What is LEED®?

LEED® was developed by The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to measure the sustainability and environmental impact of new construction and the renovation of existing buildings.

The LEED® Advantage

LEED® certification allows building owners to offer a healthy, eco-friendly space to potential occupants. The number of green-minded individuals, consumers and business owners alike, is growing at an alarming rate. Those who embrace the LEED initiative now by using materials which contribute to LEED credits will have a significant advantage when bidding for projects.

LEED® Credits

Specialty Tile Products, Inc. offers many products which can contribute to LEED® credits. The following requirements are presented in relation to our products:

EQ 4.1 - Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) content of tile adhesives must be less than 65 g/L less water. The VOC content of tile sealants must not exceed 420 g/L less water.

EQ 4.2 - The VOC limit of waterproofing sealers is 250 g/L, sanding sealers 275 g/L, other sealers 200 g/L.

MR 4.1 - Use materials with recycled content such that the sum of post-consumer recycled content plus onehalf of the pre-consumer content constitutes at least 10% (based on cost) of the total value of the materials in the project. The recycled content value of a materal assembly shall be determined by weight. The recycled fraction of the assembly is then multiplied by the cost of assembly to determine the recycled content value.

MR 4.2 - Use materials with recycled content such that the sum of post-consumer recycled content plus onehalf of the pre-consumer content constitutes an additional 10% beyond MR Credit 4.1 (total of 20% based on cost) of the total value of the materials in the project. The recycled content value of a materal assembly shall be determined by weight. The recycled fraction of the assembly is then multiplied by the cost of assembly to determine the recycled content value.

MR 5.1 - Use building materials or products that have been extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured, within 500 miles of the project site for a minimum of 10% (based on cost) of the total materials value. If only a fraction of a product or material is extracted/harvested/recovered and manufactured locally, then only that percentage (by weight) shall contribute to the regional value.

MR 5.2 - Use building materials or products that have been extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured, within 500 miles of the project site for an additional 10% beyond MR Credit 5.1 (total of 20%, based on cost) of the total materials value. If only a fraction of a product or material is extracted/harvested/recovered and manufactured locally, then only that percentage (by weight) shall contribute to the regional value.

Negotiating the maze of misunderstandings, opinions and claims that surround the Green movement can at times be confusing. Terms like "LEED Certified" and "Sustainable Materials" and a few others have become part of our lexicon. Yet, I am not sure that there are definitions for these terms that are commonly understood. We have limited agreement on what we are talking about when we use and hear these terms.

Recently, this was illustrated in a discussion at our office. We were asked to provide the most "sustainable" material that we could for a government project. We suggested a neutral, through-body porcelain. Well made, through-body porcelain theoretically should last for hundreds of years. In our minds it is the ultimate "sustainable" product. Thus case closed. Instead, we were told that what was meant by sustainable was "a product that could be torn out and replaced many times as redesign occurred and the original product and its installation products be recycled in some form and used again."

It was not an argument. Our passion and livelihood rests on the fact that the spaces where we live, work, and play are consistently improved upon and made more beautiful and harmonious with our needs for comfort, pleasure and utility. We are in favor of remodels and updates. Our point of confusion was on the very concept of sustainable. We feel this incident is illustratative of the level of understanding that we all live under as we seek to gain increased common understanding and vocabulary.

What we do know is that we need to be good stewards of our resources so that our posterity can live on a clean, safe and beautiful planet. We also know that the "Green" efforts that we are all making as building, design and supply professionals are worthy and noble and important. We also recognize that the fast pace of the evolution, innovations, broader understandings and new information will continue to gain momentum and become clearer.

We salute organizations like the USGBC as they help lead the way to a better future. What we have attempted to do here is provide a clear, easy format and comprehensive resource guide to the "Green" attributes of the materials that we represent and how they mesh with the efforts to respect our environment and to show clearly how these attributes relate to LEED and USGBC efforts, requirements and programs. We hope that together we can make a great impact for the future.