produced locally. Thanks.
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC May 03 2010
I discussed this issue with Dan Ackerstein, one of the LEED-EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. experts who helped LEEDuser develop our EBOM advice.
He said the following:
The pizza example is a tough one but I think the act of uniting the ingredients [as in a local pizza restaurant] isn't 'production' - LEED's intent isn't to award fresh pizza vs frozen pizza. We want cheese, bread and tomato sauce produced locally. If the restaraunt gets frozen pizza's shipped in, it's clearly not local.
MRc5 is still hazy in a lot of ways - sort of an experiment. But I think for folks pursuing this, its got to be about produce and protein.
Oscar Enguita replied thecnician, lavola May 06 2010
Hello, we are certifying our company building in Spain. Are the spanish ecological certified labels valid for this credit?
Thanks in advance.
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC May 06 2010
Oscar, we have been having a similar conversation about cleaning products on the IEQc3.3 forum.
The Spanish labels could be valid, but you would have to demonstrate that they are. As Shira Normal said on the IEQc3.3 forum:
I'd recommend submitting with the European products, providing tons of
supporting documentation verifying the sustainable characteristics of
the products and demonstrating the rigorous testing required for
products to earn the European eco labels. Also, submit any documentation
available illustrating how these labeling systems are comparable to or
more rigorous than the accepted American standards.
Pamela Logan replied Senior Property Manager, Stream Realty Partners May 13 2010
We are planning to have a tenant event this summer during our performance period. Are we eligible for this credit if we were to provide all locally grown/organic produce to the tenants during that event?
Tristan Roberts replied Editor – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, LLC May 13 2010
Yes, an event like this is enough to make you eligible for the credit.
Why does EB have MRc5?
I am sorry to be uninformed but I just got my LEED GA Accreditation and thought how smart am I. Then I started to get acquainted with the LEED certifications of Schools and EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. as my training was mainly in NC. First off, I am shocked at the big differences in each. I now know I'm not as smart as I thought I was and have lots of reading to do. However, I cannot understand what Food has to do with the Sustainability or the Energy Efficiency of a building. It's a people thing, not a building thing. So, If someone could enlighten me or point me to where the reason in in print without buying the reference guide I would greatly appreciate it.
Natalie Bodenhamer replied Green Building Consultant, CTG Energetics, Inc Jun 08 2010
Joseph, fair question. I believe that food production has a significant impact on the environment and human health and wellbeing. That said, I will try and respond from an unbiased perspective. The triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) is at the core of USGBC’s intent to reduce the impact of the built environment on the planet and global population. The inclusion of food purchases in the LEED EB rating system is consistent with the inclusion of purchases of other consumable products: paper, electronics, FSCIndependent, third-party verification that forest products are produced and sold based on a set of criteria for forest management and chain-of-custody controls developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization. FSC criteria for certifying forests around the world address forest management, legal issues, indigenous rights, labor rights, multiple benefits, and environmental impacts. 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., etc. Purchases are included because of the impact of production on the environment in terms of depletion of natural resources (and the implicit social impact). Food is like all other products, the growth/harvest/production places a burden on the environment – land for growth, energy for production, carbon emissions for transportation, not to mention the effect of manufacturing byproducts in terms of pollution.
I agree with you, sustainable food purchasing is not a building thing – it is a people and environment thing. The choices made in the building impact the people and the environment.
Joseph Orr replied Jun 08 2010
Ah! Now I get it. It's really the same as consumable goods except you buy Food instead of Toner and Paper. Thank you so much for clearing that up.
Sustainable Fish Purchasing
Our client is in the south bay area of Northern California and are very committed to purchasing local sustainable seafood for their corporate food service program. They feel that it is most responsible to purchase seafood from small local fisheries in the San Francisco Bay Area. They rigorously adhere to the guidelines provided by the Monterey Bat Aquarium. They have found that the Marine Stewardship Council program is more typical of larger commercial fisheries and not available through their sources. We would like to propose the following documentation and process as an alternate compliance path for the the purchase of seafood under MR c5 - Sustainable Purchasing Food.
Here is a description of the program that they follow:
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has established ongoing education for chefs and general consumers of seafood. They have developed a list of seafood items and classified them showing what is sustainable at the time and what is in danger of being overfished.
We follow their "Seafood Watch List" and track our purchases with terms Green, Yellow and Red proceeding the product description in our purchasing system. We then run reports that we call GYR reports each month to track our progress.
In our purchasing system we are very specific in our descriptions to the vendors regarding:
- Origin of product
- Catch Method
Should we do an alternative compliance? CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide? Maybe even an innovation credit?
Natalie Bodenhamer replied Green Building Consultant, CTG Energetics, Inc Jul 14 2010
Hi Richard. I suggest comparing the Monterey Bay Aquarium guidelines to the Marine Stewardship Council program to determine the equivalence. If the program is equivalent, submit the CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide with the detailed analysis demonstrating such.
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