In the first bullet, add "or are labeled with the European Community Organic Production logo in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 834/2007 and (EC) No 889/2008." after "Marine Stewardship Council\'s Blue Eco-Label"
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Credit achievement rate
XX%
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LEEDuser expert
Trista Brown
LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador
WSP USA
Project Director
LEEDuser’s viewpoint
Frank advice from LEED experts
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Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Achieve sustainable purchases of at least 25% of total combined food and beverage purchases (by cost) during the performance period. Sustainable purchases are those that meet 1 or both of the following criteria:
- Purchases are labeled USDA Organic, Food Alliance Certified, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Protected Harvest Certified, Fair Trade, Marine Stewardship Council’s Blue Eco-Label or are labeled with the European Community Organic Production logo in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 834/2007 and (EC) No 889/2008.
- Purchases are produced within a 100-mile (160-kilometer) radius of the site.
What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
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LEEDuser tip sheets, written by our team of LEED experts, fill gaps in knowledge we’ve observed between the LEED Reference Guide, LEED Online, and LEED Interpretations. We update them regularly so that our members get the most relevant guidance for current issues on their projects.
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Frequently asked questions
Can our project earn this credit with just a one-time purchase of food for an event in the building?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
We have several tenants in our building. Do we have to track food purchases from all of them? What if they won't give us their purchasing data?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Do we have to include food and beverages that are purchased for our vending machines?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
What if a food item is produced nearby (say at a processing plant) but the ingredients aren’t sourced locally. Does that count towards the 100-mile regional criteria?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Addenda
1/15/2016 – Updated: 4/7/2016
Form Update
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
7/6/2012 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Global ACP
Description of change:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/6/2012 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
In the first bullet, remove "or" between "Fair Trade" and "Marine Stewardship Council\'s Blue Eco-Label"
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
7/6/2012 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Global ACP
Description of change:
Delete the Alternative Compliance Path for Projects Outside the U.S.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
10/1/2013
LEED Interpretation
Inquiry:
Can bottled water that is sourced and bottled within 100 miles of the project site be counted as a regional purchase within MRc5?
Ruling:
The project team is requesting guidance on the treatment of bottled water in the calculations for MRc5 Sustainable Purchasing – Food. Because bottled water has well-documented and significant environmental impacts compared to tap water, it must be included in the calculations for this credit and counted as non-sustainable purchase, regardless of the location of sourcing and packaging.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
Checklists
Step by step to LEED certification
LEEDuser’s checklists walk you through the key action steps you need to earn a credit, including how to avoid common pitfalls and save money.
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LEEDuser tip sheets, written by our team of LEED experts, fill gaps in knowledge we’ve observed between the LEED Reference Guide, LEED Online, and LEED Interpretations. We update them regularly so that our members get the most relevant guidance for current issues on their projects.
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Documentation toolkit
The motherlode of cheat sheets
LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
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LEEDuser tip sheets, written by our team of LEED experts, fill gaps in knowledge we’ve observed between the LEED Reference Guide, LEED Online, and LEED Interpretations. We update them regularly so that our members get the most relevant guidance for current issues on their projects.
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Get the inside scoop
Our editors have written a detailed analysis of nearly every LEED credit, and LEEDuser premium members get full access. We’ll tell you whether the credit is easy to accomplish or better left alone, and we provide insider tips on how to document it successfully.
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For full access, sign up now for LEEDuser Premium
LEEDuser tip sheets, written by our team of LEED experts, fill gaps in knowledge we’ve observed between the LEED Reference Guide, LEED Online, and LEED Interpretations. We update them regularly so that our members get the most relevant guidance for current issues on their projects.
( does not provide premium access to LEEDuser)
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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Achieve sustainable purchases of at least 25% of total combined food and beverage purchases (by cost) during the performance period. Sustainable purchases are those that meet 1 or both of the following criteria:
- Purchases are labeled USDA Organic, Food Alliance Certified, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Protected Harvest Certified, Fair Trade, Marine Stewardship Council’s Blue Eco-Label or are labeled with the European Community Organic Production logo in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 834/2007 and (EC) No 889/2008.
- Purchases are produced within a 100-mile (160-kilometer) radius of the site.
XX%
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Got the gist of MRc5 but not sure how to actually achieve it? LEEDuser gives step-by-step help. Premium members get:
- Checklists covering all the key action steps you'll need to earn the credit.
- Hot tips to give you shortcuts and avoid pitfalls.
- Cost tips to assess what a credit will actually cost, and how to make it affordable.
- Ideas for going beyond LEED with best practices.
- All checklists organized by project phase.
- On-the-fly suggestions of useful items from the Documentation Toolkit and Credit Language.
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For full access, sign up now for LEEDuser Premium
LEEDuser tip sheets, written by our team of LEED experts, fill gaps in knowledge we’ve observed between the LEED Reference Guide, LEED Online, and LEED Interpretations. We update them regularly so that our members get the most relevant guidance for current issues on their projects.
( does not provide premium access to LEEDuser)
Go premium for just $... » Go premium for just $... » Firm or campus members – click here »Your 15-day free trial expired on
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In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:
- Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
- Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
- Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
- Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
- Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
- Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.
This article is BuildingGreen Premium content
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Join for just $.../month »Purchase this article to get online access and a printable PDF.
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To read the full article, subscribe now to BuildingGreen Premium
For full access, sign up now for LEEDuser Premium
LEEDuser tip sheets, written by our team of LEED experts, fill gaps in knowledge we’ve observed between the LEED Reference Guide, LEED Online, and LEED Interpretations. We update them regularly so that our members get the most relevant guidance for current issues on their projects.
( does not provide premium access to LEEDuser)
Go premium for just $... » Go premium for just $... » Firm or campus members – click here »Your 15-day free trial expired on
Already a premium member? Log in now
Can our project earn this credit with just a one-time purchase of food for an event in the building?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
We have several tenants in our building. Do we have to track food purchases from all of them? What if they won't give us their purchasing data?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Do we have to include food and beverages that are purchased for our vending machines?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
What if a food item is produced nearby (say at a processing plant) but the ingredients aren’t sourced locally. Does that count towards the 100-mile regional criteria?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
1/15/2016 – Updated: 4/7/2016
Form Update
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
7/6/2012 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Global ACP
Description of change:
In the first bullet, add "or are labeled with the European Community Organic Production logo in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 834/2007 and (EC) No 889/2008." after "Marine Stewardship Council\'s Blue Eco-Label"
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/6/2012 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
In the first bullet, remove "or" between "Fair Trade" and "Marine Stewardship Council\'s Blue Eco-Label"
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
7/6/2012 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Global ACP
Description of change:
Delete the Alternative Compliance Path for Projects Outside the U.S.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
10/1/2013
LEED Interpretation
Inquiry:
Can bottled water that is sourced and bottled within 100 miles of the project site be counted as a regional purchase within MRc5?
Ruling:
The project team is requesting guidance on the treatment of bottled water in the calculations for MRc5 Sustainable Purchasing – Food. Because bottled water has well-documented and significant environmental impacts compared to tap water, it must be included in the calculations for this credit and counted as non-sustainable purchase, regardless of the location of sourcing and packaging.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
LEEDuser expert
Trista Brown
LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador
WSP USA
Project Director
