Innovation in Design (ID Certifications)
Search Attribute Abbreviation = ID. “Extra credits” may be possible when using materials that have ID certifications demonstrating that the product, manufacturer and manufacturing process meet certain criteria that go above and beyond those of other green products.
Often these criteria are organized into Life Cycle Assessments (LCA). LCA’s measure all or at least most environmental impacts of a particular product or assembly and often consider these impacts in the context of a cradle-to-cradle approach to sustainability. Criteria considered may include global warming, ozone layer depletion, eco-toxicological and human-toxicological pollutants, habitat destruction, depletion of minerals and fossil fuels, recyclability, etc. By seeing the ID certification information clearly, you are empowered to decide what value you place on claims for products that are certified versus those that are not.
The following are descriptions of some ID credits that may be possible. These summaries are based on Credit Interpretation Rulings (CIR) issued by the USGBC for LEED. Members should confirm that the rulings are still applicable.
Cradle to Cradle certified products
Use of Cradle to Cradle certified products can help earn one ID point if the total value of C2C certified products equals at least 2.5% of total material costs.
- The value of Silver level products is discounted 50%
- Gold level products count at face value
- The value of Platinum level products is doubled.
- C2C-S : Products certified as Cradle to Cradle Silver by MBDC1
- C2C-G : Products certified as Cradle to Cradle Gold by MBDC1
- C2C-P : Products certified as Cradle to Cradle Platinum by MBDC1
SMaRT© certified products
Use of SMaRT© certified products can help earn one ID point if the total value of SMaRT© certified products equals at least 2.5% of total material costs:
- The value of Silver level products is discounted 50%
- Gold level products count at face value
- The value of Platinum level products is doubled
- SMaRT-S : Products certified as SMaRT Silver by MTS2
- SMaRT-G : Products certified as SMaRT Gold by MTS2
- SMaRT-P : Products certified as SMaRT Platinum by MTS2
NSF140 certified carpeting products
Use of NSF140 certified carpeting products can help earn one ID point if NSF140 certified carpet products are used for all carpet installed on the product. The value of the carpet must represent at least the following percentage of the total project material costs:
- When Silver level products are used and represent 5% of the project value
- When Gold level products are used and represent 2.5% of the project value
- When Platinum level products are used and represent 1.25% of the project value
- NSF140-S : Products certified to meet the NSF 140-2007e standard Silver level for the sustainable manufacture of carpet.3
- NSF140-G : Products certified to meet the NSF 140-2007e standard Gold level for the sustainable manufacture of carpet.3
- NSF140-P : Products certified to meet the NSF 140-2007e standard Platinum level for the sustainable manufacture of carpet.3
Carbon Neutral certified products
Use of products certified as Carbon Neutral by an approved third-party certifying body can help earn one ID point if the total value of certified products equals at least 5% of total material costs.
- CN : Products certified as Carbon Neutral
Other Products
Other products indicated as “ID” by mr.greenpoints have a certification or recognition that automatically qualifies them for points within certain green building certification programs. For example, products indicated as “GA” are Green Approved, meaning they automatically qualify for points in the ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard™ for homes.
- CDHS : Products which have been tested and certified by the manufacturer and an independent laboratory to meet the requirements of the Section 01350 indoor air quality testing protocols for use in a typical classroom design as described in the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) Standard Practice. Such products are likely to be eligible to contribute toward points under the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) building rating program.
- GA : Products certified as approved for eligibility to contribute toward earning points for green home building certification under the National Green Building Standard™, if used in a certain way as defined on the certificate. These products are certified by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center.
- ESP : Products certified to meet the requirements of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association’s Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP). ESP is the established benchmark for sustainable cabinets in the National Green Building Standard™.
- LVL-1 : Products certified to meet the BIFMA e3 level 1 standard for the sustainable manufacture of furniture.4
- LVL-2 : Products certified to meet the BIFMA e3 level 2 standard for the sustainable manufacture of furniture.4
- LVL-3 : Products certified to meet the BIFMA e3 level 3 standard for the sustainable manufacture of furniture.4
Notes
1 McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry
2 The Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability
3 Some products are certified by NSF International. Others are certified by Scientific Certifications Systems (SCS) to meet their Sustainable Choice standards. The Sustainable Choice standards were created specifically to certify carpet products to the NSF 140 standard.
4 Products are certified by NSF International, Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), or UL Environment.
