It’s no secret that the U.S. Green Building Council’s rating system, LEED (short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), has become the predominant green standard for commercial buildings, ProSales product editor Vicky Markovitz reports: 1,090 new construction projects have been certified, and nearly 3.6 billion square feet of commercial building space is involved with the LEED certification system. Now USGBC is trying to make a mark in the residential sector with its new green rating system, LEED for Homes, which launched in December 2007. Since then, 684 projects have been certified.

But the residential standard will face competition from the NAHB’s Green Building Standards. Last month, we looked at the NAHB’s Green Building Standards’ Resource Efficiency section. This time, we take a look at the comparable chapter from LEED for Homes, the Materials and Resources section.

Comparison. Both rating systems carry the same core messages: optimizing material usage, using environmentally-preferable products, and minimizing waste. Both also may mean fewer lumber sales, but provide the opportunity for dealers to stock green products and have green services, as well as become more involved in the green building process. LEED’s Materials and Resources section is shorter than the NAHB’s equivalent chapter and counts for fewer overall points. Also, while the NAHB touches on issues such as preventing deterioration and life cycle assessment in its section, LEED’s Materials and Resources chapter does not.

Michelle Moore, senior vice president of public affairs for the USGBC, says that LEED is moving to include life cycle assessment as a way to earn points, and more information will be out later this year. And, other sections of the document do deal with the deterioration and air infiltration issues.

The NAHB is more flexible on a touchy subject for dealers: certified wood. The NAHB gives points if builders use wood certified by one of several groups, while LEED only recognizes wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. However, Moore says that a committee has been considering allowing other group’s certified wood (particularly those sanctioned by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, or SFI) to count as well, and a draft of this credit will be available for public comment later this year.

Getting Certified. To become certified in LEED for Homes, a builder must earn at least 45 points by completing 18 prerequisites and suggested green building practices. A minimum of two points must come from the Materials and Resources section, which houses three prerequisites. The Materials and Resources category is divided into three parts: Material-Efficient Framing, Environmentally Preferable Products, and Waste Management. Each of the parts has prerequisites that must be completed, as well as opportunities to earn additional points.

Material-Efficient Framing. Builders can get a maximum of five points in the Material-Efficient Framing section. The NAHB’s standard also covered this topic. In the LEED standard, builders must first complete a prerequisite: limiting estimated waste to 10% or less. The standards define estimated waste as “the percentage of framing material ordered in excess of the estimated material needed for construction.” As with the NAHB’s standards, this requirement allows dealers to help builders plan projects and keep from overstocking material.

Builders can earn one point by providing a “detailed cut list and lumber order” prior to construction “that corresponds directly to the framing plans...” This also gives dealers a clear way to help builders during the preconstruction phase. The NAHB also rewarded detailed plans and materials lists. Recommended in the NAHB’s standards as well, builder in the LEED standard can get up to three points for using pre-fabricated components, such as open-web floor trusses and pre-cut framing packages. Or, builders can earn up to four points for using panelized construction for wall, roof, and floor components that arrive at the site preframed.

Environmentally Preferable Products. Builders can get half a point for each material that qualifies for this section, with a maximum of eight total points. Builders are first required to provide all wood product suppliers with a notice. This states the builder will only purchase tropical wood products if they are FSC-certified; requests the country of manufacture for each product supplied; and says that if tropical wood were specified in purchasing documents, then only FSC-certified products should be used. Reused or reclaimed materials are exempt from this rule.

The NAHB allows a variety of certified wood. However, as mentioned earlier, Moore, says that a committee has been considering allowing SFI-certified wood to count as well. A draft ready for public comment on this issue will be available later this year, she says. The NAHB’s standards allow for a variety of certified woods.

A table in LEED's Environmentally Preferable Products section notes more specific material requirements, but generally, products count for this section if a building material makes up 90% of a component by weight or volume. For example, if 90% of siding or masonry contains recycled content or is FSC-certified, half a point is awarded for that component. Generally, except as noted in the table, recycled content products must contain a minimum of 25% post-consumer recycled content, 50% for post-industrial recycled content. The NAHB does not specify percentages of recycled content for recycled content products. Products that meet low emissions requirements, as listed in the table, also qualify.

“If you have a builder, contractor, or D.I.Y. coming into a store wanting to pick out a greener solution, healthy indoor air quality and low- and no-VOC products are the easiest things people can do,” Moore says. Locally produced products that were “extracted, processed and manufactured within 500 miles of the home” also count toward points.

Waste Management. Builders can get a maximum of three points in this area. The prerequisite for this category is that builders look at local options for the diversion of waste, such as recycling or reusing materials. Materials include cardboard packaging and beverage containers. Builders must also “document the diversion rate for construction waste.” Land clearing/demolition diversion rates, if applicable, should be kept separate from new construction rates. A maximum of three points can be gained if builders generate 2.5 pounds or less of net waste, not including the diverted waste. Or, to get these three points, builders can divert 25% or more of the “total materials taken off the construction site” from going into landfills and incinerators. A table in the standard helps calculate the score.

Like the NAHB’s standards, dealers can use this section to work with builders and see what waste could be returned to yards. “Waste reduction is one of the biggest success stories with LEED,” Moore says.

Green Knowledge. Moore says that the LEED document should be seen as more than just standards. “Dealers should think of it as a reference manual as much as anything else,” she says. “There is a tremendous interest in green homes, but not a lot of knowledge or confidence in what that means,” Moore adds. “Dealers can take some time to get educated to see how service and products add to a green home. … There is that hunger for information in the marketplace.”