increase shareholder value and
;nancial performance.”
USGBC Working
Group Unanimously
Approves New Guidance
for LEED Materials &
Resources Credit 4
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
announced the results of its Supply Chain
Optimization Working Group, a group
that was chartered to develop implementation procedures within option 3 of the
LEED v4 Materials & Resources credit
(Building Disclosure and Optimization -
Material Ingredients).
The working group has recommend-
ed signi;cant implementation actions to
supplement option 3, intended to provide
building product manufacturers with a
step-by-step process for meeting its re-
quirements. The working group also cre-
ated a framework for a ;eld test of the
guidance with building product manufac-
turers. Product manufacturers interested
in testing the new option 3 guidance are
encouraged to register now.
While there are several existing ways
project teams can achieve the Materials
Ingredients credit, the options currently
available focus on ;nished products.
The new option 3 guidance focuses on
rewarding manufacturer achievements
related to programs that drive the envi-
ronmental, health and safety management
of hazardous ingredients within the sup-
ply chain. These systemic opportunities
are uniquely available to manufacturers,
are designed to spur innovation, and can
have substantial co-bene;ts and synergies
across broad segments of manufacturing.
“Over the last 11 months, the Supply
Chain Optimization Working Group
has demonstrated how communication
and collaboration can lead to signi;cant
progress,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and
founding chair, USGBC. “The group’s
recommendations have the potential to
ignite further market transformation and
drive more transparency in the product
manufacturing industry. I want to thank
all the members of the group for their
hard work.”
The working group has outlined mini-
mum steps for product manufacturers
that enables them to offer insight and
transparency into their processes:
1.Publicize guiding principles that
include commitments to continual
improvement, sharing of informa-
tion, green chemistry and green
engineering.
2. Implement an ISO-14001-type en-
vironmental management system,
with added elements for human
health and safety that addresses
all signi;cant environmental and
health impacts of their operations.
3. Ensure that any direct suppliers of
hazardous ingredients have corre-
sponding environmental and health
& safety management systems.
Additionally, there are added incentives for companies that go above and
beyond the minimum in situations where,
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