Gypsum’s Role in Earning Points in LEED v4 EQ, and Other Credits  

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED green building program is the preeminent program for the design, construction, maintenance and operations of high-performance green buildings. Learn more at usgbc.org/LEED. The recent unveiling of LEED v4 set a new revolution in green building design and specification into motion. While the U.S. Green Building Council’s most notable initiative—the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™ rating system—was always meant to set the tone and lead the sustainability charge, this latest version has presented some seismic shifts and sent consequent shock waves throughout the built industry. Even considering the recently announced extension of LEED 2009 until 2016, LEED v4 will be a game changer.

Notable changes include sharp focus on integrative design, building commissioning, light pollution, cradle-to-grave analysis and material certifications. These changes sharpen otherwise soft aspects of previous LEED versions, and guard against green washing, fuzzy math and unintentional consequences.

This article takes a closer look at these LEED changes particularly as they apply to the Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) category and its attention to low VOC-emitting interiors. In the new LEED program, source control of pollutants takes on greater importance than ever before in the interest of human heath.

While the new LEED program looks new, one old-school material—gypsum rock—plays an important role in its low-VOC goals, as well as in durability, moisture control and sound control. The history and manufacturing process of this reliable construction standard will be illuminated, as well as the ways it contributes to the intention of LEED v4’s EQ category.

¹ LEED^®, and its related logo, is a trademark owned by the U.S. Green Building Council^®.

Finally, other LEED credits the use of gypsum can help along—from recycled materials to regional manufacturing—will be discussed.

Let’s begin with an overview of changes to LEED v4.

Overview of Changes to LEED v4

For many of us, life before LEED is a dim memory. The rating system has become so ingrained in the collective vernacular that it’s hard to imagine that its innovators, the U.S. Green Building Council, did not even exist prior to 1993. It was Rick Fedrizzi, David Gottfried and Mike Italiano who established USGBC^®2 with a simple mission: to promote sustainability in the building and construction industry. Fedrizzi is the organization’s current president and CEO.

“That April,” states the council’s website, “representatives from approximately 60 firms and a few nonprofit organizations met in the boardroom of the American Institute of Architects for the council’s founding meeting. It was there that ideas were first aired for an open and balanced coalition spanning the entire building industry and a green building rating system.”ⁱ

The group unveiled LEED in March of 2000 after several years of group consensus work. Today, the Washington, D.C.-based USBGC has 76 chapters, 13,000 member companies and organizations and more than 181,000 professionals who hold LEED professional credentials.

The mission as stated today has expanded from the original to now read: “To transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.”ⁱⁱ

Despite ups and downs of the economy, millions of square feet of space continue to be built to LEED standards. In just one month—October 2014—some 54.8 million square feet of space was LEED certified, including 20 new schools, 16 new retail locations and 172 new commercial buildings. Newly certified projects include the LEED Silver^® Georgia World Congress Center, making it the largest LEED-certified convention center in the world. In Ohio, the 639,000 square feet of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s global headquarters was LEED certified to the Gold level.

The latest update of LEED, known as LEED v4, was introduced in November 2013 at the USGBC’s Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in Philadelphia. The biggest shifts are:

New market sectors that include data centers, warehouses and distribution centers, hotels, existing schools and existing retail. Also, LEED for Building Design and Construction: Homes and Multifamily Lowrise expands to include mid-rise buildings.

Increased technical rigor, including revisions to credit weights, new credit categories focusing on integrative design, life-cycle analysis of materials, and an increased emphasis on measurement and performance.

LEED v4 emphasizes exceptional scrutiny and transparency for product ingredients, and a hitherto unrequired life-cycle analysis for building products and their energy and environmental impacts. Products can be verified by qualified third parties using science-based measuring tools. As usual, LEED attempts to push the market forward, and building material manufacturers who comply with LEED’s requirements will attract the attention of owners and design teams seeking LEED certification.

For building products manufacturers, there is less emphasis on material resources (MR) and a new emphasis on transparency —What is in the product, and how does it affect human and planetary health?

Indoor Environmental Quality and Human Health

With buildings becoming tighter and tighter to limit air and energy leakage, LEED v4 brings a sharpened focus on the healthiness of indoor air and what toxins and pollutants are being brought into the air. The emphasis is on source control of indoor toxins, eliminating them from the beginning, rather than on air cleaning strategies or even materials that claim to scavenge toxins from the air.

