Trista Brown
LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador
WSP USA
Project Director
EBOM-2009 MRc5: Sustainable Purchasing—Food
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Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Achieve sustainable purchases of at least 25% of total combined food and beverage purchases (by cost) during the performance period. Sustainable purchases are those that meet 1 or both of the following criteria:
- Purchases are labeled USDA Organic, Food Alliance Certified, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Protected Harvest Certified, Fair Trade, Marine Stewardship Council’s Blue Eco-Label or are labeled with the European Community Organic Production logo in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 834/2007 and (EC) No 889/2008.
- Purchases are produced within a 100-mile (160-kilometer) radius of the site.
Frequently asked questions
Can our project earn this credit with just a one-time purchase of food for an event in the building?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
We have several tenants in our building. Do we have to track food purchases from all of them? What if they won't give us their purchasing data?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Do we have to include food and beverages that are purchased for our vending machines?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
What if a food item is produced nearby (say at a processing plant) but the ingredients aren’t sourced locally. Does that count towards the 100-mile regional criteria?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
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Documentation toolkit
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LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
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Addenda
15/01/2016– Updated: 07/04/2016
Form Update
Description of change:
Inquiry:
Ruling:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
06/07/2012– Updated: 14/02/2015
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
ad-100001432
In the first bullet, remove "or" between "Fair Trade" and "Marine Stewardship Council\'s Blue Eco-Label"
Inquiry:
Ruling:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
06/07/2012– Updated: 14/02/2015
Global ACP
Description of change:
ad-100001434
Delete the Alternative Compliance Path for Projects Outside the U.S.
Inquiry:
Ruling:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
06/07/2012– Updated: 14/02/2015
Global ACP
Description of change:
ad-100001433
In the first bullet, add "or are labeled with the European Community Organic Production logo in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 834/2007 and (EC) No 889/2008." after "Marine Stewardship Council\'s Blue Eco-Label"
Inquiry:
Ruling:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
01/10/2013
LEED Interpretation
Description of change:
Inquiry:
Can bottled water that is sourced and bottled within 100 miles of the project site be counted as a regional purchase within MRc5?
Ruling:
The project team is requesting guidance on the treatment of bottled water in the calculations for MRc5 Sustainable Purchasing – Food. Because bottled water has well-documented and significant environmental impacts compared to tap water, it must be included in the calculations for this credit and counted as non-sustainable purchase, regardless of the location of sourcing and packaging.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
LEEDuser overview
Frank advice from LEED experts
LEED is changing all the time, and every project is unique. Even seasoned professionals can miss a critical detail and lose a credit or even a prerequisite at the last minute. Our expert advice guides our LEEDuser Premium members and saves you valuable time.
For full access, sign up now for LEEDuser Premium
Already a premium member? Log in now
Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Achieve sustainable purchases of at least 25% of total combined food and beverage purchases (by cost) during the performance period. Sustainable purchases are those that meet 1 or both of the following criteria:
- Purchases are labeled USDA Organic, Food Alliance Certified, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Protected Harvest Certified, Fair Trade, Marine Stewardship Council’s Blue Eco-Label or are labeled with the European Community Organic Production logo in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 834/2007 and (EC) No 889/2008.
- Purchases are produced within a 100-mile (160-kilometer) radius of the site.
Checklists
Step by step to LEED certification
LEEDuser’s checklists walk you through the key action steps you need to earn a credit, including how to avoid common pitfalls and save money.
For full access, sign up now for LEEDuser Premium
Already a premium member? Log in now
Documentation toolkit
The motherlode of cheat sheets
LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
For full access, sign up now for LEEDuser Premium
Already a premium member? Log in now
Frequently asked questions
Can our project earn this credit with just a one-time purchase of food for an event in the building?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
We have several tenants in our building. Do we have to track food purchases from all of them? What if they won't give us their purchasing data?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Do we have to include food and beverages that are purchased for our vending machines?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
What if a food item is produced nearby (say at a processing plant) but the ingredients aren’t sourced locally. Does that count towards the 100-mile regional criteria?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Addenda
15/01/2016– Updated: 07/04/2016
Form Update
Description of change:
Inquiry:
Ruling:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
06/07/2012– Updated: 14/02/2015
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
ad-100001432
In the first bullet, remove "or" between "Fair Trade" and "Marine Stewardship Council\'s Blue Eco-Label"
Inquiry:
Ruling:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
06/07/2012– Updated: 14/02/2015
Global ACP
Description of change:
ad-100001434
Delete the Alternative Compliance Path for Projects Outside the U.S.
Inquiry:
Ruling:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
06/07/2012– Updated: 14/02/2015
Global ACP
Description of change:
ad-100001433
In the first bullet, add "or are labeled with the European Community Organic Production logo in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 834/2007 and (EC) No 889/2008." after "Marine Stewardship Council\'s Blue Eco-Label"
Inquiry:
Ruling:
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
01/10/2013
LEED Interpretation
Description of change:
Inquiry:
Can bottled water that is sourced and bottled within 100 miles of the project site be counted as a regional purchase within MRc5?
Ruling:
The project team is requesting guidance on the treatment of bottled water in the calculations for MRc5 Sustainable Purchasing – Food. Because bottled water has well-documented and significant environmental impacts compared to tap water, it must be included in the calculations for this credit and counted as non-sustainable purchase, regardless of the location of sourcing and packaging.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
Guest expert
Trista Brown
LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador
WSP USA
Project Director