In relation to LEED credit requirements that involve multiple products (recycled content, regional materials, certified wood, waste management); there is obviously multiple different ways to meet the requirements among all the products included in the project. It does not make sense for the design professional to tell the contractor exactly how to accomplish those requirements. The design professional needs to ensure that the work results specified allow for the requirements to be met specify products that allow for the overall requirements to be met. The contractor can make his own decisions on what particular subcontracts and purchase orders to make that meet the overall LEED credit requirements and at the same time are best in terms of his other requirements such as time schedule, service, cost, etc.
I dont think that the design professional wants to become the purchasing officer for the contractor as a former contractor I know I wouldnt want that to happen. The MASTERSPEC Division 01 section also includes early submittal requirements (LEED Action Plans) to ensure that the contractor does have a viable plan to meet the LEED multiple product credit requirements. In this scenario, the contactor is more than just a collector of data to document meeting the LEED credit requirements he has a role in choosing the particular providers of products to meet some of the LEED credit requirements that at the same time meet his other goals and requirements. It provides the contactor some of the tools he needs to properly manage the construction.
The situation is different of course for other LEED credit requirements that relate to a single work result such as VOCs, SRI, etc. In that case the design professional is responsible to ensure that the products specified meet the requirement. More competitive pricing will usually result when there is more than one particular product to meet the requirements.
The thing I don’t understand is the design community’s obsession with regional credit. I understand that energy is expended in shipping materials from place to place, and that there is some LEED credit when you use local sources. How much of the total energy use is spent on transportation? How many points are gained on a typical product for regional points?
They don’t seem to add up unless they are major components of the building. Maybe thats just my perspective in the manufacturing deprived and decidedly non-central region of New England. In this area, we can maybe get regional points for wood products, but not for steel, concrete, carpet, or most manufactured items.
One of the greened-up carpet companies has an interesting chart in their traveling show. The chart divides the amount of energy used in each of the common lifecycle phases of a typical product. Their point is that a little savings in refining the raw material or in recycling easily offsets all the energy embedded in shipping. On a different track, CSX is advertising on National Public Radio that are way more energy efficient than trucks.
I guess I just dont like the regional credit game because it seems arbitrary to me. Im also troubled by it from a public policy perspective. It penalizes manufacturers who are located less than 500 miles from borders or major metropolitan areas. If it was taken seriously, it would further depress the economies of already hardscrabble parts of the country.
I view the regional credit is somewhat different. Living in Utah we are not concerned with controlled detention of rainwater - as it does not rain very much. Most of the moisure is snow and much of that evaporates onsite. Colorado has a very different problem with 6" of rain in a very short period.
I viewed this credit as a way to focus on regional issues of temperature, moisture, etc. that would not be viewed in other regions as important.
It seems that some of those here do not understand what a master specification is all about. A master specification contains language that can be used, revised, or deleted as the specifier chooses.
MasterSpec’s Division 01 section for LEED requirements does not require the contractor to provide materials meeting the LEED requirements for recycled content, regional materials, certified wood, etc., rather it provides the specifier the option of imposing such requirements on the contractor. MasterSpec’s technical sections offer the specifer the option to go the other route and require that certain materials contain recycled content, be regional products, be made of certified wood, etc. The choice is yours; it is not imposed by MasterSpec.