Ah, remember the good old days? You take an MSDS sheet, find a VOC content, make sure it's under the limit, and you call it a day. That was so 2012 of us!

Low-Emitting Materials now covers almost everything inside your building from the typical paints and adhesives to the door frames, drywall, and anything else you can poke with a finger.

LEED v4.1 made earning more than one point for this credit much more achievable, and you’ve got a pretty good fighting chance to earn multiple points these days, but it is definitely a case of less is more. 

There is now a whole new range of product categories that get tracked for compliance, but some of them are now much more trouble than they are worth. Don’t worry, we’ll tell you which you should focus on, and which you forget.

There are 8 total product categories, and you can pick and choose which ones to pursue. HINT: Don’t waste your time chasing all of them!

Learn more about earning Low-Emitting Materials in the Ultimate Guide to LEED v4 Construction.