Advice provided by: Howard Jeandenis, LEED Green Associate, Green Competitive Advantage LLC

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Thank you for your question, Brian.

In short: yes, you can receive credits for life cycle assessments of building materials. You can earn points toward Innovation in Design.

Cradle to Cradle: LEED CIR in 2007

In April 2007, there was an administrative Credit Interpretation Ruling (CIR) that allowed LEED projects to earn Innovation in Design points for using products with Cradle to Cradle Certification.

Cradle to Cradle certification is granted by MBDC (Mcdonough Braungart Design Chemistry) a third party consultancy founded by the architect William Mcdonough and Dr. Michael Braungart.

According to this CIR, LEED projects were awarded points for a certain percentage of based on which level of certification they were trying to achieve.

For each level of certification, there is a certain percentage of the total value (based on cost) of all building materials or products that must be Cradle to Cradle certified or NSF 140 certified. The percentage requirements are as follows:

• LEED Silver: 1.25%

• LEED Gold: 2.5%

• LEED Platinum: 5%

Life Cycle Analysis: LEED Pilot Credit

Another way in which life cycle assessments of building materials may contribute to a LEED project is through pilot credits.

As you may know, the pilot credit library is the USGBC's method of refining potential new prerequisites, credits or alternative compliance paths before they are balloted and introduced to the LEED rating system.

A LEED project can earn points under Innovation and Design (ID) or Innovation of Operations (IO) for attempting and giving feedback on a pilot credit from the library. Each pilot credit attempt is worth one point.

Currently, there are two pilot credits that address life cycle assessments:

1) Pilot Credit 1: Life Cycle Assessment of Building Materials and Assemblies

This pilot credit requires that the project team performs a life cycle assessment of the building's structure and envelope using a USGBC-approved Environmental Impact Calculator (such as Athena).

Also, a second part of this credit addresses materials not included in the LCA (since Environmental Impact Calculators only take structural and envelope assemblies into account).

To learn more about this credit, see the Pilot Credit 1.

2) Pilot Credit 43: Materials and Resources - Certified Products

This pilot credit requires that 10 percent of the total value of all non-structural materials and products are Type 1 Environmental Certified Products. This includes Cradle to Cradle certified products.

To learn more about this credit, see Pilot Credit 43.

It is possible that this pilot credit has replaced the CIR from 2007 - but either way, Cradle to Cradle certification can help to earn points in Innovation in Design.

For more guidance on pilot credits, see my previous article about LEEDuser's Question and Answer forum for pilot credits.

Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Impact

As you may know, the life cycle assessment simply quantifies the environmental impact of the material.

From there, it is still your choice on what is the most effective and efficient material to use. All materials use energy and create waste to some degree, so there is no such thing as a completely green material.

For example, utilizing a type of cement or chemical that is safer and has a lower carbon footprint has intangible benefits. Therefore, despite the fact that the choice of which material you use to satisfy these credits may require additional research and cost analysis, in many cases the most value added is from the long term benefits.

Related Advice:

• Green Building Product Certification: Is Cradle to Cradle Necessary for LEED Certification?



• LEED Life Cycle Cost Analysis: What is it? How do I calculate it?



• Life Cycle Cost Analysis vs. Lifecycle Analysis: The Green Building Implications