Federal Reports on Green Building

The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive has released a report detailing, for the first time, the federal government’s progress in greening their own building stock. The report, “The Federal Commitment to Green Building: Experiences and Expectations,” outlines the state of federal green building, barriers to increased progress, and recommendations for overcoming those barriers.

The report is somewhat critical of the LEED® Rating System, questioning its scientific merit and suggesting that some credits are inappropriately weighted. Nevertheless, the report endorses use of LEED by federal agencies instead of developing a separate federal rating system. Among the report’s recommendations are forming a senior-level interagency green building council and assisting the U.S. Green Building Council in developing future LEED rating systems. According to the report, federal buildings have reduced their energy use by 23% since 1985. The report is posted online at www.ofee.gov.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) has also released a report on green building. “The Business Case for Sustainable Design in Federal Facilities” outlines the financial, environmental, and societal benefits of green buildings and documents a number of case studies. “The Federal government is the nation’s largest landlord,” says the report, and, “as such, it has a tremendous opportunity and a clear responsibility to lead by example on sustainable design and construction. . . .” The report can be downloaded from: www.eere.energy.gov/femp/techassist/sustainability.html.