Yes. If there is no recorded leakage over the last 12 months, you must use 0.5% for the Lr value, which represents the low-end of the allowable range. However, if the equipment is under separate management control (e.g. a refrigerator owned by a tenant), you may use the 10% exemption to exclude that equipment from the credit requirements (up to 10% of the building floor area can be excluded if it is under separate management control).

ANSWER – The LEED-EBOM Reference Guide doesn’t explicitly offer the same default for steel recycled content that is afforded under LEED-NC, and steel building materials typically have a much higher level of recycled content than steel consumer products. That said, the 25% default is a conservative estimate and isn’t unreasonable for products that fall in the EBOM durable goods category. It’s likely that the 25% default will pass the LEED review process; however, it’s always preferable to provide manufacturer product data sheets that confirm the actual recycled content level.

In instances where tenant data cannot be gathered, or the LEED-EBOM applicant does not have control over tenant operational practices, the project team may exclude up to 10% of the building’s gross floor area for any credit. See page xxii of the Reference Guide for further information.

Onsite salvage refers to an established internal program focusing on material reuse. Shuffling equipment around the office or between floors does not count (except in a multi-tenant scenario where unwanted items are collected and distributed between tenants). This criterion is often best met by larger organizations that place used furniture in long-term storage and then make stored items available to other buildings within the organization when the need arises.

The EPEAT program can help you evaluate electronic products (desktop computers, laptops and monitors) against a large range of environmental performance criteria—not just energy use. You can be sure that any EPEAT-rated product is energy-efficient because Energy Star certification is a requirement of the EPEAT program. This means that a product that has earned any level of EPEAT rating allows you to claim two sustainability criteria and earn double credit under MRc2, for Energy Star and EPEAT.

Only durable goods that are used within the scope of the LEED project boundary should be included in MRc2.

While the ideal solution is to develop a way to track items that are purchased and used within the scope of your LEED project boundary, some projects may find that this is not possible.  An alternative method for compliance you may consider attempting is to take an organization-wide approach to satisfying the credit requirements. To do this, thoroughly document the sustainability criteria met for total organizational purchases, and then extrapolate this performance to the project building.

This is a very common question, and LEEDuser expects USGBC to clarify its policy at some point. For the time being, the following is the best of our knowledge: Energy Star has developed performance-based specifications for equipment in over 60 product categories, and if the product purchased is not in any of these categories, it is currently ineligible for an Energy Star rating, and it can be excluded completely from MRc2 calculations. If you are purchasing a product that isn’t rated by Energy Star, research the available options and try to buy a more energy-efficient model.

No, but there may be some things you can do. Consider extending the performance period for this credit back to include older qualifying purchases. The performance period for any prerequisite or credit can last for a maximum of 24 months, at the discretion of the project team. Remember that all performance periods must overlap and terminate within 30 days of each other. Consult pages xix–xx of the LEED-EBOM Reference Guide for additional guidance.

The LEED-EBOM Reference Guide doesn’t explicitly offer the same default for steel recycled content that is afforded under LEED-NC. That said, the 25% default is a conservative estimate and isn’t unreasonable for products that fall under EBOM MRc3. It’s likely that the 25% default will pass the LEED review process, but it’s always ideal to provide manufacturer product data sheets that confirm the actual recycled content level.