855773644-LEED-v5-BD-C-Reference-Guide-Launch-Edition - Page 435
Extracted Content
REQUIREMENTS EXPLAINED
Installing low-emitting products can significantly reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants in buildings. Coupled with adequate ventilation and filtration, specifying and installing lowemitting materials is an important strategy towards improving indoor air quality.
This credit is awarded to projects with permanently installed products that meet established lowemitting criteria. There are multiple pathways for earning credit compliance. In New Construction, product categories are grouped to reflect the significant impact emissions can have from walls, ceiling, and flooring due to the large surface area these categories cover, as well as progress in the market. In the Core and Shell and ID+C rating systems, product categories may be attempted individually, based on project scope.
Identifying and Specifying Low-emitting Products
The easiest way to find products with a VOC emissions evaluation may be to search third-party certification program databases from the qualified third-party certifiers or programs listed on the CDPH website.
Other sources for finding compliant products include online aggregated product databases including Ecomedes [129], the Sustainable Minds® Transparency Catalog ™ [130], Building Ease [131], and UL SPOT®. [132]
Save certificates for the specified products, ensuring that the specified products and the certificates match. Make note of any certificates expected to expire before the time of purchase. Certification periods that begin after the product’s date of purchase do not demonstrate compliance with the installed product. Track progress towards credit achievement using the LEED materials calculator.
There are international third-party programs and low-emitting third-party standards that can be used for this credit. See the Low-emitting Materials resource document on USGBC’s website. [133]
129 “Home page”, ecomedes, (n.d.), https://www.ecomedes.com/. 130 “Sustainable Minds® Transparency Catalog™”, Sustainable Minds, (2025), https://transparencycatalog.com/. 131 “Welcome to the BuildingEase Platform”, BuildingEase, (n.d.), https://app.buildingease.com/. 132 “SPOT® – Sustainable Product Database”, UL Solutions, (2025), https://spot.ul.com/. 133 “Low-Emitting Materials”, U.S. Green Building Council, (n.d.), https://www.usgbc.org/credits/new-construction-core-and-shell-anew-construction-retail-new-construction-data-38.
U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Building Design and Construction, April 2025 Launch Edition 425