!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LEED$v4$Specs$Tip$Sheet$!
Issue!
Comment!
Use$of$Credit$Numbers$
In!LEED !v 4 ,!cre d it!numbe rs !h a ve !b e en!remov e d .!!O n ly !fu ll!c re d it!n a mes!
are!used!to!designate!credit!category!prerequisites!and!credits.!
!!
This!seemingly!removed!the!ability!to!use!the!abbreviated!credit!number!
for!referencing !requ irem e nts!w ith in!the !spe cificatio ns.!!!
!
Recognizing!that!the!use!of!credit!names!may!increase!the!uptake!of!LEED!
concepts!in!greater!margin!than!generic!credit!numbers,!our!team!
decided!a!hybrid!approach:!We!created!both!credit!numbers!for!our!
scorecards!and!inserted!them!into!the!specifications!for!ease!of!
reference,!as!we ll!as!use d!th e!cred it!na m es!in !the!sp ecifica tion s!to!ass ist!
with!dissemination!of!LEED!concepts!and!to!remove!any!possible!
ambiguity!of!the!credit!in!discussion.!!E.g.!IEQc2,!Low-Emitting!Materials!
Approaches$for$Targeting$MR$Credits:$$
Cost-Based$vs.$Number$of$Products$
The!usual!approach!for!LEED!v3!projects!to!achieve!points!with!materials!
credits!was!to!target!the!cost-based!credits!for!recycled!content!and!
regional!ma terials.!!A!c o st-based!recycled!content!credit!still!exists!in!
LEED!v4,!and!its!new!version!allows!for!the!inclusion!of!FSC!wood!and!
other!material!attributes!to!count!towards!credit!compliance.!!!
!
However,!there!is!a!30%!cap!to!the!cost!value!that!structure!and!
enclosure!materials!can!contribute!toward!credit!compliance!for!cost-
based!MR!credits.!!As!such,!the!easiest!path!to!meeting!the!new!LEED!v4!
MR!credits!to!be!finding!the!20!products!needed!for!EPDs!and!HPDs,!as!
opposed!to!the!cost-based!credits.!!And,!once!have!enough!universally!
applicable!EPD!and!HPD!products!you!can!earn!those!credits!on!any!
project.!
Problem$with$Credit$“Options”$
While!multiple!credit!options!for!credit!compliance!existed!in!previous!
versions!of!LEED,!LEED!v4!contains!credit!options!in!several!critical!
material!credits!that!are!written!into!specifications,!including!all!of!the!
BPDO!credits.!!This!presents!the!challenge!of!ensuring!credit!“options”!
written!into!the!specifications!are!not!interpreted!as!“optional”.!
!
One!suggestion!was!to!include!the!definition!of!LEED!Credit!Options!in!the!
Definitions!section!of!the!01!81!13.!!Ultimately,!our!team!decided!that!by!
including !t he !Options!p a ired !t o!t h eir !fu ll!cre d it!n a me!it!wou ld !be !
understood!that!these!were!not!“optional”!though!confusion!may!still!
exist,!and!the!project!team!may!choose!to!write!in!the!performance!
requireme nts!o f!the!cre dit,!w hile!re m ov ing!th e!term !o ptio n!alto ge the r.!
!
Care!will!also!be!needed!when!in!reviewing!substitution!requests!when!
multiple!BPDO!options!are!being!pursued!simultaneously.!
Definitions$
In!local!market!su rv ey !o f!p re liminary!LE E D !v 4 !Sp e c ifica tions,!we!fo u nd!
projects!using!anywhere!from!as!few!as!10!definitions!to!as!many!as!30!
definitions.!!Our!team!ultimately!settled!on!17!of!what!we!thought!are!
the!most!critical!to!be!understood!for!LEED!v4!projects,!though!any!and!
all!definitions!may!be!deleted!(or!any!may!be!added)!per!specifier’s!
preference.!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LEED$v4$Specs$Tip$Sheet$!
$
Issue!
Comment!
Lack$of$Flexibility$in$Offering$Multiple$
Compliance$Paths$to$General$Contractor
Although!LEED!is!a!flexible!syst em!that!offe rs !multiple!cre d it!o p tio n s!fo r !
pursuing!credit!compliance,!specifications!do!not!offer!the!same!
flexibility.!!In!the!most!tec hn ica l!sens e,!spe cifica tion s!are !a!lega lly!bind ing !
set!of!directives!that!indicate!the!general!contractor’s!scope!of!work.!!