Studies show an increasing interest on the impacts of buildings on human health. But while architects have led the charge for healthier buildings, some players involved in the health and sickness industry lag behind.

A ground-breaking new study by McGraw Hill Construction titled: “The Drive Toward Healthier Buildings: The Market Drivers and Impact of Building Design on Occupant Health, Well-Being and Productivity,”ⁱⁱⁱ discovered only 32 percent of family doctors and general practitioners believe that buildings impact patient health.

The results of the study—which was produced in cooperation with AIA, United Technologies, USBGC and other partners—contrast with the 62 percent of homeowners who believe the practices and products used in the home affect their family’s health.

In the 100-page report, co-leaders Harvey M. Bernstein and Michele A. Russo, both LEED APs^®, suggest that these three triggers spur higher levels of healthy building activity:

• Greater public awareness of the health impacts of buildings

• Creation of better tools and methodologies to collect data and measure health impacts to help justify investments

• Codes and incentives that encourage building practices

Of all the players involved in building design and construction, architects consistently report higher levels of use of nearly all the healthy building products included in the survey. Two of the healthiest building products—hard flooring and low/no-VOC products—are specified or used by more than 70 percent of building industry professionals.

Specified or used by more than 50 percent of those surveyed are non-toxic materials, low- or no-formaldehyde products and enhanced insulation.

² USGBC^® and the related logo are trademarks owned by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Changes to EQ Category in LEED v4

The latest version of LEED intends to make interiors healthier, to provide a superior indoor environment in the interest of human health and comfort.

Key changes in the EQ category from the LEED 2009 version to LEED v4 include:

• Several credits from LEED 2009 versions have been combined into one, with the total available credits changing from four to three.

• The number of products specifically mentioned has increased.

• Paints and adhesives are required to meet actual low-emitting criteria.

• All products must now state their TVOC (total volatile organic content) into one of three very broad categories.

• Transparency of the total VOCs emitted will be heightened, making it simpler for specifiers to select the lowest-emitting products. This could cause manufacturers to further sharpen their sustainable goals.

The Connection Between Gypsum and Interior Environmental Quality

Gypsum can be an important material in contributing toward satisfaction of certain credits in LEED v4. Here are the applicable credits to consider when using gypsum:

• LEED for Building Design and Construction
  • EQ Credit 1: Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies – Option 2 Additional Enhanced IAQ Strategies - D
  • EQ Credit 2: Low-emitting Materials
  • EQ Credit 4: Indoor Air Quality Assessment - Option 2 Air Testing
• LEED BD+C: Homes
  • EQ Credit 2: Contaminant Control – Option 4 Air Testing
• LEED for Interior Design and Construction
  • EQ Credit 1 - Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies-Option 2D
  • EQ Credit 2: Low-Emitting Materials
  • EQ Credit 4: Indoor Air Quality Assessment - Option 2 Air Testing
• LEED for Operations and Maintenance
  • o MR Credit 2: Purchasing – Facility Maintenance and Renovation – Option 1^iv

For this article, we’ll focus on gypsum’s role in contributing towards satisfaction of sustainability credits for LEED v4 for BD&C in the Indoor Environmental Quality category.

History of Gypsum

Drywall and plasterboard are non-technical synonyms for gypsum board. The main difference between gypsum and plywood, hardboard, and fiberboard is gypsum’s non-combustible core, and the monolithic surface for decoration that results when fastener heads and joints are covered.

Gypsum has been used for thousands of years. Around 3700 B.C., gypsum was used in the building of the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Around 1200 B.C., gypsum was used in the palace of King Minos of Crete. In the late 1700s, gypsum was chemically treated with heat and then rehydrated to make plaster of Paris, which is still used today. Also in the late 1700s, Benjamin Franklin promoted gypsum in agriculture as a soil additive. The first drywall was created in 1888 when Augustine Sackett sandwiched plaster of Paris between layers of paper.

Five years later, in 1893, the Alabaster Company used a mixture of gypsum plaster and fiber to build the Columbian Exposition at the Chicago World’s Fair. Demand for drywall accelerated during World War I, boosted by an urgent need for temporary military housing.

