SCS Certifies Products…

LEED Certifies Buildings and Systems

The LEED Green Building Rating System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifies buildings and systems based on credits obtained in the following categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process. SCS can help clients certify their products in order to gain LEED points in the materials and resources category, the indoor environmental quality category, and the innovation and design category.

In the early 1990s, SCS developed the leading independent, third-party recycled content certification program. To date, SCS has certified hundreds of companies and thousands of products for recycled content, as well as salvaged wood, reclaimed agrifiber, and formaldehyde free claims. SCS certified products include: carpet, moulding, doors, drywall, pest control, paints, insulation, and cleaning products. SCS was also one of the first FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accredited certifying organizations.

SCS can certify products that will help meet the following LEED requirements:

• MR-3 – Salvaged Materials (2 pts)
• MR-4 – Recycled Content (2pts)
• MR-5 – Local and Regionally Harvested and Manufactured Materials (2pts)
• MR-6 – Annually and Rapidly Renewable Materials (1pt)
• MR-7 – Certified Wood (1pt)
• EQ-4 – Low Emitting Materials (no urea formaldehyde) (1pt)

Several LEED points are dependent on third-party certification or proving equivalence to a given standard. For more information about LEED and SCS, contact Stowe Hartridge-Beam at 510-452-8025.

LEED and Wood Products: A Case Study

SCS can certify the following major wood product types for LEED Credit:

Lumber: (framing, solid wood flooring, moulding, siding, shingles, high end furniture, windows)
• MR-3 Salvaged,
• MR-5 Local/Regional Materials,
• MR-7 FSC

Plywood: (framing, paneling, underlayment)
• MR-3 Salvaged*,
• MR-4 Recycled Content
• MR-5 Local/Regional Materials,
• MR-7 FSC

Oriented Strand Board (OSB): (framing, premanufactured units)
• MR-5 Local/Regional Materials,
• MR-6 Rapidly Renewable,
• MR-7 FSC

Particleboard: (underlayment, wall panels, doors, furniture, laminated flooring, siding, cabinetry, casework)
• MR-4 Recycled Content;
• MR-5 Local/Regional Material;
• MR-6 Rapidly Renewable;
• MR-7 FSC;
• EQ-4 Low Emitting Materials

Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF): moulding, doors, furniture, cabinetry, casework, windows)
• MR-4 Recycled Content;
• MR-5 Local/Regional Material;
• MR-6 Rapidly Renewable,
• MR-7 FSC;
• EQ-4 Low Emitting Materials

For a listing of frequently asked questions regarding building materials and LEED check out the following FAQ (pdf format) page. More details about the LEED program and the U.S. Green Building Council can be found on the USGBC website at www.usgbc.com.