Building Products Disclosure and Optimization - Environmental Product Declarations – Above Green

(1-2 points)

Intent

To encourage the use of products and materials for which life-cycle information is available and that have environmentally, economically, and socially preferable life-cycle impacts. To reward project teams for selecting products from manufacturers who have verified improved environmental life-cycle impacts.

Requirements

Achieve one or more of the options below, for a maximum of 2 points.

Option 1. environmental product declaration (EPD) (1 point)

Use at least 20 different permanently installed products sourced from at least five different manufacturers that meet one of the disclosure criteria below.

Product-specific declaration.
- 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 quarter (1/4) of a product for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.
Environmental product declarations which conform to ISO 14025 and EN 15804 or ISO 21930 and have at least a cradle to gate scope.
- Industry-wide (generic) 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 are valued as one half (1/2) of a product for purposes of credit achievement calculation.
- Product-specific Type III EPD -- Products with third-party certification (Type III), including external verification in which the manufacturer is explicitly recognized as the participant by the program operator are valued as one whole product for purposes of credit achievement calculation.
USGBC approved program – Products that comply with other USGBC approved environmental product declaration frameworks.

AND/OR

Option 2. Multi-attribute optimization (1 point)

Use products that comply with one of the criteria below for 50%, by cost, of the total value of permanently installed products in the project. Products will be valued as below.

Third party certified products that demonstrate impact reduction below industry average in at least three of the following categories are valued at 100% of their cost for credit achievement calculations.
- global warming potential (greenhouse gases), in CO2e;
- depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, in kg CFC-11;
- acidification of land and water sources, in moles H+ or kg SO2;
- eutrophication, in kg nitrogen or kg phosphate;
- formation of tropospheric ozone, in kg NOx, kg O3 eq, or kg ethene; and
- depletion of nonrenewable energy resources, in MJ.
USGBC approved program -- Products that comply with other USGBC approved multi-attribute frameworks.

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.

Structure and enclosure materials may not constitute more than 30% of the value of compliant building products. Projects with significant amounts of structural and enclosure materials may exceed the 30% limit by calculating an alternative structure and enclosure limit (See Calculations under Further Explanation).

Meet the requirements of the credit above and include furniture and furnishings within the project’s scope of work.