LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Materials and Resources Cycles Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project team is pursuing the LEED BD+C: New Construction credit for Construction and Demolition Waste Management. To earn one point under LEED v4.1, what is the minimum percentage of construction and demolition materials that must be diverted from landfills and incineration facilities?
- 25%
- 50% (Correct answer)
- 75%
- 95%
Correct answer: 50%
Under LEED v4.1 for BD+C, the MR Credit: Construction and Demolition Waste Management requires diverting at least 50% of the total construction and demolition material to earn one point. A second point can be achieved by diverting at least 75%.
Question 2: Which of the following is a key component of the LEED MR credit 'Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Sourcing of Raw Materials'?
- Using materials with low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions.
- Selecting products with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).
- Specifying materials with high recycled content and responsibly sourced new materials. (Correct answer)
- Conducting a whole-building life-cycle assessment (LCA).
Correct answer: Specifying materials with high recycled content and responsibly sourced new materials.
The 'Sourcing of Raw Materials' credit focuses on rewarding project teams for selecting products that have been extracted and sourced in a responsible manner. This includes options for using materials with recycled content, bio-based materials, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood, and material reuse.
Question 3: A project team is evaluating flooring options for a new office building. To compare the full environmental impact, from raw material extraction to disposal, which tool would be most appropriate?
- Life-Cycle Costing (LCC)
- Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
- Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) (Correct answer)
- Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR)
Correct answer: Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA)
A Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a comprehensive method for evaluating the environmental impacts of a product throughout its entire life, from raw material extraction through manufacturing, use, and end-of-life (cradle-to-grave). An EPD is a summary of an LCA, but the LCA is the underlying analysis itself.
Question 4: Under the LEED v4.1 MR credit 'Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Environmental Product Declarations', what is required to achieve one point for Option 1?
- Use at least 10 different permanently installed products from a minimum of 3 different manufacturers that have EPDs.
- Ensure 50% of all materials by cost have a compliant EPD.
- Use at least 20 different permanently installed products from a minimum of 5 different manufacturers that have compliant EPDs. (Correct answer)
- Source products that demonstrate a 10% reduction in global warming potential compared to an industry average.
Correct answer: Use at least 20 different permanently installed products from a minimum of 5 different manufacturers that have compliant EPDs.
To achieve one point for Option 1 of the EPD credit in LEED v4.1 (for most project types), the project must use at least 20 different permanently installed products sourced from at least five different manufacturers that have publicly available EPDs.
Question 5: A construction project has a large quantity of salvaged structural steel beams from a demolished building on-site. In the context of the LEED Materials and Resources credit 'Sourcing of Raw Materials', how is this 'material reuse' typically valued?
- At 50% of its replacement cost.
- At the actual cost of salvaging and cleaning the material.
- At 100% of its replacement cost.
- At 200% of its replacement cost. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: At 200% of its replacement cost.
For the Sourcing of Raw Materials credit, reused materials are valued at 200% of their replacement cost to incentivize their use, reflecting their significant environmental benefit. This higher valuation helps projects meet the credit's percentage-by-cost thresholds more easily.
Question 6: For a new construction project pursuing the 'Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction' credit, what is the required service life for the baseline and proposed buildings when conducting a whole-building life-cycle assessment (LCA)?
- 30 years
- 50 years
- 60 years (Correct answer)
- 100 years
Correct answer: 60 years
When conducting a whole-building LCA for this LEED credit, the service life of both the baseline and the proposed building must be the same and at least 60 years to fully account for long-term impacts like maintenance and replacement.
LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Materials and Resources Cycles Questions and Answers
A project team is pursuing the LEED BD+C: New Construction credit for Construction and Demolition Waste Management.
To earn one point under LEED v4.1, what is the minimum percentage of construction and demolition materials that must be diverted from landfills and incineration facilities?