LEED Suppliers

Dennis, I think you need to set expectations with this customer and others, letting them know there's no such thing as a LEED manufacturer, LEED certified product, or even LEED certified company. LEED/USGBC does not approve products. Some products, strategies, practices, etc. might help a project achieve LEED certification but that does not make the product LEED certified, or even "compliant" ... even more language to stay away from. I think the closest you can come would be to (credibly) describe your products as potentially contributing to some specific credits. Be specific and don't fall into the "credibility-abyss" like so many other product manufacturers who instantly lose cred by misrepresenting their products, their services, and often themselves. (Can I get a witness?)

I am totally on board with everything Greg said, except with the possible exception of describing a product as "LEED compliant"; from my perspective it is a reasonable presumption to assume that this refers to a product being compliant with specific LEED requirements. But I am all over your objection: Nothing puts a MFR farther down my list than when I hear reference to "LEEDS" and "you get a LEED point for using this product". The only thing I hear in translation is 'I don't really very much about the LEED Rating System, but I want you to think that I do"

Andrew:

-> RE: "LEEDs" ... This is arguably the #1 indicator that someone is familiar with LEED, just not enough to know we're not dealing with a city in England. I start all my LEED classes w/a few slides entitled "LEED vs. Leeds," complete with an image of a Leeds building. (In a recent class, an Englishman commented: "I've been in that building! It's the courthouse.")

-> I agree w/you that some products would could arguably be thought of as "LEED compliant." In fact, early on, I used that term as a handy alternative to anything else I'm "not supposed to claim" related to LEED... until I learned the USGBC objects to that very phrase. I think it comes too close to sounding as if THEY endorse the the product, and dhat's certainly an implication, isn't it? While the principle is one I agree with, the objection to such language is not so much from me as it is from the USGBC themselves. I once read stronger language but can't find it. This should suffice:

https://www.usgbc.org/FAQConsolidation/FAQ_Detail.aspx?Id=Q501400000009v...

Dennis, where are you getting that from? Doesn't make any sense to me.

Buildings can be LEED certified, people can be LEED accredited, but I have never hear of a requirement for a person to be accredited to be able to make a purchase.

Dennis, you should read up on our MRc7 page and forum.