That!is!to!say,!what!is!written!in!the!specifications!is!expected!to!be!
followed!an d!e xec ute d!by !the!g en era l!con tracto r,!so!w h at!is!exp ec ted !of!
them!mu st!be !clear,!an d!it!mu st!be !attain ab le.!
!
This!presented!a!challenge!in!at!least!two!instances.!!One!was!whether!or!
not!-!in!practic e!-!our!individual!project!specifications!(not!the!Master!
Spec!we!created)!could!or!should!include!credit!options!that!are!not!
presently!attainable!given!current!market!conditions!at!the!time,!e.g.!EPD!
or!HPD!credits!on!public!bid!p ro je ct s!t h at !req u ire !th re e !e qu a l!p ro d u ct s!
when!three!equals!don’t!exist!in!sufficient!quantities!for!credit!
achievement.!!Here,!with!rapid!market!progression,!most!of!us!decided!
we!would!include!the!EPD!and!HPD!credit!targets!and!obtain!as!much!
documentation!toward!achievement!in!the!Construction!Administration!
process,!even!if!we!didn’t!ultimately!earn!the!credit.!
!
The!other!instance!where!this!posed!an!issue!was!in!the!desire!to!add!a!
statement!that!would!put!the!greater!onu s!on!the!contracto r!to!ac hiev e!
credits,!but!allowing!them!more!flexibility!in!determining!their!approach.!!
Something!similar!to!the!following!was!suggested:!“The!Contractor!is!
responsible!to !m axim ize !pro cu rem e nt!o f!prod uc ts,!m ateria ls,!and !
procedures!that!obtain!these!prerequisites!and!credits,!even!if!the!section!
does!not!specifically!reference!LEED”.!!This!was!determined!to!be!not!
enforceable!and!not!compatible!with!the!standards!for!specification!
languag e !st ru ct ur e,!a n d !w a s!re moved!in !fav o r!o f!more!con cre t e!
directives.!
Generally$Acceptable$Specifications$
Language
If!attempting!to!e d it!a n d /or!write!yo u r !o w n!specifica tio n s !an d!you!are !n o t!
a!spec!writer,!it!is!important!to!be!aware!that!there!are!formatting!and!
languag e !fo rmalities!tha t!make!spe cif ica tio n s!t h e!e n fo rc ea ble!documents!
that!they!are.!!As!such ,!sectio ns!sh ou ld!be !writte n!in!a!d irective!m a nn er!
to!the!contracto r,!repe tition!sh ou ld!be !avo ided ,!and !am b iguo us !wo rds !
such!as!the!following!should!be!avoided:!should,!could,!wo uld,!may,!etc.!
When!in!doubt!follow!the!4!C’s!of!specs:!(Clear,!Concise,!Correct,!and!
Complete).!
Creation$of$a$Specification$Master$and$$
Working$from$MasterSpec
®
$
What$to$Include?$
AIA/ARCOM!MasterSpec®!is!an!editable!master!guide!specification,!based!
on!CSI!MasterFormat®,!which!allows!users!to!edit!each!se ct io n!f or !th e ir!
specific!project.!!Our!team!reviewed!this!document!and!edited!it!to!
reflect!the!new !requ irem e nts !of!LEE D !v4.!
!!
We!attempted!to!include!relevant!current!information!for!LEED!v4!
projects.!!The!result!is!that!you!will!see!more!items!included!in !o u r!
specifications!than!you!may!need!for!your!specific!project,!so!you!will!edit!
mostly!by!deletion.!We!did!not!include!credits!where!we!see!no!clear!
path!to!credit!achievement!at!this!time.!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LEED$v4$Specs$Tip$Sheet$!
$$$!
!
Comment!
With!the!reduction!of!the!regional!materials!compliance!distance!reduced!
from!500!m iles !to!100 !m iles!fo r!m ate rials!extra cte d!an d!manufacture d!
within!that!radius,!and!new!requirement!the!whole!product!has!to!be!
100%!regional!because!parts!of!assemblies!no!longer!qualify,!and!that!the !
product!must!also!possess!some!other!qualifying!underlying!BPDO!
attribute,!we!know!that!many!project!teams!may!not!be!able!to!obtain!
any!regional!products.!!!
!
However,!we!included!it!in!our!contractor!submittal!form!nonetheless,!as!
we!know!the!importance!of!and!support!regional!product!purchasing!and!
want!to!encourage!its!consideration!whenever!possible.!
