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Resources

Many helpful resources about sustainable design and operations are available to federal facility managers and other personnel. These resources are listed below. FEMP also offers training opportunities about sustainable design and practices.

Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

Building Cost and Performance Metrics: Data Collection Protocol

This building cost and performance measurement protocol (PDF 1.2 MB) has been developed for Federal Agencies by the Federal Energy Management Program to provide a tool for high-level comparative measurements of sustainably designed buildings. This protocol offers indicators of performance and cost to further the knowledge base for the sustainable design business case.

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Whole Building Design Guide

The Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) is a Web-based tool providing information and resources to support sustainable design. These guidelines are produced and updated through an interagency effort. The fundamental strategies for sustainable buildings in the WBDG include the following:

  • Optimizing site potential;
  • Minimizing energy consumption through efficiency and renewable energy;
  • Protecting and conserving water;
  • Conserving materials and using environmentally preferable products;
  • Enhancing indoor environmental quality; and
  • Optimizing operations and maintenance (O&M) practices.

The WBDG also provides access to the Sustainable Federal Buildings Database, a tool that provides easy access to a compilation of federal agency policies and guidelines on energy efficient, sustainable government facilities. Exemplary policies from other levels of government are also included. Documents included range from general policy directives to specific design criteria and operating requirements.

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LEED® Rating System

One of the important sustainability frameworks for buildings is called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®). Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is a voluntary, consensus-based rating system that awards different levels of green building certification based on total credit points earned. LEED gives credits for incorporating specific sustainable design strategies into a building design. The design strategy categories include the following:

  • Sustainable sites;
  • Water efficiency;
  • Energy and atmosphere;
  • Materials and resources;
  • Indoor environmental quality; and
  • Innovation and design process.

The U.S. Green Building Council plans to periodically update the rating system and add new categories of buildings. The currently approved system is for new construction or major renovation of commercial buildings; a pilot system addresses the operation of existing commercial buildings; and additional systems are under development for residential, laboratory, and other building types.

The U.S. Green Building Council also maintains a database of LEED Accredited Professionals, which are searchable by agency. The database will generate a list of Accredited Professionals for the chosen agency.

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High Performance Federal Buildings Database

The High Performance Federal Buildings Database showcases sustainable, high-performing buildings in the federal government. These buildings feature various combinations of energy-efficient practices, such as daylighting, and renewable energy technologies, such as building integrated photovoltaics. This database taps into the High Performance Buildings Database of the DOE Building Technologies Program and provides valuable project-related information. Depending on the project, this information can include details about finance, land use, building materials, and many other project elements. For more information, visit the High Performance Federal Buildings Database.

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The Business Case for Sustainable Design in Federal Facilities

Sustainable building design has long been advocated for its positive impact on the environment and its ability to increase the well-being and productivity of a building's occupants. Only recently has a definitive economic case been made for sustainable design and operations in terms of life-cycle cost savings and little or no increase in the cost of construction. Sustainable design does not have to increase a facility's construction costs; in some cases, efficient buildings have lower first costs as well as reduced operating costs. For more information, please see The Business Case for Sustainable Design in Federal Facilities.

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Sustainability and Security

The recent emphasis on security may provide both challenges and opportunities to federal agencies. By recognizing and using the surge of public interest in improved building security as an opportunity, agencies can address energy efficiency at the same time. Improved building security can also contribute to broader goals, such as supporting an economy that's less vulnerable to energy supply and infrastructure disruptions. Sustainable and secure buildings can also generate long-term energy cost savings that will in turn lower the net costs of essential security improvements. A FEMP white paper, Securing Buildings and Saving Energy: Opportunities in the Federal Sector (PDF 309 KB) provides examples of linkages between building security and energy-saving technologies and practices. A Checklist of Opportunities to Upgrade Energy Efficiency with Building Security (PDF 114 KB) presents a list of design and operation specifications related to building security measures.

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Office of the Federal Environmental Executive

The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive's (OFEE) 'The Federal Commitment to Green Building: Experiences and Expectations' highlights the advances within the federal government, identifies barriers to greater progress, and provides recommendations for how the federal sector can overcome obstacles and construct more sustainable buildings.

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On-line Guide for Energy Management at Federal Data Centers

Data Centers are among the most energy-intensive facilities in the Federal Sector (as well as among local and state governmental facilities), having energy use and intensity typically orders of magnitude greater than other buildings. Data centers are also becoming increasingly common across numerous agencies, including DHS, DOD, DOE, EPA, IRS, NIH and others, as agencies cope with the increasing demands of having to handle enormous amounts of data. As an indication of the importance of public sector computing, many of the top 500 supercomputer centers are Federal or other public facilities. Previously exempt from executive orders for energy reduction, Federal data centers now must meet federal requirements under Energy Policy Act of 2005 for 2% energy reductions per year. This guide, co-funded by FEMP Techncial Assistance, will assist federal energy managers-and others-in identifying the best solutions for controlling energy use in these high-energy use facilities. The reality is that in the near term, energy use is likely to increase in these buildings, as demands for more computing power increases, but steps taken now can minimize these increases, and help show that facility managers are addressing the goals of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

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FEMP Sustainability CD

This CD was created for federal facility managers that do not have access to the Internet. It contains a library of FEMP resources in PDF format, so facility managers without Internet capabilities can access these documents. CDs are still available. Please contact the EERE Information Center at 877-337-3463 to request a copy.

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Additional Resources

Here you'll find both federal and non-federal resources with information about sustainable design practices.

Federal Resources

Non-Federal Resources

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