Page 213 - The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction Sustainable Construction for Engineers

CHAPTER 5

LEED Materials and

Resources

he Materials and Resources category of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
rating system for new construction version 2.2 (LEED-NC 2.2) and version
T2009 (LEED-NC 2009) consist of one prerequisite subcategory and seven credit
subcategories which together may earn a possible 13 points (credits) maximum for
version 2.2 and 14 possible points for version 2009, not including EP points. The notation
format for the prerequisites and credits is, for example, MRp1 for Materials and
Resources prerequisite 1 and MRc1.1 for Materials and Resources credit 1.1. Also in this
chapter, to facilitate easier cross-referencing between this text and the USGBC rating
system, the second digit in a section heading, equation, table, or figure number represents
the credit subcategory number for sections that deal directly with a USGBC LEED-
NC 2.2 or LEED-NC 2009 credit subcategory.
The Materials and Resources (MR) portion deals with issues that reduce the use of
new materials and resources, encourages the use of materials and resources that have a
smaller impact on the environment, and promotes the reuse or recycling of materials so
that more virgin materials and resources are not used on LEED-certified projects. The life
cycles of many products and materials are taken into account to reduce the impact on the
environment of their use. This may include transportation impacts, harvesting impacts,
manufacturing impacts, and the benefit of using recycled materials in the production of
the product.
The one prerequisite subcategory is MR Prerequisite 1: Storage and Collection of Recyclables
(MRp1). As is typical for prerequisites, there are no points associated with MRp1.
The points for the credits in the Materials and Resources category are not necessarily
individually related to a specific credit under a subcategory in LEED 2009. The first
subcategory (Building Reuse) has two sections for which the first section has multiple
points and the second section has a single point. There are multiple points for the second
through fifth credit subcategories. The sixth and seventh credit subcategories each are
worth one point in LEED 2009. Table 5.0.0 is a summary of the prerequisites and credits
in both versions (2.2 and 2009) with a comparison of the points available and a summary
of many of the major differences. Note that if the credit subcategory in LEED 2.2 had
separate credit numbers for the same general requirements met to a greater degree
(e.g., percent conformance), LEED 2009 now only uses one number, with a range of
points. This conversion also resulted in MRc1.3 for LEED 2.2 being renumbered to
MRc1.2 for LEED 2009.

191