Noble  Environmental  Technologies  Technical  Bulletin  

 

For  technical  support  and  information  contact:  Jen  Rhymer,  PhD  jenrhymer@ecorglobal.com  (619)  756  -­‐  7373  

 

January  2014  

 ECOR®  Earns  Points  Towards  LEED  Credits  

 ECOR®  is  a  natural  composite  material  used  for  a  variety  of  applications  including  architectural  surfaces,  interior  signs,  fixtures,  furnishings,  containers,  packaging,  and  some  construction  applications.    There  is  a  near  unlimited  number  of  ways  to  incorporate  ECOR  into  a  LEED  building.      The  Leadership  in  Energy  and  Environmental  Design,  or  LEED,  certification  is  a  third  party  system  working  to  transform  the  way  buildings  are  designed,  constructed  and  maintained  around  the  world.    The  LEED  program  has  gone  through  numerous  updates  since  its  inception  in  1994.    The  current  version,  v4,  was  officially  released  at  the  USGBC  Greenbuild  Conference  in  November  2013.    The  previous  version,  v2009,  is  still  recognized  for  projects  in  progress.    One  of  the  significant  changes  in  LEED  v4  is  that  the  plaque  is  now  dynamic  and  the  points  are  updated  regularly,  meaning  a  project  could  change  certification  level  during  operations.    LEED  v4  classifies  four  types  of  projects:  Building  Design  and  Construction  (BD+C),  Interior  Design  and  Construction  (ID+C),  Building  Operations  and  Maintenance  (O+M),  Neighborhood  Development  (ND)  and  each  project  type  has  subtypes  such  as  health  care.      To  obtain  certification  for  a  project  a  certain  number  of  points  must  be  acquired.    

− LEED  Certified:  40-­‐49  points    − LEED  Silver:  50  –  59  points  − LEED  Gold:  60  –  79  points  − LEED  Platinum:  over  80  points  

 Points  are  achieved  by  earning  credits  in  7  categories  (5  main  categories  and  two    

     

 bonus).      The  credit  categories  include  sustainable  sites,  water  efficiency,  energy  and  atmosphere,  materials  and  resources,  indoor  environmental  quality,  and  the  two  bonus  categories  are  innovation  and  regional  priority.      ECOR  is  an  Eco  Astounding  material  that  has  the  potential  to  contribute  to  every  credit  in  the  materials  category.    Including  life  cycle  reduction,  material  reuse,  building  product  disclosures  for  raw  material  sourcing,  material  ingredients,  and  environmental.    Some  of  the  benefits  of  ECOR  include:      

− 100%  recycled,  post  consumer  and  post  industrial  options    

− 100%  recyclable  and  compostable  − 100%  USDA  Certified  biobased  − Cradle  to  Cradle  Certification  − Zero  VOC  and  off-­‐gassing    

 In  addition,  Noble  Environmental  Technologies  has  programs  such  as  YourCOR  and  ReCOR  that  can  provide  a  significant  number  of  points  for  innovation.