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Pilot-Credits WEpc147:All-Gender Restrooms

Menstruation hygiene products

Sara Goenner Curlee

Sustainability Manager and Architect

Pope Design Group

LEEDuser Basic Member

47 thumbs up

March 22, 2022

I posted this question in a string under Innovation, but will duplicate here under the official Pilot Credit forum to show participation and perhaps gather feedback.

I'm working on a higher ed campus building providing 100% all-gender restrooms. The campus does not typically provide menstruation hygiene products in their restrooms, all-gender or multi-stall. Each all-gender restroom is set up to function independently with a toilet, urinal, wall mounted sink, and handwashing supplies. Thus far putting a dispenser or setting them out free in each all-gender restroom hasn't resonated with the client.

Do either of these seem like viable options?

Distributed through a central location in the building or on each floor?
Available for sale at the campus store inside the project building?

Any other ideas? Any constraints on location?

As a woman, I certainly have my thoughts on how to best comply with this credit. I also want to try to understand all the options for meeting the requirement.

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Amanda Tullos

CEO

GreeNexus Consulting, LLC

LEEDuser Premium Member

0 thumbs up

Fri, 03/25/2022 - 20:34

I agree that that specific requirement for this credit is doesn't completely make sense for this credit. Also as a woman, I don't expect for restrooms to provide mentruation hygiene products from most restrooms. I see it as a benefit for some facilities, but it doesn't make sense for all building types. I wonder if you could include your explantion in your documentation and also list that as a barrier to earning the credit. As a pilot, GBCI is looking for that kind of feedback.

Sara Goenner Curlee

Sustainability Manager and Architect

Pope Design Group

LEEDuser Basic Member

47 thumbs up

Fri, 03/25/2022 - 21:04

Thanks for the comment, Amanda. I'd like to clarify that I appreciate the requirement for menstruation hygiene products as part of this credit. I think it has led to some thoughtful discussion on how essential these products are to a large portion of the population, and how if men needed them, like they need toilet paper at times, if it would even be a question whether or not they were provided and they'd likely be free. They seem as essential (if not more honestly) to hygiene as toilet paper. However, I also recognize that the credit is not overly specific in how to provide menstruation hygiene products, and want to be able to present to my owner the range, if there is a range, of acceptable options, advise them on which one is a best practice, and then let them make the decision for their building. The decision will likely set a precendent for other buildings on campus, and is a shift in "norms", so I understand some thought needs to be put into it. I have put in a question to LEED Coach on the topic of acceptable options, and will follow-up once I hear back.

Emily Purcell

Sustainable Design Lead

CannonDesign

LEEDuser Expert

379 thumbs up

Mon, 03/28/2022 - 14:59

Thanks for looking into this Sara, I'm looking forward to seeing the answer! To me the biggest ambiguity in the credit language is whether the intent is for the products to be free to building users, or whether a paid vending machine is acceptable. My personal two cents - any method of distributing supplies should allow someone to pick them up with as much privacy as possible. If the intent is to promote equitable access for all genders, that means a trans male student shouldn't have to risk outing himself by picking up supplies from a person or from a highly visible area. (Not to mention how many women who menstruate deal with embarrassment around getting supplies in front of others!) So the campus store idea doesn't sit well with me - it doesn't sound like it *increases* access to these products, since they're already for sale in stores - but a central distribution point that also offers other essentials could be set up to give people privacy when they're grabbing supplies.

Sara Goenner Curlee

Sustainability Manager and Architect

Pope Design Group

LEEDuser Basic Member

47 thumbs up

Tue, 03/29/2022 - 21:46

Thanks, Emily! I hear you. I brought those items up in discussions too. The response didn't address your question of free or not, but it is clear on location. Here is the response from LEED Coach: WEpc147 All-gender Restrooms: Menstruation product access must be provided within the all gender restroom to earn this credit. The requirements state, "Facilities shall provide means for the distribution of menstruation hygiene products." "Facilities" refer to the all gender restrooms themselves. Providing menstruation hygiene products from a store or central location within the building would not meet the credit requirement. The intent is to ensure privacy for cis women and trans men.

Emily Purcell

Sustainable Design Lead

CannonDesign

LEEDuser Expert

379 thumbs up

Wed, 03/30/2022 - 13:22

Thanks for the update! It sounds like as the designer, you could get away with allocating space for a dispenser and letting the building owner decide whether it's free or paid. Not to make it sound like "getting away with" something less than ideal, just that the language reads to me more like they want you to provide a way to distribute products inside the restroom but are leaving the specifics up to the operations folks. Haven't dug into this one too much yet but I have a couple student housing projects in the pipeline that could be a good fit, so I apprciate you sharing your experience. Now I'm wondering if this credit would apply in a dorm where most restrooms are private within a suite, but there are all-gender public restrooms - not seeing anything in the credit that requires a minimum number of public restrooms...

George Oakley

Project Manager

ArchEcology LLC

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Mon, 03/11/2024 - 22:50

@Sara - Thank you for posting your response from the LEED Coach. I did not pick up that degree of intent from the use of the word "Facilities". I am consulting on a library project that has grouped together multiple all-gender restrooms with a common corridor or small vestibule. The Owner would like to locate the dispenser in the common area outside of the grouped restrooms to serve each restroom. It appears to me, from the LEED Coach's comments, that this would not be an acceptable setup. Privacy would be too limited. It seems that this would apply to the stalls in a larger multi-user all-gender restroom as well. A dispenser in the common restroom area, near the lavs for example, would not be sufficient.

George Oakley

Project Manager

ArchEcology LLC

LEEDuser Basic Member

0 thumbs up

Wed, 03/13/2024 - 19:20

Following up on my previous comment, I consulted a LEED Coach and received a response counter to the expectation in my post, "Locating the menstrual hygiene materials within the shared lavatory area for a multi-stall restroom facility or in a common vestibule area for a grouping of individual stall restrooms would be acceptable and meet the credit intent." The LEED Coach added, "Examples of locations that would not be acceptable are locating the menstrual hygiene materials in a central public area of the building away from the restroom facilities, or in an area outside of the restrooms (such as a health center or janitor closet) where occupants would have to request products." I hope this information proves to be helpful.