v4.1 EPD Option 2 (optimization) - no viable way to mandate this in construction specs!

I am not including Option 2 as a possible credit strategy for any of my projects. 

Incidentally I am teaching a class at a university on green building materials. When I gave my lecture on the materials credits and the required documentation, some of my students laughed out loud and asked, "Who would do all that for one LEED point?"

My thoughts exactly.

I was hoping I had a methodology pathway worked out focusing on the embodied carbon reductions, but it doesn't sound like it will pan out under further review.  I suspect in 1-2 years, some of larger manufacturers will update EPD's to comply with Option 2.

Greetings from the bleeding edge.  Our standard Interface carpet tile (must be made in US on GlasBac or GlasBacRE backing) has this documentation that will give you 200% spend or 2 full products.  We used GreenCircle Certified to verify our LCA data and reductions as part of the Certified Environmental Facts Label (this program will be referenced by name in the next LEED release).  Under v4.1 you still need 8 more products (or the rest of your 10% spend) to get the point.  Even if you game the system and use both of our backings (which have separate documentation) on the same project, you still need 6 more products.  One area to explore is which of your favorite manufacturers with EPDs could prepare a "Life Cycle Impact Reduction Action Plan" for 50%/one-half product credit.  I'm not sure what the requirement that the LCA be "critically reviewed" means.  If it still requires hiring an outside LCA consultant, this could be a barrier, but it's worth asking.  

It's all very well to say this isn't worth the trouble to get a single point, but remember, in terms of climate change, etc., the whole point of EPDs is to drive footprint reductions by manufacturers and their suppliers and this is another path to incent that work being done.

USGBC staff confirmed that an internal LCA practicioner at a manufacturer can "critically review" an Action Plan for EPD Multi-Attribute Optimization, so this may be a fairly low-hanging fruit for any manufacturer that already has EPDs for their products.

Joanna, Hi.  I am a little late to this discussion, but I too have been searching for the elusive (10) products and this is what I have found:

•   UL spot has a search filter that allows you to find products that have documented (compliant) EPD "optimization", however they are currently showing only two products: Owens Corning faced and unfaced Insulation that will each count as 1.5 (GWP decrease of 17%) and a Kohler toilet that will also count as 1.5 (GWP decrease of 13%). 
• I have also found the "Optimization Summary" and GreenCircle labels for the Interface carpet that Mikhail talks about above.  Depending upon how many styles you can use this is a great choice because each compliant product will count as 2.
• I have also found a list of products on the Sherwin Williams website for which they have completed Life Cycle Impact Reduction Plans -each will be worth only one-half of a product but I see our project easily using 6 or 8 of these yeilding 3 or 4 products towards our goal of 10.  I cross checked them for Low Emitting compliance and I didn't see any problem there.  Incidentally - Sherwin Williams directs you to the NSF product database to access the Plans and I thought for a moment this would lead me to more products, but unfortunately it seems they are the only manufacturer to lsiting such plans on the NSF site.

I found a few of these by searching databases, but I found the Interface and Sherwin Williams by just considering which manufacturers have been on the forefront of keeping up with the LEED criteria and documentation and searching their sites.  I think our project will be able to use the above to achieve the credit, but I am continuing to search for more compliant documentation - please post back if you find more!

I posted my whole list of products with some kind of EPD Optimization documentation on another thread on this credit, but Denise has listed some of them already here.  Here are a few more:  

GreenCircle Certified database (2 more products):

1. Asphalt Systems Inc. (road coating) http://database.greencirclecertified.com/database/uploads/pdf/GreenCircle+-+LCA+GSB-88+-+20-0169-6e8.pdf
2. ASSA ABLOY EcoPower Power Supply (door technology, should be 2 products) http://database.greencirclecertified.com/database/uploads/pdf/ASSA+ABLOY+-+LCA+Optimized-swf.pdf

SCS Global database (3 products):

1. 3form Varia Panels (100%/1 product credit)https://www.scscertified.com/products/cert_pdfs/SCS-OPT-04943_3form_Varia_071020.pdf
2. 3form Pressed Glass Panels (200%/2 products credit)

https://www.scscertified.com/products/cert_pdfs/SCS-OPT-04942_3form_PressedGlass_040920.pdf

1. 3form Chroma Panels (200%/2 products credit)

https://www.scscertified.com/products/cert_pdfs/SCS-OPT-04940_3form_Chroma_040920.pdf

USG Sheetrock EcoSmart panels (verified by WAP Sustainability for 1.5 product contribution)

https://www.usg.com/content/dam/USG_Marketing_Communications/united_states/product_promotional_materials/finished_assets/sheetrock-ecosmart-panels-firecode-x-multi-attribute-optimization-credit-epd-en.pdf

