LEED LCA credits Made Easy
Automate the LCA from your existing design data and get the MR credits in no-time Request a quote

LCA quantifies your carbon impacts
By automating LCA from your existing design data, you can be done with the assessment in just minutes. This allows you to use the results as an environmental design tool that provides you with key quantitive insights. One Click LCA is compliant with LEED and supports a variety of credits (see the table below). Moreover, it has an extensive North American database of both EPDs and generic materials.
LEED credit | LEED v4.1 BD+C | LEED v4 BD+C | LEED v4 BD+C: Homes | LEED v4: ID+C | LEED v3 (2009) BD+C |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MRc1 Building life-cycle impact reduction Option 4: Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment |
4 + regional priority | 3 + exemplary + regional priority | — | — | Mrpc63: 1 |
MRc2 Building product disclosure and optimization — Environmental Product Declarations Option 1: Environmental Product Declaration Option 2: Multi-Attribute Optimization |
2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Mrpc52: 1 MRpc61: 1 |
MRc3 Building product disclosure and optimization — Sourcing of Raw Materials Option 1: Reporting Option 2: Leadership extraction practices |
2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | MRpc53: 1 |
Pilot credit: Informing Design Using Triple Bottom Line Analysis (combined LCA and LCC with One Click LCA LCC module) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Pilot credit: Informing Design by Major Credit Category Using Triple Bottom Line Analysis (combined LCA and LCC with One Click LCA LCC module) |
1 | 1 | 1 | ||
Maximum points available | 10 + regional | 10 + regional | 3 | 6 | 5 |
Credits subject to project constraints. Bionova Ltd accepts no responsibility for omissions or errors in the above data.
MRc1 — Whole-building life-cycle assessment for LEED v4 and 2009 explained
In LEED v4, most users will utilize the Option 4: Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment for MRc1, to deliver 3 them base points, an optional exemplary point and a possible regional priority credit, along with the enhanced design LCA provides them with. This credit is available in LEED v4 BD+C and other new construction and major renovation versions, but not in LEED v4 EBOM, ID+C and Homes.
In LEED BD+C v 2009 (or v3), you can follow this process to achieve the MRpc63 Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment credit.
Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction, Option 4: Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment: 3 base points + optional exemplary and regional priority
What you need to do to earn the LEED v4 LCA credits
The process requires improving building life-cycle impacts by 10 % compared to a baseline building, using a Life-Cycle Assessment software. The baseline and proposed buildings must be of comparable size, function, orientation,and operating energy performance. The LCA must be calculated for six listed environmental impact categories with three of them, including Global warming potential, demonstrating at minimum a 10% reduction. No category of impacts may increase by more than 5% compared to the baseline design.
Working to achieve LEED-mandated performance improvement
In practice, it helps to think of the baseline building as a building meeting the same function and size, but without all of the clever design choices that make it more efficient. You’ll want to iterate over several design changes rapidly to see what they would mean for your project and compare changes to your baseline project seamlessly. To ensure everything goes smoothly, pick an easy to use LCA software. One Click LCA allows varying and comparing alternatives in minutes, and helps you develop your baseline design, too. With the additional power of using the LCA as a design tool, an easy to use building LCA software with good support makes this a very attractive credit for LEED projects.
Effortless Whole-Building LCA with One Click LCA
The LCA data used must comply with ISO 14044, which is ensured by LCA software that conforms to LEED v4’s requirements. One Click LCA complies with all LEED requirements and supports all required impact categories, and provides dedicated LEED-specific application to North American LEED users. The North American version is powered by datasets from U.S. and Canada, and uses TRACI 2.1. The application provides a fool-proof template that ensures you’ll always follow the LEED template to the letter.
There is a bonus, too. If you achieve any improvement over the required credit thresholds in all six impact categories, you are eligible for the exemplary performance credit. LCA is also a regional priority credit in Canada and many parts in the United States:
- Ohio, Texas, Louisiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Delaware, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Works anywhere in the world
Fast & easy LCA calculations
Comes with your local database
MRc2 — Building product disclosure and optimization: Environmental Product Declaration
LEED v4 also includes two Building product optimization and disclosure credits, the MRc2 and MRc3. This outlines requirements for MRc2. See below the outline for MRc3.
MRc2 credit requirements
Option 1. Environmental Product Declaration (1 point)
- The requirement of the credit is to use at least 20 permanently installed building products from at least five different manufacturers that have an environmental product declaration (EPD). Type of the EPD defines it’s weight in calculations. Product-specific EPDs count for one EPD, whereas product-group average EPDs count for a half. Critically reviewed LCA counts for a quarter.
- One Click LCA software contains and constantly updates the following US EPD databases: NRMCA, ASTM, NSF, SCS Global Services, UL Environment, and Quartz.
Option 2. Multi-Attribute Optimization (1 point)
- The requirement is to show that at least 50 % (by cost) of permanently installed building products demonstrate LCA impact reduction in at least 3 impact categories compared to industry average. Alternatively, this may be shown by compliancy with other USGBC approved programs. This option weights the location of sourcing (products extracted, manufactured, purchased closer than 100 miles / 160 km counts as double) and caps structure and enclosure to not more than 30 % of value of compliant building products.
One Click LCA comes with an integrated North American EPD database
To be able to initially specify, and later to get these credits, you’ll need to go through a vast range of options and locate manufacturers with EPD data and review their impacts. One Click LCA helps you to get this done easily. We have an extensive LCA database that includes all major North American databases and EPDs, in addition to generic materials: NRMCA, ASTM, NSF, SCS Global Services, UL Environment, and Quartz. What’s more – you may have already chosen the EPDs when conducting the LCA analysis for MRc1 using One Click LCA. From there, you will just need to mark the EPDs you are actually going to use in the building design, to achieve this credit.
Our database conforms to ISO 14025, 14040, 14044, and EN 15804 or ISO 21930 and has at least a cradle to gate scope.
Would you like to learn more about LEED v4?
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MRc3 — Building product disclosure and optimization, Sourcing of raw materials
The credit is concerned with responsible sourcing of the permanently installed products.
MRc3 credit requirements
Option 1. Raw Material Source and Extraction Reporting (1 point)
The requirement of the credit is to use at least 20 building 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. The credit looks for third-party verified corporate sustainability reports which comply with one of the following: GRI, OECD Guidelines, U.N. Global Compact, ISO 26000, or other approved programs. Self-declared reports count for half the value.
Option 2. Leadership Extraction Practices (1 point)
The requirement is to show that at least 25 % (by cost) of building products comply with one of the USGBC-nominated responsible extraction criteria, which include: extended producer responsibility (half weighting), bio-based materials, certified-origin wood products, reused materials, recycled content, and other USGBC approved programs. Like MRc2 credit, this option weights the location of sourcing (products extracted, manufactured, purchased closer than 100 miles / 160 km counts as double) and caps structure and enclosure to not more than 30 % of value of compliant building products.
One Click LCA can power up to 10 credits + related regional priorities in LEED v4, and support a range of other voluntary analyses, from Life-Cycle Costing to in-life performance tracking.
What our users have to say about One Click LCA for LEED
Project: Campus Generalitat
Campus Generalitat, Spain, 51 043 m2
- Client: Green Living Projects SL
- Investor: Axa
- Type: New construction
- Certification: LEED
- One Click LCA used for: LCA
One Click LCA was used by Green Living Projects SL to obtain a standardized Life-Cycle Assessment report for their Campus Generalitat project. The LCA credit was approved by GBCI.
We congratulate Green Living Projects SL for the credit and their work promoting sustainable building worldwide!
