How Can Buying Paper Help Your Building Earn LEED Certification?
The selection of sustainable materials, such as office paper, can make the difference to achieve LEED certification.
Jun 20, 2014 12:30 PM ET
Originally posted on Fiberlines
I know what you’re thinking - “What does paper have to do with green building?”
Though they may seem unconnected, the reality is that the selection of sustainable materials, such as office supplies like paper, used in a building’s everyday operations play an important role in reducing its negative environmental impact.
Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, or LEED, is a green building certification program sponsored by the United States Green Building Council® (USGBC). Beginning in 1998, LEED became the go-to system for defining what it means to be a “green building”. The certification focuses on environmental impact categories ranging from a site’s water efficiency to the materials and resources it uses to run the building.
Multiple LEED rating systems exist, and LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, also known as EBOM, focuses on improving the sustainable performance of previously built structures.
The updated version of LEED, slated to roll out later this month, illustrates how responsible paper choices can aid in an existing building’s certification. The Purchasing—Ongoing credit awards one point towards LEED certification to projects that purchase at least 60%, by cost, of ongoing consumables like paper that meet specific sustainability criteria. Two options for achieving this credit include:
- The purchase of Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified paper or USGBC-approved equivalent
- The purchase of paper containing postconsumer recycled content that meet or exceed levels listed in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines.