For!the!first!time,!passive!mechanical,!electrical,!and!plumbing!equipment!
is!eligible!fo r!materials!c red it s.!!In !o u r!e ar ly!e xp e rie n ce ,!th e re!a re !ite ms!in!
these!categorie s!that!w ill!qua lify!for!BPD O !cred its,!and !proje ct!teams!will!
need!to!take!additional!effort!in!working!with!engineering!teams!to!
ensure!inclusion!of!BPDO-comp liant!products!and!standards.!!The!earlier!
that!you!can!w o rk!w ith!you r!en gine ers!to!h ave !the !con versa tion !abo u t!
updating!their!specifications!and!process!of!product!submittal!review,!the!
easier!it!will!be!on!the!project!team.!!
In!our!g en e r al!L E E D !v 3!0 1 !8 1 !1 3 !sp e c s!a n d !in !the!AIA/A R C O M!
MasterSpec®!there!are!thresholds!for!certain!materials!credits!that!
prompt!the!project!teams!to!select!their!target!percentages!(by!cost)!for!
how!much!of!a!given!material!they!want!the!contractor!to!target!and!take!
ownership!of,!e.g.!50%!of!the!wood!to!be!FSC!certified.!!!
!
Now!that!the!traditional!LEED!v3!materials!credits!have!been!rolled!into!
one!single!BPDO!credit!(Sourcing!of!Raw!Materials),!we!discussed!
whether!or!not!the!past!thresholds!for!things!such!as!FSC!wood!that!we!
know!are!reasonably!attainable!should!still!be!included.!!The!group!
decided!for!our!master!spec!we!would!not!include!th o se !th re s ho ld s ,!
though!individ ua l!projec t!team s!m a y!still!choo se!to!d o!so .!
In!our!in itia l!L E E D !v4 !p r o jec t!work,!it!w as !fo u n d !t o !b e!t h e !ca se !that!even!if !
manufacturers!had!a!general!emissions!evaluatio n !(GEE)!for!a!p ro d u c t,!
many!product!reps!may!not!be!aware!of!that!fact.!!Dealing!directly!with!a!
manufacturer’s!sustainability!coordinator!proved!to!be!the!most!
productive!way!of!verifying!this!information.!!We!also!found!that!certain!
general!emissions !evalu atio ns!m a y!exist!fo r!a!pro du ct!tha t!are!n ot!
compliant!with!the!LEED!reference!standard!(CDPH!SM!v1.1!- !2010).!
!
Most!of!these!preliminary!issues!should!become!less!significant!as!more!
manufacturers!increase!compliance,!and!the!recently!published!USBGC!
chart!of!compliant!third!party!standards!that!use!CDPH!SM!v1.1!as!the!
test!protocol!is!a!great!to ol!for!pro ject!te am s!to !take!th e!gu ess-work!out!
of!whether!or!not!a!product!meets!the!GEE!testing!standard.!
!
!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LEED$v4$Specs$Tip$Sheet$!
!
!
Issue!
Comment!
Environmental$Product$Declaration$(EPD):$
Use$Types$and$Declaration$Types$
Not!all!EPDs!are!created!equally,!and!some!EPDs!allow!for!multiple!uses!
of!the!same!product!within!a!project.!!!
!
Industry-wide!(generic)!EPDs!used!in!different!functional!ways!on!a!
project!may!be!counted!separately!for!each!different!functional!use!up!to!
10!different!times!on!a!project,!provided!that!each!time!it!is!used!there!
are!separately!reported!impacts!within!the!EPD.!!For!example,!if!ready-
mix!concrete!has!an!industry-wide!EPD!for!member!orga nizations!(it!
does),!and!the!mixture !p e rc e n ta g e s !a re !a d j u st e d !sl ig h tly !f o r!d if fe r e n t!u s e s !
on!a!project!(but!is!still!using!the!same!ingredients ),!e .g .!s tructural!
columns!versus!slabs!versus!sidewalks,!each!different!use!can!
theoretically!be!counted !sepa rately!each!time!toward!EPD!credit!
compliance.!
!
Also,!three!are!three!types!of!EPDs,!and!project!teams!should!take!care!
when!writing!specifications!and!selecting!products!to!ensure!that!they!are!
aware!which!EPD!type!they!are!working!with!in!each!instance,!and!how !
much!it!is!weighted!by!LEED.!!!
Health$Product$Declaration$(HPD)$Types$
It!is!impo r ta n t!to !note!for!b o t h !sp e c ifica tio n s !a n d !material!tra ck in g !th a t!
simply!because!a!product!has!an!HPD ,!that!does!not!ma ke!it!compliant!for!
