BDC Material & Resource Calculator- Percentage Regional

Suha—Your framing sub should be able to provide data or a statement from the framing manufacturer to substantiate their regional material and recycled content claims, with percentages if they can be determined. Without percentages, the distances are meaningless.

Tracing the extraction location can be complicated, and percentages can be tricky to pin down. For metal framing, the point of manufacture would be the plant that bent and formed the framing members from sheet steel. Typically, that plant would have purchased the sheet from another company that rolled the steel from thicker steel slabs produced, in turn, at another mill from a combination of iron ore and recycled steel. The points of extraction would be the mines that produced the ore and the scrap yards that stockpiled the recycled steel.

A 2010 Addendum (http://www.usgbc.org/leed-interpretations?keys=100000379) clarifies that “all steps of the manufacturing process(s) must be within the 500 mile radius of the project site in order to qualify for MR Credit 5.” Therefore, the manufacturer can only claim as “regional” the percentage of raw material that they can trace to mines or recycling facilities within 500 miles of your jobsite.

In my experience, framing manufacturers have not held a tight enough rein on their supply chains to provide exact and reliable regional percentages, but they may be able to report a minimum to maximum range. Today, some manufacturers might do better.

Suha—You posted a comment at the very bottom of this page (http://www.leeduser.com/credit/CS-2009/MRc5?#comment-55761) that I think you meant to post here. You asked, “This is regarding the % regional (my original post). What should I ask my Cold-formed metal subcontractor? He does not understand % regional. His LEED statement states that his products which are extracted and manufactured within 500 mile radius, contributes for MR C5 credit. Is this something we can calculate or should the subcontractor only be providing this info? Subcontractors tend to get overwhelmed with all the details we ask for. Please suggest easier method to come up with the % regional in the BDC Calculator. Thank you”

If a sub does not have a LEED-AP or someone else on staff who understands the MR credits, don’t expect them to interpret the documentation or do the calculations. ALL your subs should base their “LEED Statements” on data obtained FROM PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS, and subs should include that documentation as part of their submittals. This allows you, the LEED-AP, to assess the data’s validity and correct faulty calculations.

Just be aware that not all manufactures track their raw material sources. Those that don’t will never be able to provide adequate data to your sub, so their products count as 0% regional.

Finally, doing homework up-front can avoid overwhelming paperwork later. Early on, review the project’s budget, cost estimates, and Schedule of Values to identify “Big Ticket” materials capable of the greatest MR credit impact. Research those products online to determine which manufacturers report recycled content and which within 500 miles are able to document extraction sites. Armed with this knowledge, focus on the products that can contribute most to MR credits. Don’t spin your wheels researching minor materials that contribute little or trying to track down nonexistent or unfavorable data.