In 1925, founders of a major national gypsum company developed a process to make drywall lighter and more flexible. Their innovation was what we now know as modern drywall. Early in the 20th century, most American homes were built with interior plaster walls. By 1955, half of the homes were built with gypsum drywall. In the 1960s and 1970s, the use of gypsum drywall expanded rapidly into commercial construction. In Chicago, the 100-story John Hancock Center (started 1965) and the 108-story Sears Tower (started in 1970 and now called the Willis Tower) both were built with gypsum drywall.

Today, gypsum covers the interior of more than 97 percent of the new homes constructed in the U.S. and Canada, and is used to finish the interior and sheath the exterior of non-residential structures throughout the world.

Twenty years ago, the North American gypsum board manufacturing industry was comprised of 16 companies. Many were small, regional, one- and two-plant enterprises, and most produced only gypsum board and gypsum plaster.

Currently, the eight members of the Gypsum Association ship more than 99 percent of all the gypsum board, gypsum panels and gypsum plaster products sold in the United States and Canada. The U.S. members of the Gypsum Association directly employ over 10,000 individuals and have annual full-capacity sales of more than $10 billion.

The modern gypsum board manufacturing industry is fully immersed in the sustainability movement. Over one-third of the material used to manufacture gypsum board is recycled from other industrial processes and the facing material on paper-faced gypsum products is 100 percent recycled paper. Many production facilities use only recycled material to manufacture gypsum products.

How Gypsum is Mined and Manufactured

Natural gypsum is a mineral that is extracted from veins of ore near the surface of the earth. Byproduct gypsum is created by desulfurizing flue gases in fossil-fueled power plants. Both natural and byproduct gypsum have the same general chemical composition (CaSO₄ • 2H₂O) and both are calcium sulfate. The wholesale use of byproduct/gypsum began in the 1980s, though the technology was developed in the 1930s.

For the manufacturing process, natural gypsum rock or byproduct gypsum is crushed to a powder that is heated to about 350 degrees F. The result is “calcined” gypsum, which is used as the base for gypsum board, gypsum plaster and other gypsum products.

According to the Gypsum Association, the calcined gypsum is then mixed with water and additives to form slurry that is fed between continuous layers of paper on a board machine. The paper edges of the board are machine-wrapped as the face and back paper become chemically and mechanically bonded to the gypsum core.

As the board moves down a conveyer line, the calcium sulfate recrystallizes or rehydrates, reverting to its original rock state. The board is then cut to length and conveyed through dryers to remove any free moisture.

Subsequent to drying, board is inspected and trimmed to its final length. Individual boards are placed face-to-face in pairs to form a two-sheet “book.” The cut ends of the book are bound together with end bundling tape and the board is then prepared for storage or shipping.

Gypsum Board Fire and Mold Resistance

In the past five decades, the gypsum manufacturers have worked to maximize gypsum’s inherent fire-resistant qualities. Gypsum provides a formidable barrier to fire, heat and smoke for some period of time because of its makeup: about 50 percent chemically combined water by volume and 20 percent chemically combined water by weight. As gypsum board is heated, the calcium sulphate dehydrates, pushing moisture to the surface. But after some time of high heat exposure, the board shrinks and could crack, allowing fire to penetrate, or causing ceiling-installed board to fall. The answer was the development of Type X gypsum board, a 5/8-inch-thick extra fire-resistant board that is reinforced with noncombustible fibers in the core that counter balance the shrinkage of the board when exposed to high heat.

Gypsum board companies produce mold-resistant products with chemically treated paper and core, and with fiberglass faced panels. While mold will grow anywhere —even on glass if there is a layer of dust present to serve as a food source—the strategies employed to resist mold growth on gypsum products make it a reliable material. Some gypsum board resists the growth of mold per ASTM G 21 (Standard Practice for Determining Resistance of Synthetic Polymeric Materials to Fungi) with a score of 0, the best possible score, and per ASTM D 3273 (Standard Test Method for Resistance to Growth of Mold on the Surface of Interior Coatings in an Environmental Chamber) with a score of 10, again the best possible score. Check with each manufacturer to verify the attainment of these scores.

Even so, moisture management strategies are recommended for gypsum board during construction, during occupancy and for the life of the structure.

Over the past decades, the gypsum industry has developed numerous products for simple and complex applications. These include abuse- and impact-resistant gypsum board for use in areas where surface durability and indentation, as well as moisture, mold and mildew resistance are major concerns.

In the next section, we’ll look more closely at how gypsum board’s mold-resistant and sound-dampening characteristics contribute to points in attaining LEED v4 certification.

