LEED v4: Ushering in the Era of Transparency and Disclosure

Transcription

1 LEED v4: Ushering in the Era of Transparency and Disclosure

2 LEED v4 Ushering in the Era of Transparency and Disclosure Contents LEED v4 Ushering in the Era of Transparency and Disclosure...3 Key changes within LEED v4...4 MRc1 - Building Life Cycle Impact Reduction MRc2 - Building Product Disclosure and Optimization: Environmental Product Declarations...5 MRc3 - Building Product Disclosure and Optimization: Sourcing of Raw Materials MRc4 - Building Product Disclosure and Optimization: Material Ingredients Why is it important to understand LEED v4 now? Responding to LEED v4 what are the next steps? The Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Process...8 Conclusion...9 About PE INTERNATIONAL...9

3 LEED v4: Ushering in the Era of Transparency and Disclosure way products are measured and specified. This change was ushered in July 2013 when the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the adoption of the latest version of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system: LEED v4. LEED v4 will officially launch in November at the Greenbuild 2013 event 1. Compared with its predecessor, LEED 2009, the latest version of LEED boasts increased technical rigor, greater transparency and disclosure for building product components, and higher levels of building performance. This incentivizes manufacturers to disclose the environmental and social footprints associated with their company and products, and encourages them to improve these characteristics. Additionally, LEED v4 aligns with global green building rating systems such as DGNB 2 and BREEAM 3, which is essential for international businesses. LEED v4 offers the opportunity to improve both process and overall supply chain impacts for companies throughout the building and construction value chain. This includes product manufacturers, material suppliers to these manufacturers and end users of building products such as architects, designers and building owners. While LEED 2009 will co-exist with LEED v4 for a period of time prior to a full transition, it is important for building product manufacturers to understand these new requirements as soon as possible 4. What are the key changes? How will this impact the sector? How can manufacturers strategically prepare and respond to LEED v4 Materials and Resource requirements? A new era has dawned for the building and construction sector that will transform the LEED v4: Ushering in the Era of Transparency and Disclosure LEED v4 comes at a time when transparency, reporting, and measurement are increasingly important in the building and construction sector for companies wanting to remain competitive in this space. Rating systems such as GreenGlobes and Living Building Challenge as well as organizations such as Architecture 2030 are including life cycle based transparency, disclosure and optimization goals in their efforts. While this shift towards greater transparency is welcomed by many, it also creates an urgent need for new tools and services that enable companies in the building and construction sector to meet these rating systems and the new LEED v4 requirements. 1 LEED v4 will be launched officially in November 2013, at the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, in Philadelphia, PA. (Source: USGBC website: Accessed on July 5th 2013.) 2 The DGNB assesses buildings and urban districts which demonstrate an outstanding commitment to meeting sustainability objectives. The sustainability concept of the DGNB System is broadly based and goes beyond the well-known three-pillar model. The DGNB System covers all of the key aspects of sustainable building: environmental, economic, sociocultural and functional aspects, technology, processes and site. (Source: dgnb-sustainability_concept/) 3 Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is a global method of assessing, rating and certifying the sustainability of buildings. BREEAM works to raise awareness amongst owners, occupiers, designers and operators of the benefits of taking a sustainability approach. It helps them to successfully and cost effectively adopt sustainable solutions, and provides market recognition of their achievements. A BREEAM assessment uses recognized measures of performance, which are set against established benchmarks, to evaluate a building s specification, design, construction and use. The measures used represent a broad range of categories and criteria from energy to ecology. They include aspects related to energy and water use, the internal environment (health and well-being), pollution, transport, materials, waste, ecology and management processes. (Source: jsp?id=66 and 4 LEED 2009 will be open for registration until June 1, (Source: USGBC website: Accessed on July 5th 2013.) Page 3

