MRc7: Furniture and Medical Furnishings – Above Green

(1-2 points)

Intent

To enhance the environmental and human health performance attributes associated with freestanding furniture and medical furnishings.

Requirements

Use at least 30% (1 point) or 40% (2 points), by cost, of all freestanding furniture and medical furnishings (e.g., mattresses, foams, panel fabrics, cubicle curtains, window coverings, other textiles) that meet the criteria in one of the following three options.

Include built-in casework and built-in millwork in the base building calculations, even if manufactured off site. The dollar value of any individual product may be included in the total qualifying value if the product meets the criteria.

Option 1. Minimal Chemical Content

All components that constitute at least 5%, by weight, of a furniture or medical furnishing assembly, including textiles, finishes, and dyes, must contain less than 100 parts per million (ppm) of at least four of the five following chemical groups:

urea formaldehyde;
heavy metals, including mercury, cadmium, lead, and antimony;
hexavalent chromium in plated finishes consistent with the European Union Directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (EU RoHS);
stain and nonstick treatments derived from perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA); and
added antimicrobial treatments.

AND/OR

Option 2. Testing and Modeling of Chemical Content

All components of a furniture or medical furnishing assembly, including textiles, finishes, and dyes, must contain less than 100 parts per million (ppm) of at least two of the five chemicals or materials listed in Option 1.

New furniture or medical furnishing assemblies must be in accordance with ANSI/BIFMA Standard Method M7.1–2011. Comply with ANSI/BIFMA e3-2010 Furniture Sustainability Standard, Sections 7.6.1 and 7.6.2, using either the concentration modeling approach or the emissions factor approach. Model the test results using the open plan, private office, or seating scenario in ANSI/BIFMA M7.1, as appropriate. USGBC-approved equivalent testing methodologies and contaminant thresholds are also acceptable. Documentation submitted for furniture must indicate the modeling scenario used to determine compliance.

Salvaged and reused furniture more than one year old at the time of use is considered compliant, provided it meets the requirements for any site-applied paints, coatings, adhesives, and sealants.

AND/OR

Option 3: Multi-Attribute Assessment of Products

Use products that meet at least one of the criteria below. Each product can receive credit for each criterion met. The scope of any environmental product declaration (EPD) must be at least cradle to gate.

Life-cycle assessment and environmental product declarations.
- Products with a publicly available, critically reviewed life-cycle assessment conforming to ISO 14044 that have at least a cradle to gate scope are valued as one whole product for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
- Product-specific Type III EPD -- Internally Reviewed. Products with an internally critically reviewed LCA in accordance with ISO 14071. Products with product-specific internal EPDs which conform to ISO 14025, and EN 15804 or ISO 21930 and have at least a cradle to gate scope are valued as one whole product for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
- Industry-wide Type III EPD -- Products with third-party certification (Type III), including external verification, in which the manufacturer is explicitly recognized as a participant by the program operator. Products with industry-wide EPDs, which conform to ISO 14025, and EN 15804 or ISO 21930 and have at least a cradle to gate scope are valued as one whole product for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
Environmental Product Declarations which conform to ISO 14025, 14040, 14044, and EN 15804 or ISO 21930 and have at least a cradle to gate scope.
- Product-specific Type III EPD -- Products with third-party certification (Type III), including external verification and external critical review in which the manufacturer is explicitly recognized as the participant by the program operator are valued as 1.5 products for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
USGBC approved program – Products that comply with other USGBC approved environmental product declaration frameworks.
Extended producer responsibility. Products purchased from a manufacturer (producer) that participates in an extended producer responsibility program or is directly responsible for extended producer responsibility. Products meeting extended producer responsibility criteria are valued at 50% of their cost for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
Bio-based materials. Bio-based raw materials other than wood must be tested using ASTM Test Method D6866 and be legally harvested, as defined by the exporting and receiving country. Exclude hide products, such as leather and other animal skin material.
- Bio-based products that meet the criteria above: value at 50% of cost multiplied by the biobased content of the product for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
- Bio-based products that meet the Sustainable Agriculture Network’s Sustainable Agriculture Standard: value at 100% of cost multiplied by the biobased content of the product for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
Wood products. Wood products must be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council or USGBC-approved equivalent. Products meeting wood products criteria are valued at 100% of their cost for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
Materials reuse. Reuse includes salvaged, refurbished, or reused products. Products meeting materials reuse criteria are valued at 200% of their cost for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
Recycled content. Products meeting recycled content criteria are valued at 100% of their cost for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
- Recycled content is the sum of postconsumer recycled content plus one-half the preconsumer recycled content, based on weight.
- The recycled fraction of the assembly is then multiplied by the cost of assembly to determine the recycled content value.

Products that meet the above criteria are valued according to source location (extraction, manufacture, and purchase point must be within the distances noted below):

For credit achievement calculation, products sourced (extracted, manufactured, purchased) within 100 miles (160 km) of the project site are valued at 200% of their base contributing cost.