Gypsum’s Role in LEED v4 EQ Category

Because of its inherent qualities, gypsum board can play a substantial role in earning points in LEED v4. In this section, we’ll look at the connections between the use of gypsum and these elements of LEED v4 category that deal with Indoor Environmental Quality:

• Acoustic Performance: Speech privacy and sound insulation

• Low-Emitting Materials

• Building Clearance

• IAQ Management Plans

Indoor Environmental Quality Credit: Acoustic Performance

This credit can earn points in these LEED rating systems: BD+C: New Construction (1 point), BD+C: Schools (1 point), BD+C: Data Centers (1 point), BD+C: Warehouses and Distribution Centers (1 point), BD+C: Hospitality (1 point) and BD+C: Healthcare (1-2 points).

According to the LEED Reference Guide for Building Design and Construction, there are two options to satisfy this credit:

Option 1: Speech privacy, sound isolation, and background noise (1 point)

Option 2: Acoustical finishes and site exterior noise (1 point)

Anyone who has spent time in an overly noisy indoor environment can understand the intent of this credit:

“To provide workspaces and classrooms that promote occupants’ well-being, productivity, and communications through effective acoustic design.”^v

In commercial buildings, high-rise, and schools, excess sound transmission (also known as noise) has a massive impact on the comfort and health of the occupants. According to a study in 2007 by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Noise Environmental Burden on Disease working group, increased chance of heart attack has been linked to excess noise.^vi

“The new data indicate that noise pollution is causing more deaths from heart disease than was previously thought,” working group member Deepak Prasher, a professor of audiology at University College in London, said in the study.

Chronic stress is a result of noise pollution. And according to the WHO report, chronic high levels of stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline can lead to hypertension, stroke, heart failure and immune problems.

Sound is a vibration measured in decibels. It enters buildings and rooms from many sources—building mechanicals, computers, human conversation, music, automobile traffic, sirens, aircraft, weather, televisions, video games and dogs barking.

Sound waves move easily through cavity walls, especially through interior walls that lack insulation and which are not reinforced with sound-dampening gypsum board. The term “paper-thin walls” describes not the thickness of the walls, but their composition.

The ability of a wall partition to attenuate, or block, airborne sound is measured by Sound Transmission Class, or STC. The STC rating provides an indication of how loud transmitted sound is perceived by the listener. Higher STC values are more effective for reducing sound transmission.

STC values are derived by conducting a test according to a procedure outlined in ASTM E 90 Standard Method for Laboratory Measurement of Airborne Sound Transmission Loss of Building Partitions. The test data collected is analyzed using ASTM e 413 Classification for Rating Sound Insulation and result in a single-number acoustical rating. The rating assesses the airborne sound transmission performance at a range of frequencies from 125 Hz to 4,000 Hz, which is consistent with the frequency range of speech.

Some gypsum products reduce unwanted sound transmission better than others. And the increasing awareness of noise pollution has driven the need for high rated STC wall partitions.

Sound-dampening gypsum board allows for construction of high STC wall assemblies that are thinner and cost effective. New sound-dampening gypsum board products are composed of a layer of viscoelastic damping polymer sandwiched between high-density gypsum cores encased in a heavy, abrasion and mold/mildew/moisture-resistant paper on both sides.

The requirements in LEED v4 for Sound Transmission indicate that the STC ratings should meet the composite STC listed in Table 1 below, or the local building code, whichever is more stringent.^vii

Table 1: Maximum composite sound transmission class ratings for adjacent spaces

Adjacency combinations		STC
Residence (within a multifamily residency	Residence, hotel or motel room	55
Residence, hotel or motel room	Common hallway, stairway	50
Residence, hotel or motel room	Retail	60
Retail	Retail	50
Standard office	Standard office	45
Executive office	Executive office	50
Office, conference room	Hallway, stairway	50
Mechanical equipment room	Occupied area	60

STCs of up to 67 can be achieved with 5/8-inch sound-dampening gypsum, staggered studs, double studs and other strategies.

For schools, the classrooms and core learning areas must meet the STC requirements of ANSI S12.60-2010 Part 1, or a local equivalent. Plus, exterior windows must have an STC rating of at least 35, unless outdoor and indoor levels verifiably justify a lower level.