LEED!v4.!!It!is!possible!for!a!product!to!have!an!HPD !th at!ha sn’t!disc lose d!
its!mate ria l!in gre d ie n ts!d o wn!to!the !req u ire d !1 0 0 0!p p m!(and!pr ob a b ly!
more!products!with!HPDs!have!this!issue!than!those!that!don’t),!so!
ensure!that!when!dealing!with!HPDs!you!are!verifying!they!are!LEED!v4!
compliant.!
Shop$labor$and$material$costs$
Though!not!a!new!aspect!of!LEED!v4,!the!often!overlooked!and!not!fully!
known!eligibility!of!shop!labor!to!be!included!in!a!product’s!cost!for!LEED!
material!tracking!in!LEED!v4!is!of!increased!significance.!!With!structure!
and!enclosure!materials!being!capped!at!30%!of!the!value!of!compliant!
products!for!BPDO!credits,!capturing!the!shop!labor!for!other!complaint!
items!–!which!can!be!substantial!–!will!be!of!even!more!value!to!the!
project!team.!
How$to$best$ensure$credit$compliance$–$the$
non-finish$m at eria ls$a pp ro a ch$
With!BPDO!credits!for!EPDs!and!HPDs!only!needing!20!products!from!5!
different!manufacturers,!our!strategy!–!insp ire d !b y!o u r!p e e rs! –!has!been!
to!target!non-finish!materials!(dry w all,!susp en d ed !ceiling !grids ,!etc.)!th at!
don’t!have!an!aesthetic!impact!for!EPD!and!HPD!compliance,!as!their!
ability!to!stay!on!a!project!and!stay!in!the!specs!in!perpetuity!is!
significantly!higher!than!a!carpet!tile,!for!example.!!!
!
Once!you!have!achieved!a!sufficient!number!of!EPDs!and!HPDs!that!are!
aesthetic-independ e n t!a n d !ar e!u s ed !o n !a ll!p ro jec ts ,!yo u !ca n !e arn !t h e!E P D !
and!HPD!credits!for!all!projects!moving!forward.!!(This!is!the!idea!of!the!
google!spreadsheet!we!are!sharing!with!the!audience).!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LEED$v4$Specs$Tip$Sheet$!
!
Comment$
As!of!publication!of!this!tip!sheet,!there!are!no!apparent!existing!credit!
interpret at io ns !o r!re fe re n ce !gu id e !co r rec tio n s !th at !a m e n d !cu rre n t!L E E D !
reference!guid e!lan gu age !indic ating !that!fu rnitu re!m u st!be!in clud ed !in!the!
low-em itting!credit!tracking!if!it!is!included!in!the!project!scope!of!work!
(i.e.!installed!prior!to!occ up an cy),!reg ard less !of!w he the r!or!no t!it!is!
included !a s!p a rt !of !th e!a rc h ite ct ’s!d ire ct !d es ign !s co p e .!!This!would!lead!a!
project!administrator!to!think!that!furniture!ha d!to !be!trac ked !an d!
included !if!t h e!lo w-emitting!credit!was!going!to!be!pursued.!
!
However,!our!team!has!received!different!feedback!from!the!USGBC!via!
the!“Contac t!Us”,!w hich !ind icates !the!op p osite!to !be!tru e:!“reg ardle ss!of!
whether!furniture!is!within!or!outside!of!scope ,!team s!d o!no t!ha ve!to !
attempt!compliance!with!the!furniture!category,!if!they!do!not!want!to.”!
!
“The!definition!of!scope!provided!in!the!Step-by-Step!Guidance!is!to!
clarify!for!teams!that!want!to!attempt!this!category,!that!all!furniture!
must!be!included!if!it!is!installed!at!the!time!of!occupancy,!regardless!of!
who!specified!or!provided!it.!This!is!to!ensure!that!no!furniture!is!
excluded.”!
!
Project!teams!should!use!whatever!approach!they!feel!is!most!
appropriate,!and!reference!LEED use r!and !cred it!interp reta tion s!for!the !
most!up!to!date!conversation!on!the!topic.!!
New!low-em itting!categories!such!as!ceilings,!walls,!and!insulation!have!
been!added!into!consideration!which!should!be!taken!into!account!by!
project!teams!if!they!want!to!pursue!those!new !ca teg ories.!!
!
For!wet!applied!products,!if!the!produ c t!c a te g o r y!i s!n ot!100% !c o mpliant !
across!all!products,!then!a!volume!tracking!method!must!be!employed,!
which!has!traditionally!been!familiar!to!project!teams!as!the!VOC!budget!
methodology.!!This!is!an!additional!dimension!of!paperwork!and!
documentation!that!should!be!considered!when!creating!a!strategy!for!
low-em itting!materials.!
!