Emerson College
OP-11: Sustainable Procurement

From the Director of Construction Management: "To the best of my knowledge, Emerson does not have any in house publications addressing your questions. With that said, we do follow the LEED guidelines (published criteria) as much as is allowable for all individual projects, starting with construction through the running of the buildings. Architects and Engineers are all required to be LEED certified so I do not think that is a consideration anymore when bidding about their services."

According to the Facilities Department leadership: Emerson College places a strong emphasis on LCCA for water and energy using products and systems. As a matter of practice, Emerson upgrades products and systems with efficient models proactively, with respects to budget constraints. As a matter of policy, all utility savings from upgraded products and systems go into a sustainable investment fund that provides funding for additional efficiency projects. Present percentage of efficient products and systems: 95% of lighting 70% of HVAC 70% of water

Emerson College's custodial and facilities departments purchase all cleaning supplies and paints. These departments have policies to exclusively purchase Green Seal cleaning products and Zero VOC paints.

The Climate Commitment Task Force's first standard was to implement a policy that all new construction and large renovation projects on the Emerson campus must meet LEED standards from 2015 on. In doing so, products must meet 1+ of LEED standards below in these spaces: Building reuse - maintain existing walls, floors and roof To extend the life cycle of existing building stock, conserve resources, retain cultural resources, reduce waste and reduce environmental impacts of new buildings as they relate to materials manufacturing and transport. Requirements Maintain the existing building structure (including structural floor and roof decking) and envelope (the exterior skin and framing, excluding window assemblies and nonstructural roofing material). Building reuse - maintain interior nonstructural elements To extend the life cycle of existing building stock, conserve resources, retain cultural resources, reduce waste and reduce environmental impacts of new buildings as they relate to materials manufacturing and transport. Requirements Use existing interior nonstructural elements (e.g., interior walls, doors, floor coverings and ceiling systems) in at least 50% (by area) of the completed building, including additions. If the project includes an addition with square footage more than 2 times the square footage of the existing building, this credit is not applicable. Materials reuse To reuse building materials and products to reduce demand for virgin materials and reduce waste, thereby lessening impacts associated with the extraction and processing of virgin resources. Requirements Use salvaged, refurbished or reused materials, the sum of which constitutes at least 5% or 10% , based on cost, of the total value of materials on the project. Recycled Content To increase demand for building products that incorporate recycled content materials, thereby reducing impacts resulting from extraction and processing of virgin materials. Requirement Use materials with recycled content1 such that the sum of postconsumer recycled content plus 1/2 of the preconsumer content constitutes at least 10% or 20%, based on cost, of the total value of the materials in the project. Regional Materials To increase demand for building materials and products that are extracted and manufactured within the region, thereby supporting the use of indigenous resources and reducing the environmental impacts resulting from transportation. Requirements Use building materials or products that have been extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured, within a specified distance of the project site for a minimum of 10% or 20%, based on cost, of the total materials value. If only a fraction of a product or material is extracted, harvested, or recovered and manufactured locally, then only that percentage (by weight) must contribute to the regional value. Rapidly renewable materials To reduce the use and depletion of finite raw materials and long-cycle renewable materials by replacing them with rapidly renewable materials. Requirements Use rapidly renewable building materials and products for 2.5% of the total value of all building materials and products used in the project, based on cost. Rapidly renewable building materials and products are made from agricultural products that are typically harvested within a 10-year or shorter cycle. Certified Wood To encourage environmentally responsible forest management. Requirements Use a minimum of 50% (based on cost) of wood-based materials and products that are certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council’s principles and criteria, for wood building components. These components include at a minimum, structural framing and general dimensional framing, flooring, sub-flooring, wood doors and finishes. Include only materials permanently installed in the project. Wood products purchased for temporary use on the project (e.g., formwork, bracing, scaffolding, sidewalk protection, and guard rails) may be included in the calculation at the project team’s discretion. If any such materials are included, all such materials must be included in the calculation. If such materials are purchased for use on multiple projects, the applicant may include these materials for only one project, at its discretion. Furniture may be included if it is included consistently in MR Credits 3. Materials Reuse, through MR Credit 7: Certified Wood.

We work with companies that can follow LEED guidelines.

Emerson College has a policy to have wood and paper products appear for purchase on our market place in order of highest recycled content to lowest recycled content. The impetus for doing this is to encourage high recycled content purchasing.