Details can be found in the reference guide.^viii

Indoor Environmental Quality Credit: Low-emitting Materials (BD+C 1 - 3 points)

According to the LEED Reference Guide for Building Design and Construction, the intention of the Low-emitting Materials credit is: “To reduce concentrations of chemical contaminants that can damage air quality, human health, productivity, and the environment.”^ix

And that is the exact recommendation from UL (Underwriters Laboratories), the parent company of the GREENGUARD certification system, for improved air quality: chemical source control. This is a very different intention from newly introduced interior sheathing products that purport to scavenge pollutants from the air and store them inside the wall. The long-term implications for such scavenger technologies are not yet evident.

Natural and byproduct gypsum drywall have natural “sink” properties that work in unison with the natural ebb and flow and heat and moisture inside buildings, a system that has proven healthy and reliable for many decades.

The requirements for the credit include directives for product manufacturing as well as for project teams, covering the volatile organic compound (VOC) content of materials, as well as VOC emissions into the indoor air. The interior and exterior of the building are divided into seven categories, each with differing thresholds of compliance.

The building interior is defined as everything within the waterproofing membrane, including the gypsum sheathing. The building exterior is defined as everything outside and inclusive of the primary and secondary weatherproofing system, such as waterproofing membranes and air- and water-resistive barrier materials.

From LEED 2009 to LEED v4, this credit has changed considerably. Three separate credits from LEED 2009 have been combined into one, and the credit for no added urea-formaldehyde in some materials has been eliminated.

Now, all indoor materials have to be tested by manufacturers for VOC emissions over a period of time, while paints and adhesives, referred to as wet-applied materials, must be tested for VOC content (what’s actually in the can) as well as for emissions.

These materials must meet VOC emission criteria set by the stringent California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Standard Method v1.1–2010. By referencing CDPH v1.1-2010, commonly known as California 01350, LEED v4 is setting a high standard. Programs that use the CDPH standard for testing include GREENGUARD, Green Label Plus and FloorScore^®.

There are two options for compliance. Option 1 is “Product Category Calculations.”^x

The second option is the “Budget Calculation Method,” which awards 1 to 3 points for various percentages of compliance:^xi

The budget method organizes the building interior into six assemblies:

• Flooring

• Ceilings

• Walls (including gypsum assemblies)

• Thermal and acoustic insulation

• Furniture

• Exterior applied products (Healthcare, Schools only)

The requirements of this credit in LEED v4 are expected to produce cleaner indoor air by eliminating toxins at the source. Study after study shows that indoor air can be many times more polluted that outdoor air, partly due to off gassing from building materials. And the consensus is consistent: To solve the problem, eliminate the source.

Products that will contribute toward satisfying LEED credits must be tested and certified. The most common third-party testing and certification system for indoor air quality is GREENGUARD, administered by UL Environment, a business unit of UL. The focus of GREENGUARD is on specifying and installing low-emitting materials, which is considered more beneficial factor than TVOC analysis.

To earn a GREENGUARD certification for low-emitting products, the primary test method is called: “Standard Method for Measuring and Evaluating Chemical Emissions from Building Materials, Finishes and Furnishings Using Dynamic Environmental Chambers.”

This test method, according to GREENGUARD, follows the guidance of a number of standards, including:

• ASTM Standards D-5116 and D-6670

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) testing protocol for furniture

• State of Washington's protocol for interior furnishings and construction materials

• Germany’s Blue Angel Program

• California’s Department of Public Health Services (CDPH) Standard Practice for Specification Section 01350

• USO 16000 environmental testing series

The LEED reference guide suggests “products that meet the compliance thresholds established by recognized standards, or choose product classified as inherently non-emitting.”^xii Gypsum board is indeed an inherently non-emitting product that meets compliance thresholds.

Indoor Environmental Quality Credit: Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan

This credit makes 1 point possible for these LEED v4 rating systems: BD+C: New Construction, BD+C: Core and Shell, BD+C: Schools, BD+C: Retail, BD+C: Data Centers, BD+C: Warehouses and Distribution Centers, BD+C: Hospitality, and BD+C: Healthcare.

The intent of the credit is: “To promote the well-being of construction workers and building occupants by minimizing indoor air quality problems associated with construction and renovations.”^xiii

The LEED guide acknowledges “construction activities adversely affect indoor air quality when they generate dust, toxic substances, or other contaminants.”^xiv

With a nod to worker well-being, teams are required to develop and implement an indoor air quality management plan that covers both the construction and preoccupancy phases of the building.

