Inclusion of selective Div. 12 products?

I think the operative words are “if done consistently,” but I came to this conclusion from a different direction. LEEDv4 has completely revamped the MR credits, so the V4 citation above may not apply to LEEDv3. Indeed, its reference to ducts is irrelevant, as LEEDv3 explicitly excludes HVAC work specified in CSI Division 23. Since this is an NCv3 forum, I will focus on V3. Similarly, LI#3005, which addressed MEP work as well as furniture, does not apply to NCv3. When this and several other rulings came down, NCv2 requirements were still evolving. In the decade since, newer Reference Guides have supplanted many of these early Rulings. However, of these old rulings, LI#3901 is still relevant to NCv3. It clarified that built-in furniture may be included in LEED credit calculations. The ruling also allowed non-permanent furniture to be included, “BUT ONLY if furniture is included in the project's scope of work. Furniture must then be included in all relevant credit calculations or none at all…. A common sense approach must be taken when deciding what to include as furniture. LEED certification reviews will ensure that project teams are reasonable with what they choose to include and will not skew the results and conflict with the intent of LEED.” More recently, LI#10294 provided a clear definition for furniture and distinguished between “permanent,” “base building” “real estate” and “non-permanent” furniture that is “personal property” (http://www.usgbc.org/leed-interpretations?keys=10294). This ruling also highlights that CSI Division numbers do not align perfectly with these definitions. Division 12 includes items that, for many projects, are permanent (casework, countertops, walk-off systems, etc.). Division 10 includes items that this ruling excludes as non-permanent furniture (visual display units). Therefore, when I have documented NC MR Credits, I have included only those Division 12 items purchased as permanent, base-building construction. I have chosen to exclude movable and “non-permanently” affixed furniture and other items bid and purchased separately as furniture, fixtures, & equipment (FF&E). At a "LEED Certification Work Zone" at a past GreenBuild, a GBCI Reviewer concurred with this approach. She recommended that we document our rationale in case reviewers question our choices.

I posed this question to Kristen Vachon Vogel, Certification Reviewer, at the GBCI Certification Work Zone at Greenbuild in DC. Sorry for my belated post. She confirmed verbally that all of Division 12 must be included or excluded. She followed up with this via e-mail: "In NC v2009, Div 12 may be included or excluded, as long as it is done consistently throughout the project. If included, all items in Div 12 must be included in the denominator (Total Materials Cost), unless otherwise noted in the guidance (ex. artwork and plants are to be excluded)."

I'm wondering if some division 10 specialties could be excluded from the total materials cost, such as signage and window film/tinting and graphics. These can be high cost, mostly due to the design and customization, whereas the material itself is inexpensive (and less likely to have recycled content). Asking for a CI v4 project, but also assume the response would apply to NC v4. Edit: Also, The LEEDv4 BPDO calculator includes Div 11 (equipment/appliances), and for ID+C also Div12 (furnishings)... Why is this? Are there exceptions? It seems to me that equipment/appliances should be excluded from the total materials costs, as these are high cost products due to their specialty or customization. Whereas the materials used in these products probably represents a small portion of the cost. And products in these divisions are typically not permanently attached to the building, so what is the intent behind their inclusion?