LEED 2012: Materials and Resources
by Jonathan McGaha | April 29, 2012 12:00 am
Many of us in the industry may not yet be tracking the next evolutionary step of the LEED rating system, LEED 2012. This may be a result of the past iteration of the rating system consisting more of changes in procedural requirements, rather than substantive changes to prerequisites and credits. For LEED 2009, the intent and requirements for prerequisites and credits, as well as the documentation requirements were, for the most part, unchanged. When USGBC created the LEED rating system, the importance of, and possible influence on, market transformation was recognized.
One of the many ways the LEED rating system influenced the market in the early days of LEED certifications was to encourage the use of manufactured products that were made from components that had a high amount of recycled content. The positive impact of designers and specification writers requiring recycled materials in the products used in their buildings can be seen everywhere these days. Almost every manufacturer now speaks of the amount of recycled content that goes into making its product, along with demonstrating how its existing products can be recycled once it has reached the end of its useful life.
The LEED Recycled Content Credit
Industry professionals who have lived through the early days of the LEED rating system have seen a progression in the prerequisites and credits within the various versions of the rating system. Requirements were made more stringent, and the language became more familiar, but for the most part, the thresholds a team had to meet to be awarded the associated points stayed the same. This was certainly the case with the LEED for New Construction credit associated with the use of recycled materials. Teams achieving Materials and Resources Credit 4 (MRc4): Recycled Content were awarded up to two points for incorporating construction materials and products that contained high amounts of recycled content.
The credit was based on the percentage, by cost, of products and materials made from recycled materials contained in the project. If the project team achieved 10 percent recycled content of the total materials value of the project, the building was awarded one point. Achievement of 20 percent recycled content equated to two points. Those of us who regularly use steel for the structural system of a building recognized that by the very design of the building, both of the points associated with the recycled content credit were achievable, depending on the level and cost of the finish materials. In the event that the structural system of the building was specified as steel construction set on reinforced concrete with a façade material of metal or metal composite panels, we could usually count on both of the MRc4 points as well as an Innovation in Design credit for exemplary performance by exceeding the 20 percent requirement and reaching a contribution of recycled content of 30 percent or higher.
Documenting the Process
The approach to documenting the MRc4 credit was straightforward. A team was required to list the cost of all materials permanently installed or used in the project, excluding mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection and vertical transportation systems. Furniture and temporary wood could be included at the project team’s discretion. Once a “master materials” list was created, the project team indicated which products contributed to the amount of recycled content.
A ratio was created indicating the percentage of recycled content versus those materials made of non-recycled content. The recycled content was categorized in two different ways: items made from postconsumer recycled materials (things like plastic water bottles) and preconsumer recycled content (things like wood dust and wood chips from a sawmill). The postconsumer items contributed dollar for dollar and the preconsumer items contributed 50 cents on the dollar. The calculation looked something like this:
Recycled content value ($) = (% postconsumer x $)
+ ½(% preconsumer x $).
As the old English proverb says, “All good things must come to an end.” And in the case of LEED and the ease of specifying a steel structure as the primary strategy to achieve LEED points for recycled content, this proverb will hold true with the rollout of LEED 2012.
MR Credits in LEED 2012
The LEED for New Construction 2012 rating system has completely changed the way teams achieve points for product use with high amounts of recycled content. Upon review, a reader will notice that the points that were associated with the use of recycled content found in previous versions of the rating system have been removed. There is no Recycled Content credit in the 2012 version of the rating system. Instead, one must review all of the materials-related credits to find where structural steel may contribute to the overall materials used on a project. Those items made of metal or other items with high amounts of recycled content are separated into structural and non-structural component categories. Structural components of a building are now addressed through Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment (WBLCA) and Material Life Cycle Disclosure and Assessment. Teams can achieve three credit points through WBLCA by a reduction of a minimum of a 10 percent reduction in at least three of six impact categories, with data sets compliant with ISO 14044.
One credit point is available to teams who source structural systems in which a minimum of 20 percent of the structure and enclosure materials meet Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) guidelines. This can also be achieved by means of Multi-Attribute Assessment that utilizes the calculation found in older versions of the LEED rating system but introduces a new threshold of 50 percent in lieu of the 10 and 20 percent found in previous versions of the rating system. Non-structural components made of high amounts of recycled content are calculated in a similar fashion.
It may be true that all good things come to an end. Soon, this will be the case for documenting recycled content for LEED purposes, which is currently as simple as creating a master materials calculator and looking up manufacturers’ information about the amount of recycled content in their products. The newest version of LEED will require manufacturers to perform Environmental Product Declarations and calculate their products’ contributions to Whole Building Life Cycle Assessments if they want their products to qualify for contribution to LEED credit points.
However, while looking at the evolution of the LEED rating system as a way to influence and help transform the marketplace, perhaps Alexander Graham Bell said it best: “When one door closes, another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.” Yes, for a little while, teams may experience a learning curve to document their materials-related LEED credits, and manufacturers may find it a bit more difficult to comply with the new LEED requirements, but in the end, it may be more beneficial for the consumer and for the environment.
Thomas Taylor, a 30-year veteran of the construction industry and noted expert on sustainability, is the general manager of St. Louis-based Vertegy. His recent book, “Guide to LEED 2009: Estimating and Preconstruction Strategies,” provides step-by-step information about the LEED 2009 for New Construction process. To learn more about Vertegy or Taylor’s new book, visit www.vertegyconsultants.com for more information.
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