For the LEED BD+C: Healthcare rating system, which covers interiors with particularly critical needs for a protective plan, teams must develop and implement a moisture control plan to protect stored on-site and installed absorptive materials from moisture damage, and remove and replace materials susceptible to microbial growth. Fiberglass mat gypsum panels are well established as being low contributors to microbial growth. And because absorbent materials exposed to moisture during construction can degenerate and mold some time after installation, it’s important to both specify materials of low mold risk and to protect them during construction.

In addition, the credit requires maintenance of a clean jobsite, which will result in fewer contaminants to manage and control.

Finally, the use of tobacco products during construction will be, under LEED v4, explicitly prohibited inside the building during construction, and within 25 of the building entrance (or greater if required by local laws).^xv

How Gypsum Contributes Toward Achieving Additional LEED Points

The use of natural or byproduct gypsum can help teams earn points in a number of other credit categories in LEED v4.

Materials and Resources Credit: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Sourcing of Raw Materials SUBHEAD

The intention of this credit is: “To encourage the use of products and materials for which life-cycle information is available and that have environmentally, economically, and socially preferable life-cycle impacts. To reward project teams for selecting products verified to have been extracted or sourced in a responsible manner.”^xvi

To satisfy this credit, teams must “Use at least 20 different permanently installed products from at least five different manufacturers that have publicly released a report from their raw material suppliers which include raw material supplier extraction locations, a commitment to long-term ecologically responsible land use, a commitment to reducing environmental harms from extraction and/or manufacturing processes, and a commitment to meeting applicable standards or programs voluntarily that address responsible sourcing criteria.”^xvii

Or, as a second option, they must use products that meet at least one of several stated responsible extraction criteria for at least 25 percent, by cost, of the total value of permanently installed building products in the project.

The criterion for recycled content is: “The sum of postconsumer recycled content plus one-half the pre-consumer recycled content, based on cost. Products meeting recycled content criteria are valued at 100 percent of their cost for the purposes of credit achievement calculation.”^xviii

As a bonus, products that are extracted, manufactured and purchased within 100 miles of the project site are valued at 200 percent of their base contributing cost.

It’s possible fewer architects will strive for regional material points, however, because in LEED v4, the requirement has been reduced from 500 miles from the site (as was the case in LEED 2009) to 100 miles.

Materials and Resources Credit: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Material Ingredients SUBHEAD

This credit in LEED v4 provides the opportunity for 1 to 2 points for BD+C: New Construction, BD+C: Core and Shell, BD+C: School, BD+C: Retail, BD+C: Data Centers, BD+C: Warehouse and Distribution Centers, BD+C: Hospitality, and BD+C: Healthcare.

This intent of this credit is to encourage the use of products and materials that have environmentally, economically and socially preferable life-cycle impacts, and for which life-cycle information is available.

There are three options for meeting the requirements: 1) material ingredient reporting, 2) material ingredient optimization, or 3) product manufacturer supply chain optimization.

Option 1, which the gypsum industry is following, calls for use of at least 20 permanently installed products from at least five different manufacturers that use any of these programs to demonstrate the chemical inventory of the product to at least 1000 ppm, or 0.1%:

• Manufacturer inventory

• Health product declaration (HPD)

• Cradle to Cradle Certified, or

• USGBC approved program

The gypsum industry has in large part developed the life-cycle analyses and environmental product declaration required, and is now working on HPDs.

Conclusion

With the shift to product transparency and pollutant source control so evident in LEED v4, the use of natural and byproduct gypsum board is a natural fit for helping to achieve LEED certification. This product as developed and manufactured by major national gypsum companies that are committed to sustainability is a proven and reliable addition to the high-quality LEED-certified buildings. In particular, the use of gypsum board helps earn credits in the Indoor Environmental Quality category, serving as a proven low-VOC emitting material that conforms fully to widespread consensus on how to achieve healthy indoor air: Eliminate the source of the chemicals. With that intention and that process, the humans who occupy buildings certified under the stringent LEED v4 criteria have a better chance of enjoying better health, comfort and productivity.

National Gypsum, a fully integrated manufacturer of building products, offers three core Brands: Gold Bond® Gypsum Board, ProForm® Drywall Finishing and PermaBase® Cement Board. Our education courses educate architects on all aspects of construction using gypsum board and related products for wall and ceiling assemblies. http://www.nationalgypsum.com/