Federal High Performance and Sustainable Buildings
The Federal Government is the nation's single largest landlord and energy consumer, operating more than 500,000 facilities comprising more than 3 billion square feet. Historically, approximately $30 billion is spent annually on acquiring or substantially renovating Federal facilities, and about $7 billion is spent on energy for Federal facilities. Almost $200 billion is spent on personnel compensation and benefits for civilian employees. This footprint represents an enormous opportunity to transfer sustainable technologies and practices on a large scale, thereby helping to transform the marketplace and create a more healthy work environment.
This section provides the key information needed by Federal personnel to meet high performance and sustainable building (HPSB) requirements including:
Several Executive Orders and legislative mandates direct Federal Agencies to achieve specific HPSB goals. This section provides an overview of these requirements.
Executive Orders 13514 and 13423 require all Federal agencies to comply with the Guiding Principles for New Construction and Major Renovation. This section includes technical guidance needed to meet each of these Guiding Principles.
Executive Order 13514 requires at least 15% of each agency's existing facilities and building leases (above 5,000 gross square feet) to meet the Guiding Principles by 2015. To meet this goal, most agencies must upgrade their existing building stock, which means compliance with a separate set of Guiding Principles for Sustainable Existing Buildings that are detailed in this section.
This section includes additional supporting technical guidance to help agencies meet HPSB requirements.