LEED CoreConcepts&Strategies_3rd edition - Page 079

Extracted Content

denser, more compact mixed-use neighborhoods require fewer miles of road and less physical infrastructure to support the same number of people. Similarly, smaller, more efficiently built buildings and homes require fewer board-feet of lumber or linear feet of pipe, as well as fewer resources to maintain. Experienced contractors often have great ideas for implementing such material-saving strategies. Bringing them in at the early phases of an integrated process, instead of waiting until the design is complete, can add real value to the design team and the project as a whole.

Materials procurement doesn’t end at the end of construction. For example, companies’ ongoing procurement strategies can provide real opportunities to reduce material usage.

STRATEGIES FOR CONSERVING MATERIALS THROUGHOUT A PROJECT’S LIFE-CYCLE:

•• REUSE EXISTING BUILDINGS AND SALVAGED MATERIALS. Selecting resources that have already been harvested and manufactured results in tremendous materials savings.

•• PLAN FOR SMALLER, MORE COMPACT COMMUNITIES. Reduce the need for new roads and other infrastructure by preventing sprawling land-use patterns.

•• DESIGN SMALLER, MORE FLEXIBLE HOMES AND BUILDINGS. Use space-efficient strategies, reduce unused space such as hallways, and provide flexible spaces that can serve multiple functions.

•• USE EFFICIENT FRAMING TECHNIQUES. Advanced framing, in which studs are spaced 24 instead of 16 inches on center, and structural insulated panels, which combine framing and insulation into one rigid component, use less material than conventional framing without compromising performance.

•• PROMOTE SOURCE REDUCTION IN OPERATIONS. Designate office supply reuse centers. Encourage paper conservation through double-sided and electronic printing.

ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE MATERIALS

After opportunities to conserve materials have been exhausted, selection of new material begins. Green building professionals have created demand for increasingly sustainable products, and suppliers, designers, and manufacturers are responding. This creates a cycle of consumer demand and industry delivery of environmentally preferable products, spurring market transformation of building products. Environmentally preferable attributes to consider include:

•• Support the local economy

•• Sustainably grown and harvested

•• Have intended end-of-life scenarios that avoid landfill

•• Contain recycled content from industrial or consumer sources

•• Made of bio-based material

•• Free of toxins

•• Long lasting, durable, and reusable

•• Made in factories that support human health and workers’ rights

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