This credit is missing the A4 Project site. A1 to A3 cradle to gate of the manufacture. ISO 21930 explicitly says you cannot compare cradle to gate EPD’s.  So responsible manufacturers supplying type III EPD cannot send Type III EPD’s to a knowledgeable third party to compare. This would be in violation of the type III EPD’s PCR especially since most structural  products are manufactured on project site like asphalt, concrete, steel and timber. Should a building in New York City looking to use CLT get it from the French alps or New York State? The account rules are different so CLT in France could have a TYPE III EPD with a lower GWP but transportation GWP could be much higher than the onsite NY State CLT production.  This credit as written needs to include A4 at a minimum.  

Mikhail Davis,

We are able to incorporate Interface's modular carpet into our project, along with a few Allegion products, the USG sheetrock and Owens Corning Ecotouch/Pink, thus achieving the coveted v4.1 EPD Option 2 (1point). Unfortunately, it appears the Optimized EPD for Interface's product is now expired. Do you know if you there is an updated one?

https://interfaceinc.scene7.com/is/content/InterfaceInc/Interface/Americ...

Thank you for any help you can provide.

Also Owens Corning has rebranded the Ecotouch/Pink who's Optimized EPD has expired and the new product does not have an Optimized EPD.  However the Spot UL website does show several Owens Corning Thermafiber products that do have Optimzed EPD's.  Please see below for correspondence with Owens Corning:

Allen,

We are currently looking into this to see what the options are. At this time, we do not have a definite answer. If you have any questions let us know. 

Alicia Zeiler 

Product Technical Specialist 

GetPink | GETTECH Team 

P: 1-800-Get-Pink (438-7465)

GETTECH@owenscorning.com

  OWENS CORNING

One Owens Corning Parkway

Toledo, OH | 43659-0001 | United States

www.owenscorning.com

From: Allen Cornett <acornett@inspeconline.com> 

Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 8:51 AM

To: GETTECH (Owens Corning) <GETTECH@owenscorning.com>

Subject: RE: Optimization Summaries 

Thank you for the information.  Are there plans to produce an updated Optimization Summary?  I have several projects that install this material specifically because it has an optimization report.  Thank you for your time.

Allen Cornett CSI, CCCA, LEED AP BD+C, GGP, Fitwel Ambassador

From: GETTECH (Owens Corning) <GETTECH@owenscorning.com> 

Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2022 7:47 AM

To: Allen Cornett <acornett@inspeconline.com>

Cc: GETTECH (Owens Corning) <GETTECH@owenscorning.com>

Subject: Optimization Summaries 

Alan,

Thank you for contacting Owens Corning. I apologize for the delay in response, I had to get confirmation from our Sustainability team. At this time, we do not have an updated Optimization Summary for our EcoTouch Insulation, and currently the Pink Next Gen Insulation is covered under the EcoTouch EPD. At the time it was issued the timing for the summaries were 3 years versus the 5 year for the EPD. If you have any questions let us know. 

Alicia Zeiler 

Product Technical Specialist 

GetPink | GETTECH Team 

P: 1-800-Get-Pink (438-7465)

GETTECH@owenscorning.com

One Owens Corning Parkway

Toledo, OH | 43659-0001 | United States

www.owenscorning.com

Julie, I believe that you can count the EPD if it was in effect when you purchased the product, even if it has expired when you are submitting your documentation (although I can't find that in writing this morning). I don't know if that will help your situation.  

Also, the new EPD is good for 0.5 point.

Julie,  

I have the same issue with the Interface GlasBac Re Products and short answer is no, the Optimization report for that (backing) product will not be renewed.  Instead Interface has replaced that backing in their line-up with "CQuest GB" and I am told that they have been producing and shipping the CQuest GB for orders submitted with GlasBacRe since June 2021 (when they made the transition).  Please see these notes & answers received from the Interface Sustainability Team:

• In the past we had the attached GreenCircle certification for GlasBacRE valued at 200% or 2 products.  This certification expired in June 2021 when we stopped making the product.  If you purchased GlasBacRE you can use the expired certification for the LEED EPD Optimization credit since it was valid when the product was manufactured.
• The current EPD Optimization Plan is for GlasBac only, not CQuestGB.
• We don’t currently have an EPD optimization plan for CQuestGB.  We anticipate having one but do not know exactly when we will have it. 

