construction management

Hi Zu-Ning - For NC Option 1, use a 500-mile radius from the project site, measured "as the crow flies". You can use an online tool like the Geobytes Distance Calculator http://geobytes.com/citydistancetool/ to find the staight-line distance between 2 cities. Both the manufacturing location AND the raw material extraction point must be within that radius. For Option 2, add the actual distance traveled (road miles -- use google maps, etc.) from the extraction point to the manufacturing point, then the manufacturing point to the project site. Hope that helps.

Sorry Zu-Ning. I have no idea why they chose 500 miles. My guess is it was somewhat arbitrary, but a reasonable radius from which to actually source products.

Hi--having been there since (almost) the beginning, I can say with some confidence that there was no science behind the 500-mile figure. It was selected based on what seemed achievable for most major cities; while still encouraging a regional approach to the procurement of resources.One consideration was the energy/carbon impact of transportation. There was along the way a proposal to allow the travel distance to vary based on mode of transport. LEED Canada actually adopted that approach. But it was deemd too complicated by those managing the US/international version.

Hi Nadav - Thanks for the history. I wanted to note that the 7/6/2012 correction (http://www.usgbc.org/leedaddenda/100001265) added the new Option 2 for this credit that allows teams to use total travel distance using a weighted average.

Right! I had forgotten that. Thanks, Michelle.

Zu-Ning - You're welcome to quote my answer. I didn't participate in the development of LEED so I'll defer to Nadav about his information. The only thing I could suggest to potentially get a resource for the 500-mile radius would be to contact USGBC and ask to connect with the Materials and Resources Subject Matter Expert. I'd use leedinfo@usgbc.org.