4 LEED v4 Ushering in the Era of Transparency and Disclosure This white paper provides building product manufacturers with the necessary guidance to navigate these changes in order to successfully meet the new requirements of LEED v4. Key changes within LEED v4 Compared with LEED 2009, LEED v4 has expanded its global reach to include more options for projects outside of the US, and now includes additional sectors, such as data centers, warehouses and distribution centers. LEED v4 has a newly realigned point structure that provides an even greater emphasis on reducing carbon emissions by allocating about 20% of all points to optimizing energy performance over the ASHRAE LEED v4 includes a provision that will offer buildings that use environmentally preferable materials up to 9 LEED points in an effort to incentivize both product manufacturers that voluntarily report their product s composition, and those that reduce negative impacts from raw material extraction in the manufacturing process. These new credits have been built into the Materials and Resources (MRc) section of LEED v4, and will increase market demand for transparency and disclosure. The MRc section of LEED v4 contains four new credits specifically aimed at greater transparency for products, materials and building performance. Three of these new credits, (MRc 2, 3 & 4), specifically 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 5. Because of this alignment among multiple LEED credits, manufacturers can gain significant efficiencies by streamlining their internal documentation processes to comply with several credits simultaneously and communicate to a variety of customers and end users. For example, for product manufacturers, life cycle inventory information gained from Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) can be used to meet the requirements of MRc1, and allow them to communicate to their clients seeking products that have EPDs. Products with EPDs can then be used by designers, architects, and builders in pursuit of LEED v4 requirements. Robust life cycle information is also useful when project teams are considering different courses of action for a building project. For example, in the case of MRc 1, life cycle information on products and materials will be most relevant when a project team needs to compare carbon impacts of an existing building to a new building or major renovation. In this situation, the life cycle information needed for MRc 1 is relevant to designers, owners and building product manufacturers involved in the project all of whom provide different inputs into the project 5 USGBC Building product disclosure and optimization - environmental product declarations webpage Accessed on August 20th Page 4

5 LEED v4 Ushering LEED v4: Ushering the Era in the of Era Transparency of and Disclosure and MRc2 - Building Product Disclosure and Optimization: Environmental Product Declarations According to USGBC, the intent of this credit is to encourage the use of products and materials that have environmentally, economically, and socially preferable life-cycle impacts and to reward project teams for selecting products from manufacturers who have verified improved environmental life-cycle impacts. and have different insights into the environmental impacts associated with their products and materials. Additional insights on each of these four credits are included below: MRc1 - Building Life Cycle Impact Reduction According to USGBC, the intent of this credit is to encourage adaptive reuse and optimize the environmental performance of products and materials. Addresses transparency in environmental life cycle information and selecting products with lower impacts Rewards project teams for selecting products from manufacturers who have verified lower environmental life cycle impacts Rewards the use of products with accompanying third-party verified life cycle assessment reports and Environmental Product Declarations 6 Rewards products that meet the local products criteria Combines Building Reuse Maintain Existing Walls, Floors, and Roof and Building Reuse Maintain Interior Nonstructural Elements Adds options for the reuse of historic and blighted buildings Adds option for a whole building LCA of the project s structure and enclosure 6 Environmental Product Declarations developed for making product comparison within MRc 2 will be a source of obtaining product- / brand-specific life cycle data that may be added over time to existing life cycle databases (e.g. Athena, GaBi). Page 5

6 LEED v4 Ushering in the Era of Transparency and Disclosure MRc3 - Building Product Disclosure and Optimization: Sourcing of Raw Materials According to USGBC, the intent of this credit is 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, and to reward project teams for selecting products verified to have been extracted or sourced in a responsible manner. Addresses transparency in raw material sourcing and selecting materials that have been appropriately sourced Rewards project teams for selecting products verified to have been extracted or sourced in a responsible manner Rewards products from manufacturers that have provided information on land use practices, extraction locations, labor practices, etc. Rewards products that meet the local products criteria. MRc4 - Building Product Disclosure and Optimization: Material Ingredients According to USGBC, the intent of this credit is to encourage the use of products and materials for which life cycle information is available and have environmentally, economically, and socially preferable life cycle impacts, to reward project teams for selecting products for which the chemical ingredients in the product are inventoried using an accepted methodology and for selecting products verified to minimize the use and generation of harmful substances, as well as to reward raw material manufacturers who produce products verified to have improved life cycle impacts. Addresses transparency in material ingredients and selecting products with optimized ingredients Rewards project teams for selecting products for which the chemical ingredients in the product are inventoried using an accepted methodology and for selecting products verified to minimize the use and generation of harmful substances. Rewards raw material manufacturers who produce products verified to have improved life cycle impacts. Rewards the use of products with associated ingredient reporting and assessment documentation and certification like Health Product Declaration, Cradle 2 Cradle, and others Rewards products that meet the local products criteria Third option for supply chain optimization. Page 6

