measurable environmental performance using a strategy not addressed in the LEED green building rating system’.


At the higher end of the scale are options such as ‘optimise energy performance’, which sits in the Energy & Atmosphere section of the LEED Scorecard. The intention of this credit is to ‘increase levels of energy performance beyond the prerequisite standard to reduce environmental and economic harms associated with excessive energy use’.


LEED has a number of certification levels depending on how many points your credits have built up. The different levels are:


• Certified (40-49 points) • Silver (50-59 points) • Gold (60-79 points) • Platinum (80 + points)


On the USGBC’s website you’ll find a long list of the prerequisites, credits and points categories.


As it is not necessarily what the product is, but what outcome it will help to achieve, it is important to ask not whether a product is certified (because it never will be) but instead, will I earn LEED credits by choosing this building material and will it fit in with the credits I have chosen to target?


Bear in mind that developers cannot assume that a product they’ve previously chosen will help to accrue the same amount of LEED credits. This is because LEED is not a static qualification, and in fact it is currently on its fourth edition. The guidelines transitioned to LEED v4 in October 2016 and saw several significant changes to how some types of products are evaluated. This means that the rules governing a particular product may have changed since the last time it was used.


For example, the latest version of LEED (LEED v4) has an increased focus on indoor environmental quality and the


impact that several categories of materials, including flooring, have on it. This in turn affects the number of points that can be accrued via the specified floor, as systems that are detrimental to the building's interior and inhabitants will make it harder to achieve LEED certification.


It is important to thoroughly discuss with the product’s manufacturer how the properties of a specific building material will help or hinder the overall total of LEED credits. Especially as you may need to know specific information about the manufacturer’s operations, such as: How far has the product travelled? How is it formulated? How is it installed? And will it maintain its green properties for the long term?


If you are interested in finding out more about the LEED guidelines head to the LEED section of the USGBC’s website and if you’d like to learn more about flooring solutions that will help to achieve LEED certification why not talk to your local Flowcrete expert, who will be able to advise on systems that meet the functional, aesthetic, budgetary and sustainability requirements of your development.


www.flowcrete.co.uk


twitter.com/TContractFloors


SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS | 11


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20