Four Ways Acoustics LEED® to Certification

U.S. Green Building Council

This week, industry leaders, experts, and frontline professionals dedicated to sustainable building flock to San Francisco to attend the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. Developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), this gathering is the largest conference and expo dedicated to green building.

The center of focus every year at Greenbuild is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED Certification System. This rating system offers guidelines and third-party verification to buildings that operate sustainably. Projects that are LEED certified not only have lower operating costs, less waste, and are a healthier living and working environment, but qualify for tax rebates, zoning allowances and other incentives in hundreds of cities.

Using the right acoustical treatment can boost the number of LEED points that your building project is eligible for. Here are a few of the LEED categories our noise control products can earn.

Materials and Resources

The materials and resources credits encourage using sustainable building materials and reducing waste. Many of our acoustical products qualify for these credits because they are regional materials, manufactured in the United States under 500 miles from where they will ultimately be used in new and existing buildings. More credits are earned by our acoustical products that are made with recycled content or are recyclable, diverting waste from reaching the landfill.

Indoor Environmental Quality

Indoor environmental quality credits promote better indoor air quality and access to daylight and views. This is the category where acoustical products shine. The quality of an indoor environment is improved drastically when the acoustics are considered. Noise control treatment lowers irritating and potentially harmful sounds and eases communication. Many of our acoustical products qualify for even more points in this category. This is because they are made with low-VOC adhesives and contribute to thermal comfort.

Energy and Atmosphere

Energy & atmosphere credits promote better building energy performance through innovative strategies. Acoustical Fiberglass optimizes energy performance because it not only acts as a sound insulator, but a thermal insulator as well. The reflective surfaces of white fleece, natural white melamine foam or white HPC® coating used in some of our products can also qualify for these points because they help reduce the number of light fixtures needed.

Innovation and Design

Innovation in design or innovation in operations credits address sustainable building expertise as well as design measures not covered under the five LEED credit categories. For example, many of our acoustical ceiling tiles and foams earn these credits because they are extremely lightweight, reducing transportation energy and structural load on the building.

Browse our collection of acoustical products for LEED projects.

LEED information for our Sustainable Series products can be found here.