7 LEED v4 Ushering LEED v4: Ushering the Era in the of Era Transparency of and Disclosure and Why is it important to understand LEED v4 now? Gathering accurate, comprehensive product life cycle information to meet LEED v4 standards requires an investment of time and resources. In some cases, product manufacturers may have some of the necessary information available, while others may need to engage their supply chain for the first time to achieve the disclosure levels required by LEED v4. Gathering this information can be a complex and time-consuming endeavor, depending on sourcing and accessibility to this information, and variations in data accuracy, quality and completeness can impede efforts to prepare for LEED v4 requirements. Finally, while it may be possible to gather product life cycle information for a single product, the sheer number and variety of building product categories further compounds this issue. To effectively respond to all product categories, manufacturers may need tools and systems to help track, manage, analyze and interpret product life cycle data in order to comply with requirements for LEED v4 MRc1, 2, 3 and 4 credits. Software tools can manage information more efficiently and accurately, and investments in such tools can easily be balanced against potential gains in market share and competitiveness. The demand for product transparency with supporting life cycle information is growing amongst end users of building products these architects, designers and building owners need accurate, life cycle information that not only makes compliance possible, but differentiates them. Firms such as Gensler, HOK, and Cannon Design are already requesting product disclosures from building product manufacturers. To stay competitive and ultimately to maintain market share, building product manufacturers will be required to achieve alignment with LEED v4 and particularly the four MR credits related to product transparency and disclosure. As the green building market continues to mature, the demand for transparency will only increase, and consequently, the risks to manufacturers who are slow to adapt or have incomplete product life cycle information will also increase. Leading product manufacturers will be proactive in their response the LEED v4. A wait and see or reactive strategy will likely incur heavier costs, frustration and potential loss of market share. It is important to understand that product transparency is not the only end goal of LEED v4. The ultimate objective is to affect positive change that will reduce or mitigate product impacts. Changes in the way materials are sourced, designed and manufactured are certain to result. Page 7

8 LEED v4 Ushering in the Era of Transparency and Disclosure Responding to LEED v4 what are the next steps? Now that we have addressed the what? and why? of LEED v4, we will explore how to respond and outline some recommended next steps for building product manufacturers: Conduct an inventory of life cycle data and information for all product categories to identify gaps Determine if missing product life cycle data and information may be easily obtained via suppliers Assess whether the current available data and information plus that which may be easily obtained is sufficient to meet all the relevant Materials and Resource credits within LEED v4 Assess risk level from not meeting one or more Materials and Resources credits within LEED v4 and/or risk level of not beginning to transition to LEED v4 (if currently using LEED 2009) Identify additional required actions for all product categories to meet LEED v4 requirements Develop a response strategy for aligning with LEED v4 (including timeline, additional technical expertise, resources, etc.) Implement strategy The Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Process 1 Search for a Product Category Rule (PCR) 2 Conduct the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) 3 Compile the Environmental Product Disclosure (EPD) 4 Submit EPD for Review 5 Publish Verified EPD While these steps may be conducted by the manufacturer, it is strongly recommended that manufacturers partner with technical experts to ensure success. Page 8

9 LEED v4 Ushering LEED v4: Ushering the Era in the of Era Transparency of and Disclosure and Conclusion LEED v4 may be new to the market, but given the uptake of sustainability in the building and construction industry as well as similar trends in other sectors, the rate of adoption will be rapid. It may seem like a market revolution, but this is no transient phase green building has a firm footing and comes with the promise of a long-term growth. In order to remain competitive in this market space, it is crucial for building product manufacturers to get in front of LEED v4 now or be prepared to be left behind. About PE INTERNATIONAL PE INTERNATIONAL is the global market leader in software solutions and services in the field of enterprise sustainability, life cycle assessment, and innovation. With more than 20 years of experience and 20 offices around the globe, PE INTERNATIONAL offers two leading software solutions - GaBi for product sustainability and SoFi for corporate and supply chain sustainability. Over 1500 companies and institutions worldwide put their trust in PE INTERNATIONAL s consulting, software, and databases. Long-time clients include market leaders such as BASF, Herman Miller, Interface, InPro, ThyssenKrupp, ARUP and Johnson Controls. PE INTERNATIONAL works extensively in the building and construction industry with raw material suppliers, manufacturers, architects, designers, contractors, owners and operators. This valuechain view allows for seamless development and delivery of transparent information via product and building life cycle assessment, product declarations and supplier engagement programs. PE INTERNATIONAL offers an integrated suite of solutions to help manufacturers, designers, and owners ensure credit contribution to the LEED v4 Materials and Resources credits. Visit us at: PE-International.com Follow us on: facebook.com/pe.international twitter.com/pe_experts Contact us: Steven R Baer, LEED AP BD&C Principal Consultant, Director Building and Construction PE INTERNATIONAL, Inc Boston MA 02116, USA s.baer@pe-international.com Page 9