LEED

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System is the standard benchmark for the design, construction and function of high performance green buildings. The rating system evaluates and measures the impact and performance of a facility.

Under LEED, carpet can contribute toward certification points in multiple ways. Our LEED calculator easily configures available points as you work toward LEED Certification.

Materials and Resources
Construction Waste Management (Credit 2.1 & 2.2) - Recycle and/or salvage at least 50% by weight of construction, demolition, and land clearing waste. Credit 2.2 requires and addition 25% beyond Credit 2.1.

Through Shaw's Evergreen Nylon Recycling Facility, we can recycle nylon 6 carpet from any manufacturer into more carpet.

Recycled Content (Credit 4.1) - Use materials with recycled content such that the sum of post-consumer recycled content plus one-half of the pre-consumer content constitutes at least 10% (based on cost) of the total value of the materials in the project. Credit 4.2 requires 20% of the total value of materials.

Eco Solution Q nylon contains a minimum of 25% recycled content and is recyclable into new nylon. EcoWorx tile contains 40% recycled content while EcoWorx Broadloom and Performance Broadloom contain 20% post consumer recycled content.

Regional Materials (Credit 5.1 & 5.2) - Use building materials or products that have been manufactured within 500 miles of the project site for a minimum of 20% (based on cost) of the total materials value. Credit 5.2 requires an additional 10% beyond Credit 5.1.

No raw material or oil based products qualify for Regional Material credit. Shaw uses locally harvested materials, such as necessary fillers, and recycled content in its products which are eligible for this credit.

Indoor Environmental Quality
Adhesives and Sealants (Credit 4.1) - All building adhesives and sealants, including carpet adhesives and sealants, must meet VOC guidelines of LEED.

All Shaw Contract Group adhesives and seam sealers are CRI Green Label Plus certified and meet South Coast and Bay Area Air Quality requirements, meeting the LEED requirements to achieve one (1) point.

Carpet (Credit 4.3) - Carpet systems must meet or exceed the Carpet and Rug Institute Green Label Indoor Air Quality Test program.

All Shaw Contract Group products meet CRI Green Label and Green Label Plus requirements. Carpet that meets this requirement achieves one point.

Innovation & Design
This category provides projects the opportunity to be awarded up to 4 additional credit points for exceptional performance above LEED requirements and/or innovative design not specifically addressed by the LEED Rating System.

Our Cradle to Cradle Certified products qualify for Innovation in Design points. Shaw produces one of the few carpet products that can contribute to this credit. To achieve Innovation in Design Credit point(s), use Cradle to Cradle Certified building materials and products for 2.5% of the total value of all building materials and products used in the project, based on cost.

Sustainable Carpet Standards

Developed by a diverse, multi-stakeholder group including federal and state government representatives, end users, manufacturers and other stakeholders, the Sustainable Carpet Standard, or NSF 140, is the first multi-attribute American National Standards Institute approved environmental standard for building materials in the US.

NSF 140:

• Evaluates multiple product attributes over the entire life cycle of a product
• Covers durability, recycled content, carpet recovery programs, and life cycle impact reductions such as emissions, energy and waste, among others.
• Provides the third party authentication
• Clarifies some of the complicated environmental subjects and assist specifiers and end users in making informed product decisions

Multiple Shaw Contract Group products are currently certified under this standard, including EcoWorx tile, EcoWorx Broadloom and Performance Broadloom, EcoLogix and Ultraloc Pattern.

We don't know all of the products that will be certified by launch date so this section will need to be monitored. Do we plan on making commentary here about how this compares to C2C directly or will the elevation of C2C everywhere else on the site be an obvious enough statement about which program we prefer?

BRE

BRE is an independent third party evaluating the sustainable attributes of products and services to an international market. As Cradle to Cradle continues to grow in acceptance as a design philosophy and a certification program, we are also certified through established international standards such as BRE. Presently, Eco Solution Q and EcoWorx tile backing are certified through the BRE standard.

Green Label Plus

The Green Label and Green Label Plus certifications evaluate emissions of volatile organic compounds found in carpet, cushions and adhesives. By passing Green Label Plus standards, our carpet protects indoor air quality from VOCs, ensuring that our customers are purchasing the lowest emitting products on the market while protecting employees, patients and children.