Information Papers

Earning LEED Credits Through Reuse of Steel

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What is LEED ?

This Information Paper concerns the reuse of steel components to earn points towards a LEED™ green building rating.

The LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system was originally developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) to establish a standard for what constitutes a "green building” and to provide definitions to questions such as, "What is sustainable design?" and "How green is this project?" The goal was to initiate and promote practices which limit the negative impact of buildings on the environment and their occupants and to create a market-driven rating system to accelerate the development and implementation of green building practices. Through its use as a design guide and third-party certification tool, LEED™ aims to improve the well-being of occupants, the environmental performance of the building, and economic returns from the project. This may be achieved using both established and innovative practices, standards, and technologies. The rating scheme is also intended to prevent exaggerated or false claims of sustainability and to provide a standard for measurement.

The LEED™ Canada-NC v1.0 green building rating system (CaGBC, 2004) was developed by the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC) and adopted in 2004. It addresses new commercial constructions, major renovations, and high-rise residential buildings in Canada. Credits are organized within six core categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation and Design Process. In some categories there are prerequisites that must be met, such as minimum energy performance, CFC elimination, and collection of recyclables. A total of seventy points are available that can be earned through a range of measures, including both proven practices and emerging technologies. Depending upon the total number of points earned, a building can be classified as Certified (26 to 32 points), Silver (33 to 38 points), Gold (39 to 51 points) or Platinum (52 or more points).

This paper is based on the requirements of LEED™ Canada NC version 1.0, which vary in detail compared to LEED™ version 2.1 used in the USA.

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The Roy Stibbs School in BC uses the steel structure from another school building that was no longer needed to build the new building

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Car manufacturers, encouraged by European legislation and competition, have begun to consider the end of life disposal of their products. Cars are now being designed to permit disassembly and easier replacement and reuse of worn parts. This process has led to the realisation that simpler designs and assembly processing, using fewer materials, are more suitable for disassembly and in some cases lead to cost savings. Similar approaches need to be adopted in the construction sector.