Paint.org - The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on Oct. 2 released an updated version of LEED v4 for a fifth public comment period. The most recent draft still includes a number of credits that are problematic for the paint and coatings industry. Through its Green Building Workgroup, ACA is preparing comments on certain credits in the fifth draft of the rating system for submission by the Dec. 10 comment deadline. The ‘Low-Emitting Interiors’ credit is not open for public comment and remains unchanged, requiring 90 percent of architectural coatings (applied to walls, floors, and ceilings), adhesives, and sealants to undergo chamber testing emissions evaluations. LEED v4 also still rewards projects for avoiding certain chemicals and disclosing product ingredients under the [I]Building product disclosure and optimization – material ingredients[/I] credit. This credit offers one point for projects that contain products from manufacturers that publish a content inventory using Chemical Abstract Service registration numbers, the Health Product Declaration, Cradle to Cradle v2 Silver Level, or some other USGBC approved program. This credit also rewards projects one point for installing at least 25 percent of its building materials that do not contain certain chemicals of concern according to the GreenScreen v1.2 Benchmark, Cradle to Cradle v2 certification, REACH (European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemical Substances) criteria for substances of very high concern, or some other USGBC approved program. In May, ACA submitted comments to the U.S. Green Building Council during the fourth LEED 2012 comment period. ACA addressed five credits in its comments, and, focused, in particular, on the emissions testing, avoidance of chemicals of concern, and ingredient disclosure credits. ACA expressed concern that requiring nearly all interior architectural coatings, adhesives, and sealants to undergo emissions testing is not practically feasible in the current marketplace, and will limit access to compliant products, ultimately decreasing the viability of the Low-Emitting Interiors credit. On June 4, USGBC announced that it was delaying the ballot on LEED 2012 until June 1, 2013, and renaming it LEED v4. USGBC decided to slow the development process for LEED’s fourth iteration amid controversy over the most recent drafts. Diverse stakeholders, from LEED practitioners to product manufacturers, including ACA, have expressed strong reservations about many of the changes and new credits, and the complexity of the most recent version. Along with delaying the ballot until June 2013, USGBC will keep the LEED 2009 registration open for at least three years, instead of immediately turning over to LEED v4 in 2013.USGBC will hold public forums and educational sessions on LEED v4 at Greenbuild, its annual international conference and expo in San Francisco, this November. The latest draft of LEED v4 is available at [LINK=https://new.usgbc.org/leed/v4]https://new.usgbc.org/leed/v4[/LINK]. Read more paint news at:
http://paint.org/news/industry-news/item/1020-draft-leed-v4-released-for-fifth-public-comment-period.html
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