If your project ordered GlasBac or GlasBac RE after June 2021:  1. There are (new) LCA Optimizaton Plans for these products  (they will only be worth 1/2 product, but better than nothing).  Please note that as of this moment I have not received an Optimization plan for CQuestGB, but I am anticipating a submittal soon and I'll let you know if I receive one.

i asked GBCI this question too..."what happens when declarations of products in the spec expire?"

many of my projects are several years long, it does not make sense to update specs along the way to ensure declarations remain compliant. Here is GBCI's response with respect to expiration of declarations:

In Low-Emitting Materials, Reviewers are checking that the certification period on a third-party claim overlaps with the estimated manufacturing date of the installed product. To estimate the manufacturing date, Reviewers look at the project’s duration based on the anticipated start and end dates that are reported in the Project Details and the date of substantial completion of construction in the Project Information. Ideally, a certificate would be confirmed when specifying and then updated, if the certificate has expired, at purchase. Although recognizing this double-check may be unrealistic for a lot of project teams, Reviewers should accept a certificate with a certification period that overlaps the project’s estimated design/specification phase, or up to roughly a year before construction. Using your Armstrong example below, if you can update the certificate at purchase, that is ideal. If not, the current one that expires in May should not be rejected because of date. Certificates with a certification period that begins after the project’s construction phase will not be accepted; so sourcing certificates after product purchase is not recommended. If you do so, you may end up having to go back to the manufacturer, or check the applicable database, to obtain earlier versions of the certificate(s), if available, that overlap with the manufacturing date.

Note that manufacturer claims are handled a little differently as they have only a test date rather than a certification period. For manufacturer claims on v4 projects and those using the v4.1 substitution, Reviewers will generally allow a test date up to about five years old without questioning whether it is still valid. For manufacturer claims on v4.1 projects registered after the November 2020 addenda, claims must be less than three years old. Claims with a test date that occurs after the project’s construction phase will not be accepted.

I love the fact that you pulled this back to the purpose. We have so many changes yet to make.

v4.1 only requires 5 products. It's better to work backwards, seeing if the few products that meet this requirement are in your project. Sherwin Williams paint, 3form, Interface carpet, Allegion/von duprin hardware, Owens corning insulation, USG EcoSmart. The list is growing. The filter on transparencycatalog.com is pretty good. We rarely count on the contractor to track down this documentation.

GreenBadger offers a free download titled "LEED v4.1 EPD and MIR Option 2 Product Guide QUARTERLY UPDATE – OCTOBER 2022" which provides lists of numerous products that will meet the Option 2's for both EPDs and MIR's.

LEED v4.1 EPD and MIR Option 2 Product Guide | Green Badger (getgreenbadger.com)

Of course it is an abbreviated list for each BPDO credit, to entice you to subscribe to the service, but it's a decent list of various materials to get you started.  It would be great if GreenBadger had a cheaper "database only" membership where we could just type in a product name rather than hunting across 20 different sites/databases/manufacturer pages. 

This v4 documentation is infuriating to track down and review, and half the time it ends in being "only to 100ppm", expired date ranges or good on VOC g/L but no dice on a General Emission Evaluation!?!  Who has the time to spend all day on a handful of submittals?

FYI analysis to 100ppm (0.01%) is a more stringent than 1000ppm (0.1%)

Sorry, yes that should have been.... "half the time it ends in being "only to 1,000ppm".  Facepalm moment TGIF!

On this forum it was recently brought to our attention that the format that the Allegion optimized EPD reports no longer met the requirements of USGBC. We worked with our consultant and recently published updated reports.

The documents are available here: https://us.allegion.com/sustainability Please go to the LEED tile and then EPDs.

The six document are:

• Falcon MEL (Motorized Electric Latch retraction) - EPD Optmization Assessment (2 products)
• Glynn-Johnson 100 series overhead stop -LCA Optimization Action Plan
• Ives Architectural Hinges - LCA Optimization Action Plan
• Von Duprin 98/99 series panic devices - LCA Optimization Action Plan
• Von Duprin QEL (Quite Electric Latch retraction) - EPD Optmization Assessment (2 products)
• Von Duprin M996 Trim (Motorized locking/unlocking Trim) - EPD Optmization Assessment (2 products)

If there are any questions or additional concerns please reach out to me.

https://us.allegion.com/en/resources/sustainability/leed/environmental-p...

Here is a better link to the Allegion resources.

Jeremiah Luckett posted Green Badger's October 2022 version of the LEED v4.1 EPD and MIR Option 2 Product Guide. There is now a January 2024 update with popular products broken down by CSI division. EPD and MIR Option 2 Product Guide - Jan 2024 | Green Badger (getgreenbadger.com) In addition, Green Badger has an advanced search function available as part of our LEED software project license to help project teams find many more of these products.  This search function allows the design team to roadmap.  In addition, it helps LEED project teams identify already specified products that meet the requirements and/or find additional products that meet the requirements in order to earn the optimization points.