LEED Certification is a powerful tool for driving sustainability improvements and influencing market shifts. It rewards manufacturers that are making sustainable efforts and pushes others to step up their game.
While the initial registration fee may seem daunting, the cost-savings that are generated often justify the investment. Working with a LEED Professional can help projects identify affordable techniques to achieve credits and reduce project costs.
Materials Selection
Ultimately, LEED is all about weighing tradeoffs. It’s about making a conscious decision about how much sustainability you value in each aspect of a project-whether that means selecting materials that are more durable and last longer, or choosing those that require less energy to manufacture (known as embedded energy). There is no such thing as a perfectly sustainable material; every choice has tradeoffs.
The LEED rating system also addresses waste, water, air, transportation and the environment around a building during its entire life cycle, from construction to operations and beyond. It includes a credit for ensuring that construction and demolition waste is recycled or diverted from landfills, as well as credits for using green cleaning practices and for specifying products that have low environmental impacts during production, shipment and installation.
There are also LEED credits for a more integrated design process and bringing all project stakeholders together early in the process to optimize sustainability and efficiency. Finally, there are credits for LEED-certified buildings that demonstrate significant reductions in CO2 emissions and other pollutants that contribute to smog.
As the world becomes more aware of health and wellness, there’s an increasing demand for LEED-certified buildings that prioritize indoor environmental quality by providing access to natural light, healthy air, non-toxic building materials and more. Mutual Materials produces a broad range of building products that can help projects earn LEED points for these credits. To find out more about how our products can support LEED certification, contact a Mutual Materials representative.
Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is a major component of the LEED rating system. Energy-related credits (EA) account for 30% of the total LEED certification score. This share has increased with the introduction of new versions of the rating system.
A LEED certified building is expected to use less energy for heating and cooling, and also to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions from the production of electricity, water, and fuels used in the operation of buildings. Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change, ozone depletion, acidification of land and water, and other environmental problems.
The goal of the LEED rating system is to provide incentives for builders and developers to use low-emitting materials that reduce pollutants, especially volatile organic compounds. VOCs are harmful chemicals that contribute to poor indoor air quality, leading to respiratory issues and other health problems. LEED encourages the use of low-VOC paints, adhesives, sealants, and flooring. It also promotes the use of formaldehyde-free composite wood materials and low-emission carpeting.
LEED also encourages the use of solar panels on roofs, which helps reduce carbon emissions and energy costs. It also provides incentives for building owners to recycle materials, such as cardboard, and to source renewable energy from local sources. Adding these features to a home or commercial building can help attract eco-conscious consumers and give contractors a competitive advantage.
Indoor Air Quality
LEED certification is an excellent way for builders to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship. Using recycled materials, conserving water and energy, and minimising waste during construction are some of the ways to earn points towards LEED certification. These actions reduce a building’s carbon footprint, help conserve resources and minimize the need for new materials, and also contribute to a healthier indoor environment for occupants.
LEED v4.1 introduces a new Indoor Environmental Quality credit that aims to emphasize the importance of human health and wellness in sustainable construction projects. This credit requires annual monitoring of CO2, VOCs, PM (10, 2.5, 4), O3, and temperature at each occupied space. A device like Nanoenvi IAQ can monitor these parameters, helping to earn points towards LEED certification.
It’s important to note that green buildings are only as sustainable as their occupants. This means that it’s vital for the occupants of a green building to know how they can best use and maintain the features and systems of their building to optimize sustainability and efficiency. Some of the ways that occupants can do this include using efficient appliances, taking advantage of natural light, and making sure to run their building ventilation system at maximum performance during occupied hours. This can help to minimise the spread of airborne pollutants and viruses.
Materials Disclosure
The Materials and Resources category of LEED certification requires project teams to identify and select building products with minimal environmental impact throughout their life cycle. This includes the use of recycled materials, locally sourced or produced materials and materials with low toxic emissions.
The USGBC also asks manufacturers to disclose information on the ingredients of building products. This allows project teams to select products based on transparent ingredient disclosures, as well as reduce the number of harmful chemicals in their buildings.
ASSA ABLOY supports efforts to increase product transparency and support the elimination of harmful substances. We actively seek independently verified product transparency documents, such as Health Product Declarations and Declare labels, that satisfy the LEED v4.1 Material Ingredient Reporting and Optimization credit.
Historically, the LEED credit requirements have been challenging for building products manufacturers to meet. This is particularly true for the Material Ingredient Credit, where USGBC has given two options. Both require documentation to be submitted, with the first option requiring the identification of all ingredients present above certain thresholds and the second option requiring the identification of proprietary information through GreenScreen List Translator or Benchmark scores.
Unfortunately, the American Chemistry Council has pushed a new credit option into LEED that makes this credit even more difficult to achieve. The ACC’s greenwashing of this credit, by designing credits that deny users access to all content, hazard and exposure information, de-legitimizes the process and takes the leadership out of LEED in material health.