The building we are applying for LEED-EB certification is one of several buildings on a community college campus in Michigan. Currently, the college does not track purchases separately for each building because they typically make bulk purchases and distribute products to each building as needed. We have been able to determine the total purchases for the entire college. Using the size and population of the building we are submitting for certification, we would like to propose an alternative method of calculating the total purchases for our building. Would it be acceptable to the LEED-EB committee to determine the amount of purchases for our building based on a per square foot or per student basis? For example, if our building is 290,000 SF and the total of all buildings on campus is 1,200,000 SF, our building equals 24% of the SF. Based on this calculation, can we assume that 24% of all general purchases for the campus go to our building? (There are some specialty purchases for departments in proposed building we are able to track.) We are proposing to use this same strategy for the calculations required for Optimize Use of Alternative Materials, Optimize Use of IAQ Compliant Products, Sustainable Cleaning Products and Materials, and Additional Toxic Material Source Reduction in order to maintain consistency across the board. Please confirm this will be acceptable.
In a contiguous multi-building or campus environment within a single geographic region it is permissible to assign organization-wide purchases to specific buildings based on a square-footage analysis if those purchases inherently scale with building square footage with only a weak dependence on how each building is used. For example - if the campus as a whole purchases $1,000 in adhesives and sealants, the applicant may assume that a building representing 24% of the total square footage of the campus \'purchases\' 24% of those materials ($240), and calculate compliance with EB MRc3 accordingly. A similar procedure could be followed for furniture and furnishings in EB MRc2. However, quantities of office paper in MRc2 and mercury lamps in MRp2 and MRc6 depend strongly on the usage type of each space, and in these cases the Applicant needs to either prorate based on a different metric or provide evidence that prorating by square footage is reasonable (e.g., if virtually all buildings have a similar usage type, if exceptions or corrections are made for major variances, etc.). As the Applicant noted, specialty purchases should be assigned on a building-specific basis whenever feasible, and any extenuating circumstances which might suggest alterations to the square-footage analysis should be considered and documented accordingly. Calculations based upon a per student or per occupant basis would not be permissible unless the Applicant showed that the purchases inherently scale with the number of students or building occupants. Applicable Internationally.