The cost premium for low-emitting flooring varies. Carpet, for example, should not have much of a premium, if any. Many hard-surface flooring materials such as concrete and wood are typically low-emitting themselves, and simply need a low-emitting finish, which is unlikely to have much of a cost premium. With higher-end flooring products, the cost of credit-compliant and non-compliant products should be comparable for all types of flooring. 

Review the table shown in the Bird's Eye View, and the credit language, for low-emitting requirements for different flooring materials.  

Consider using low-emitting flooring materials and systems.

Work with occupants to ensure the program’s success. Communicate about the program and its benefits—communicating about the health benefits of organic food in particular may help occupants feel that their company or building owner cares for their wellbeing. On the other hand, occupants who are unaccustomed to local or organic food may need to adjust their expectations—for example, to expect imperfect-looking produce or seasonal variations in what foods may be available. Get building occupants on board with new products. 

Shipping and handling costs must be either consistently included or consistently excluded in your calculations. 

Record purchases on a tracking sheet—separate from the LEED Online form—so that the information is easily accessible throughout the performance period. (See sample tracking sheet in the Documentation Toolkit.) Remember to transfer all purchasing data from your offline tracking tool into the credit form before you submit your project for review.

Collect product cut sheets demonstrating the compliance of at least 25% of the food products purchased.

After your project team identifies compliant products, make sure they track all their food purchases throughout the performance period, both compliant and noncompliant. 

If the 25% credit threshold is too high, work with vendors to bring in environmentally preferable food products as much as possible. This will contribute to environmental benefit of your project, and may bring you closer to achieving the credit in the future. See LEEDuser's Guide to Sustainable Food Certifications to determine which food products are the most important to buy from sustainable producers due to environmental and health concerns.

Food products that meet sustainability criteria are often more expensive than conventional food products.