Page 253 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

A HIGH-PERFORMANCE LABORATORY PROJECT 229

2 If we’re using harvested rainwater, does the specification require continuous label-
ing along the length of all piping?
3 Does UV treatment of harvested rainwater have an option for system shutdown in
the event UV light bulbs fail?

MATERIALS ISSUES

The construction documents phase is our last chance to look once more at “environ-
mentally preferable purchasing” policies for all the materials used in the building.

1 Is there an interest in making the building “vinyl-free” by specifying resilient
flooring from other materials and finding alternatives to PVC pipe and conduit? Is
this an important consideration for any of our stakeholders?
2 Have we specifically requested the use of salvaged or reclaimed building materi-
als wherever possible? Do these materials account for at least 5 percent of the
value of all building materials in the project? What will it take to reach that
threshold?
3 Can we increase our goal for the use of salvaged or reclaimed materials to at least
10 percent of the value of all building materials in the project? What will it take to
reach that threshold?
4 Does at least 10 percent of the value of all building materials come from post-
consumer and/or post-industrial recycled content materials? Do we have ready
access to this information? What will it take to reach that threshold? Could we get
to 20 percent recycled-content materials (this is generally not that difficult in many
urban areas).
5 Have we specifically requested that at least 10 percent of the value of the materi-
als used in this project are extracted, processed and manufactured from local or
regional sources (i.e., within 500 miles of the project)? Do we have ready access
to this information? What will it take to reach that threshold?
6 Can we specify building materials so at least 20 percent of all materials (by value)
are extracted, harvested, or recovered in the region? What will it take to reach that
threshold?
7 Have we specified such items as bamboo flooring, linoleum, agricultural fiber
MDF boards, so that rapidly renewable materials will make up at least 2.5 percent
of the total value of all building materials used in the building? What will it take
to reach that threshold?
8 Have we required that at least 50 percent of the value of all wood used in the build-
ing come from FSC-certified forests and have an acceptable chain-of-custody doc-
umentation? What will it take to reach that threshold?
9 Have we investigated local sources of supply for such items as FSC-certified wood
to make sure they are available for this project?
10 Do our specifications require the general contractor to develop and implement a
construction waste management plan? Are there opportunities locally for recycling
construction waste if we comingle waste streams onsite?