Best Practices

Furniture that was manufactured, refurbished or refinished over a year prior to occupancy does not need to comply with the requirements. So, if you’re reusing a lot of furniture, this credit will be particularly straightforward to achieve. 

Keep a record of compliant ceiling and wall system products used in the school for procurement staff use in future purchasing. 

It is helpful to post signs on the construction site that remind subcontractors to follow the LEED requirements for all low-emitting products. These signs should be in any languages that are spoken on the jobsite. 

The general contractor should consider requiring subcontractors to revise and resubmit any submittals or shop drawings that do not have proper LEED credit documentation. Include this in contractual language. 

It is best to incorporate a specific, compliant product into the specs, or distribute a list of acceptable products at the contractor and subcontractor orientation meetings. 

Joint compound used to install drywall is not covered under this credit. Companies that produce certified drywall typically also have certified joint compound to go with it. It’s a good idea to use that low-emitting drywall, even though you don’t have to document it.

Address this credit early, and verify that design needs can be met by available, compliant products. 

If your project will be composting, research local compost haulers or onsite composting strategies. 

Consider installing permanent water metering for ongoing monitoring of the project’s water use. A submetering system can help to detect problems early and facilitate future LEED-EBOM certification. 

Why would a project choose this path? For example, it might not be installing clothes washers or food steamers, which would not give it four compliant process water equipment types. In this case they will need to calculate a total reduction for their dishwashers, ice machines and pre-rinse spray valves. If their calculations do not meet the 20% reduction requirement, they will need to include other process water equipment types in their calculations. Projects that want to achieve an exemplary performance credit will also need to run these calculations.