You can use screenshots of the Green Seal website as long as you indicate the products that are actually being used at the project building by highlighting, underlining, circling, etc. Also, it will make the review process easier if you make sure that the product name that you include in your credit documentation precisely matches the information listed on the Green Seal website.

While microfiber rags are considered an environmentally preferable cleaning product, they are not currently recognized in the credit criteria and should be completely excluded from your calculations.

Work with all of your vendors to identify alternative cleaning products that meet the credit criteria. Remember that only purchases that take place during the performance period apply to the credit calculations and so cleaning activities that occur infrequently may not be included if they take place outside of the credit performance period.

No, you don’t need to track those items, and in fact there are a lot of cleaning-related items that aren’t covered under the scope of this credit. Rather than looking at the whole universe of cleaning products, it’s a lot easier to approach this credit by looking at the four major categories that are covered in the credit: cleaning products, cleaning chemicals (disinfectants, metal polishes, floor strippers, etc.) disposable paper products, and hand soaps and sanitizers.

LEED Interpretation ID #2460 allows teams to exclude plastic trashcan liners that have a thickness of 0.7 mil or less. This Interpretation was approved for LEED v2008 projects, but has not been formally approved for LEED 2009 or v4 projects. However, the Interpretation likely remains applicable because the basis for it has not changed since it was approved for v2008, i.e., the nature of plastic trash liner manufacturing and the associated issues with recycled content and source reduction described in the Interpretation still apply today.

Project teams often forget to include hand soaps and hand sanitizers when documenting the credit. Also, it’s important to include janitorial paper products and trash bags here, and not under MRc1 Purchasing – ongoing.

For EAc2.1, M&V doesn’t necessarily refer to BAS systems or sub-metering, but your ongoing plan to implement the recommendations and strategies established by the audit and monitor performance, improvements and cost savings over time. Be sure to provide a detailed narrative that addresses this and don’t just refer to the content of the Cx plan and Cx report. Commonly, the measurement and verification program will involve a monthly review of utility invoices to determine if the anticipated savings are being realized.

There is no minimum number of capital improvement measures that must be identified by the audit. What is important is that project teams use the findings of their audit or commissioning to look forward and identify further opportunities, beyond the immediate low- or no-cost measures. This exercise helps to make the auditing or commissioning results relevant on an ongoing basis, and to understand what impact capital improvements might make, beyond their cost.

Yes, the ASHRAE Level II audit can be performed in-house. The auditor must have the skills necessary to perform the audit, but otherwise does not need to hold specific credentials or be a third party. Audits for LEED-EBOM projects are commonly conducted by a third-party auditor, commissioning agent, or building engineer. 

The expectation is that the audit methodology outlined in the ASHRAE document be used to guide the audit procedure and the approach to understanding building performance, energy use and opportunity for improvement. However, teams are not required to use the ASHRAE forms for reporting results.

Refer to the Reference Guide and the EAc2.1 credit form for checklists and outlines of documentation that is required for LEED documentation. Audit reports commonly are flagged for not including certain data required by the credit form, such as demand savings and maintenance cost savings.