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MRc4 Option 2: Material Ingredient Optimization
What is it about Option 2’s that USGBC hates? If they make an Option 2 available, it is always the most complicated, cumbersome, and labor intensive point available. In fact, if you want a good cheat-sheet, if there’s an Option 2 available just run the other way. Option 2 of this credit in LEED v4 wasn’t achievable, so they added an Option 3! Thankfully, all of that is DOA for v4.1. Option 2 remains the same structurally, but the compliance thresholds have dropped significantly, and it puts this credit in the realm of possibly achievable.
Download the MRc4 Option 2 Material Ingredient Optimization Ebook
Download the MRc4 Option 2 Ebook to get all the LEED requirements, strategies, and best practices to achieve Material Ingredient Optimization.
Requirements for MRc4 Option 2 Material Ingredient Optimization in LEED v4 and v4.1
This credit has 1 Point achievable. To earn it, you need to use products that comply with one of the criteria I’ll discuss for at least 5 permanently installed products sourced from at least three different manufacturers.
- Material Ingredient Screening and Optimization Action Plan (value at 50% by cost or ½ product)
- Advanced Inventory & Assessment (value at 100% by cost or 1 product)
- Material Ingredient Optimization (value at 150% by cost or 1.5 products)
Similar to EPD Option 2, this is the cliff-notes version so buckle up, pour a stiff one, and get ready for your crash course into green chemistry. Alright, You need 5 products from 3 different manufacturers. These products need to either have a plan in place to reduce ingredient impacts OR show some actual reductions.
Download the MRc4 Option 2 eBook to get Strategies + Best Practices for Material Ingredient Optimization
What qualifies as a Material Ingredient Screening and Optimization Action Plan?
The manufacturer has screened the product to at least 1,000 ppm and has provided a publicly available inventory meeting the requirements of Option 1 - that’s the easy part. If you have an HPD already, the first step in the right direction! Next, the manufacturer must create a detailed action plan to mitigate or reduce known hazards using the principles of green chemistry.
This action plan needs to describe the screening platform and then identify the specific green chemistry principles targeted for implementation, specific steps anticipated for implementation, proposed changes in formulation or manufacturing processes that are planned and specific dates and a full timeline for completion of all the steps described in the action plan. If they do all that, their product counts as a whopping 0.5 contribution to earning this point.
