Locally Sourced materials definition

Hi Elizabeth, if you look at the LEED Credit Library, they've inserted an "and" in that statement... www.usgbc.org/node/2616388?return=/credits/new-construction/v4/material-%26amp%3B-resources

Thanks, Trista.  If a material is extracted, manufactured and purchased within the 100 mile project radius, then it qualifieds for 200% of its cost.  How valuable is this criteria typically in a project?  Where to learn more about costs and their applicability to points?  Thanks.

Tom, it really depends on the product. 200% of a low-cost item, such as a maybe a small finish product, wouldn't be all that helpful in gaining ground towards that 25% requirement (or 50% for exemplary performance). You would need to already by close to meeting the requirement or have a lot of those low-cost items meeting that locally sourced bonus. Alternatively, if you are meeting it with a high-cost item, such as steel, that will have a much larger impact on your ability to get to the 25% needed to meet the credit requirement (or 50% needed for EP).

Thanks Dustin.  NSC 373 certified stone products are high cost items and could have a big impact.  What is the 25% you referenced?

For Option 2, the requirement is to use products that meet at least one of the listed responsible extraction criteria for at least 25%, by cost, of the total value of permanently installed building products in the project. So, if the stone products you're using meet the locally sourced criteria and cost say $50,000, they would count as $100,000. That $100,000 + the rest of the costs associated with products meeting at least one of the listed responsible extraction criteria has to equal at least 25% of your total value of permanently installed building products in the project to get the point associated with Option 2. If you get up to 50%, you get an exemplary performance point in addition to the credit point. Note that the locally sourced "bonus" only applies to Option 2.

Based on my experience with the calculator so far, credit for local sourcing can only be earned if the material is already earning credit for meeting one of the other sustainable criteria. So in the example of the stone products that cost $50,000, you would not earn an automatic doubling of that cost ($100,000) if the material meets the locally sourced criteria. The material would first have to meet one of the other criteria. If, for instance, the stone products contain 10% post-consumer recycled content, then they would contribute $5,000 towards Option 2 of the credit. If they were also locally sourced per the LEED requirements, then that $5,000 contribution will be doubled to $10,000. If however, the stone products are locally sourced but do not meet any of the other sustainable criteria, they would contribute nothing toward the credit. I have found credit for Local Sourcing to only be helpful for a handful of materials for the reason I explained above. In addition to this, the newer 100 mile radius limit is much more restrictive. Also, 100% of the material must be locally sourced, and credit cannot be earned for partial compliance. For materials that I used to rely on to contribute heavily to the Regional Materials credit in LEEDv2009 (concrete, masonry, paving), I am finding now that they provide little to no credit for Local Sourcing.  

Many thanks, Marcia, for your detailed and considerate answer.  When you mention working with the "calculator", what do you mean - is there a program that leads you through the LEED credit process?  I am quite new to the LEED system and would like to know more about the mechanics - have just joined the CT USGBC.

I am just now seeing that the number of miles to qualify for a regional materials credit has changed from 500 miles to 100 miles.  Can you tell me when this change took place?  Thank you.

Hi Wendy, this was a change that has been a part of LEED v4 since it launched.

I'll just add.... in my opinion this has been an unhelpful a shock to the system for manufacturers who have diligently worked to support LEED projects with this requirement. The 100-mile radius is not 5 times less area to draw from than 500 miles—it's 25 times less. So if you're surprised, you're not alone.

Thank you Tristan.  As you may have guessed, unlike you and your associates, I am far from being a LEED expert!  My company is a door and hardware Subcontractor and the G.C. for the LEED projects sends us various forms to complete for the materials we are supplying.  The forms that I've received for the project we are currently working on are very different than those I have filled out in the past.  It is on the LEP form where I noticed the distance for regional materials was 100 miles.  So, going by what you've told me, this must be the first time I received the LEED v4 forms.  I thought I read that LEED v4 started in 2016.  If that's true, don't you think it seems odd that "they" weren't using these forms before now?  I was searching for LEED info online, as I have in the past, and your site was pretty much the only one that I was able to find any info.  I only wish that there was a site that would provide people like myself with answers to questions regarding completing these forms.:)  Thank you again!

Wendy, I totally sympathize. A quick orientation guide for folks in your position would be so helpful. I'd love to see LEEDuser develop one! It may seem odd, but it's not... LEED v4 only became required as the standard for new project registrations pretty recently, and there are a lot of LEED 2009 (the previous version) projects in the pipeline. So some people are only starting to switch over.

And to make matters worse (or better, it depends!), LEED NCv-4.1 has rolled out.  Do check it out, I believe we can opt to switch specific credits to v4.1. A number of the MR credits have relaxed their thresholds.  
We were pleasantly surprised.
Here's the weblink https://new.usgbc.org/leed-v41 and at "Resources" at the bottom of the page are links to download the new version.  Recommend you look at the "tracked changes" version. 

In past versions LEED allowed for a percentage of regional materials to count towards compliance, but it seems for v4 that 100% of the material needs to be manufactured and harvested within that 100 miles.  Is that an overly stringent interpretation?

No, that is not an overly stringent interpretation. Per the BPDO Calculator: All extraction, manufacture, and purchase (including distribution) of the product and its materials occur within 100 mile (160 km) radius. [Emphasis mine]