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Extracted Content

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES (MR)

OVERVIEW

The Materials and Resources (MR) category encourages projects to prevent waste and avoid sending materials from building operations and maintenance to landfills or incineration. This approach shifts projects toward a circular model that treats waste as a resource. By consistently tracking and reporting waste streams, projects can gain a clearer understanding of their material consumption. This allows for intentional design of operations to keep materials in use as long as possible, thereby reducing environmental harm and preserving valuable resources.

The goal is to help projects dramatically cut operational waste and work toward zero waste to landfills, incineration, and the environment. High-performing projects are prepared to go even further by pursuing GBCI’s TRUE Certification, a complementary system to LEED that requires 90% or more waste diversion while instituting best practices for tracking and measuring success. By rethinking processes to ensure all resources are valued for their highest and best use, projects can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfill and incineration while supporting a circular economy.

The MR category highlights the potential of composting, or organics recycling, to reduce waste ( MRc2: Waste Reduction Strategies ) and cut emissions. In 2016, waste management and disposal produced 1.6 billion tons of emissions, accounting for 5% of global emissions. [85] Food waste alone contributed nearly 50%. Recognizing the value of organics diversion, states like Massachusetts have implemented laws to reduce commercial organic waste through composting, resulting in a 25.7% decrease in emissions per ton of disposal, diverting 380,000 tons of food waste and avoiding 3,300 tons of methane emissions annually. [86]

The opportunities for waste diversion continue to grow as methods like composting gain broader acceptance. Research shows that applying circular economy principles in five key sectors (steel, aluminum, cement, plastic, and food) could reduce annual carbon emissions by 9.3 billion tons in 2050 — the equivalent of eliminating all global transportation emissions.

Decarbonization The MR category provides a pathway toward achieving zero waste through upstream waste prevention, reuse, recycling, and composting. Projects are rewarded for significantly increasing waste diversion rates ( MRc1: Waste Reduction Performance ). Strategies such as using durable

85 “Trends in Solid Waste Management,” n.d., datatopics.worldbank.org/what-a-waste/trends_in_solid_waste_management.html. 86 Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, “New Research Highlights Massachusetts as National Leader in Food Waste Reduction,” September 12, 2024, www.mass.gov/news/new-research-highlights-massachusetts-as-national-leader-in-foodwaste-reduction.

U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Operations and Maintenance, April 2025 Launch Edition 190