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LEED v4.1

Existing Buildings

Materials and Resources
Purchasing Policy

LEED CREDIT

EBOM-v4.1 MRp1: Purchasing Policy Required

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SPECIAL REPORT

LEEDuser expert

Dan Ackerstein

Ackerstein Sustainability, LLC
Principal

SPECIAL REPORT

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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Have in place an environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) policy for materials and products purchased for the project during regular operations. Include at a minimum:

  • Ongoing Consumables
    • The five most purchased product categories based on total annual purchases.
    • Paper, toner cartridges, binders, batteries, and desk accessories.
    • Food and beverage.
  • Electronic Equipment
    • Lamps (indoor and outdoor, hard-wired and portable fixtures).
    • Office equipment, appliances, and audiovisual equipment.
    • Electric powered equipment.
The policy should address performance targets for purchases that meet the criteria in MR Credit: Purchasing. The policy must cover at least those product purchases within the building and site management’s control. For interiors projects, the policy must cover product purchases within the project’s control. INTERIORS In addition to the requirements above, Interiors projects must recommend best practices for environmentally preferable purchasing for purchases outside of the project’s control.
INTERIORS
In addition to the requirements above, Interiors projects must recommend best practices for environmentally preferable purchasing for purchases outside of the project’s control. See all forum discussions about this credit »

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Cost estimates for this credit

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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.

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Frequently asked questions

I don’t know what my tenants are purchasing, so how do I determine the building’s top five product categories?

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Addenda

7/25/2019Updated: 11/6/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Remove the following bullet points:
- requirements for storage locations for recyclable materials and batteries and lamps to MR prerequisite Waste Performance.
 Simplified ongoing consumables paper, toner cartridges, binders, and desk accessories to office supplies.
 Added new section for building materials

Updated and added the following bullet points:
 Tracking food and beverage purchases is now required in the policy for all projects.
 Moved lamps under electronic equipment.
 New requirements added for Interiors adaptation.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
See all forum discussions about this credit »

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.

LEEDuser expert

Dan Ackerstein

Ackerstein Sustainability, LLC
Principal

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.

USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Have in place an environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) policy for materials and products purchased for the project during regular operations. Include at a minimum:

  • Ongoing Consumables
    • The five most purchased product categories based on total annual purchases.
    • Paper, toner cartridges, binders, batteries, and desk accessories.
    • Food and beverage.
  • Electronic Equipment
    • Lamps (indoor and outdoor, hard-wired and portable fixtures).
    • Office equipment, appliances, and audiovisual equipment.
    • Electric powered equipment.
The policy should address performance targets for purchases that meet the criteria in MR Credit: Purchasing. The policy must cover at least those product purchases within the building and site management’s control. For interiors projects, the policy must cover product purchases within the project’s control. INTERIORS In addition to the requirements above, Interiors projects must recommend best practices for environmentally preferable purchasing for purchases outside of the project’s control.
INTERIORS
In addition to the requirements above, Interiors projects must recommend best practices for environmentally preferable purchasing for purchases outside of the project’s control.

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.

I don’t know what my tenants are purchasing, so how do I determine the building’s top five product categories?

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.)

7/25/2019Updated: 11/6/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Remove the following bullet points:
- requirements for storage locations for recyclable materials and batteries and lamps to MR prerequisite Waste Performance.
 Simplified ongoing consumables paper, toner cartridges, binders, and desk accessories to office supplies.
 Added new section for building materials

Updated and added the following bullet points:
 Tracking food and beverage purchases is now required in the policy for all projects.
 Moved lamps under electronic equipment.
 New requirements added for Interiors adaptation.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes

LEEDuser expert

Dan Ackerstein

Ackerstein Sustainability, LLC
Principal

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Unsubscribe from discussions about EBOM-v4.1 MRp1