Section 2: Individual LEED Credit Reviews
LEED Credit MR-5.1:
Concrete masonry units
Windows, storefront, and curtain wall systems
Regional Materials: 20%
Steel studs
Manufactured Regionally
Gypsum wallboard
Carpet
Resilient flooring
Intent
Acoustical ceiling tiles
Doors and frames
Increase demand for building materials and
Millwork and casework items
products that are extracted and manufactured
within the region, thereby supporting the
Of the above materials, items such as cast-in-place
regional economy and reducing the
concrete, concrete masonry units, and gypsum
environmental impacts resulting from
wallboard tend to be manufactured within 500
transportation.
miles of most project sites. With many of the other
materials, the proximity of manufacturers will vary
Requirement
considerably depending on the part of the country
the project is located in.
Use a minimum of 20% of building materials
and products that are manufactured* regionally
In many cases, the 20 percent credit threshold can
within a radius of 500 miles.
be attained with no cost impact, simply by tracking
the materials that are normally produced and
* Manufacturing refers to the final assembly of
supplied within 500 miles of a project site. In some
components into the building product that is
cases, however, reaching the 20 percent threshold
furnished and installed by the tradesmen. For
may involve targeting certain materials (e.g, specific
example, if the hardware comes from Dallas,
types of stone or brick) or limiting the number of
Texas, the lumber from Vancouver, British
manufacturers whose products will be considered
Columbia, and the joist is assembled in Kent,
in the project bids. In these cases, cost premiums
Washington; then the location of the final
may be incurred.
assembly is Kent, Washington.
(1 point)
Basis for Cost Assumption
For both the Courthouse and Office Building
Cost Impact = 2 or 4
models, LEED calculations have been developed
to demonstrate how the 20 percent regional
materials threshold can potentially be achieved (see
1
2
3
4
5
"Supporting Calculations" below).
GSA
No
Low
Moderate
High
Courthouse
Standard
premium,
premium
premium
premium
(no cost)
psble svgs
(<50K)
(50-150K)
(>150K)
In the Courthouse model, different calculations are
used for the "low cost" and "high cost" scenarios.
Practical Applications
In the low-cost cases, it is assumed that the
following materials, at a minimum, are typically
The focus of this credit will typically be the
provided from local manufacturers:
manufacturing locations for a limited group of "big
Cast-in-place concrete
ticket" construction materials. These typically
include:
Concrete masonry units
Precast concrete panels
Cast-in-place concrete
Gypsum wallboard
Structural steel
Millwork and casework items
Exterior cladding materials (e.g., stone, brick,
precast concrete, metals)
There is no cost premium to earn the credit.
GSA LEED COST STUDY
116
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