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Federal Requirements

Federal agencies are required to implement certain aspects of sustainable building design and operation, including energy and water efficiency; use of recycled content, bio-based, or other environmentally preferable building products; waste recycling, including construction and demolition debris; and use of environmental management systems to continually improve operational performance of federal facilities. Government-wide policies emphasizing the energy and water efficiency aspects of sustainable building design and operation are highlighted on this page.

Code of Federal Regulations

Title 10 Part 435–Energy Conservation Voluntary Performance Standards for New Buildings; Mandatory for Federal Buildings. 10 CFR 435 establishes performance standards to be used in the design of new federal commercial and multifamily high-rise buildings.

Title 10 Part 436–Federal Energy Management and Planning Programs. 10 CFR 436 establishes procedures for determining the life-cycle cost-effectiveness of energy conservation measures and for setting priorities for energy conservation measures in retrofits of existing federal buildings.

Legislative Acts

Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005. Section 305(a) of Sec. 109–Federal Building Performance Standards, states that if life-cycle cost-effective, Federal buildings designed should: achieve energy consumption levels that are at least 30 percent below the levels established in the version of ASHRAE Standard or the International Energy Conservation Code as appropriate; apply sustainable building design principles to the siting, design, and construction of all new and replacement buildings; and implement water conservation technologies that are life-cycle cost-effective if water is being used to achieve energy efficiency.

Executive Orders

Executive Order 13423–Strengthening Federal Environmental Energy, and Transportation Management. The new executive order was signed on January 24, 2007, by President Bush; the order builds on and expands the activities of other existing executive orders into one new order, including: E.O. 13101–Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition; E.O. 13123–Greening the Government through Efficient Energy Management; E.O. 13148–Greening the Government through Leadership in Environmental Management; and E.O. 13149–Greening of the Government through Federal Fleet and Transportation Efficiency. Section 2, (f) of Executive Order 13423 states that each agency should ensure that:

  • New construction and major renovation of agency buildings comply with the Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings set forth in the Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Memorandum of Understanding (2006), and
  • 15 percent of the existing Federal capital asset building inventory of the agency as of the end of fiscal year 2015 incorporates the sustainable practices in the Guiding Principles.

In consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality has issued instructions (PDF 150 KB, 51 pp) and defined requirements for implementing Executive Order 13423. Download Adobe Reader.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings

Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Memorandum of Understanding is a voluntary agreement amongst agencies to establish and follow a common set of sustainable Guiding Principles for integrated design, energy performance, water conservation, indoor environmental quality, and materials for agencies to: reduce the total ownership cost of facilities; improve energy efficiency and water conservation; provide safe, healthy, and productive built environments; and to promote sustainable environmental stewardship.

The MOU for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings (PDF 148 KB) was signed by 17 federal agencies including Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), General Services Administration (GSA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Interior (DOI), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Agriculture (USDA) and others. Download Adobe Reader.

The signatory agencies pledged to make their facilities more sustainable in specific, measurable ways, highlighting energy efficiency. The ISWG developed the guiding principles that were the foundation of the MOU. Strong support for sustainable Federal buildings was expressed by senior officials from agencies including OMB, the Council on Environmental Quality, OFEE, GSA, DOD, DOI and DOE.

White House Summit on Federal Sustainable Buildings

On January 24-25, 2006, more than 150 top Federal facilities managers and decision makers met at the White House Conference Center for the first-ever "White House Summit on Federal Sustainable Buildings" sponsored by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE). Proceedings of the event are available on the OFEE White House Summit on Federal Sustainable Buildings website.

  • Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings
  • The introduction of OMB's new Executive Management Scorecards.

For more information on the White House Summit on Federal Sustainable Buildings, including the agenda, conference proceedings, press release, media coverage, participants, and handouts, please visit FedCenter.gov.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

OMB Circular A-11. In 2002, recognizing that investments in better building design and construction typically return dividends that will save money over the life of the building, OMB revised Circular A-11, Section 55-Energy and Transportation Efficiency Management - to encourage federal agencies to incorporate ENERGY STAR® or the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ into up front design concepts for new construction and/or building renovations. Agencies must report if they incur or anticipate incurring additional costs for incorporating these standards.

Executive Management Scorecards

Additionally at the White House Summit, the OMB introduced the new draft Executive Management Scorecards for environment, energy, and transportation. The environmental scorecard now includes sustainable design for buildings. The new scorecard structure resembles the structure of scorecards that OMB uses to assess agency performance in implementing the President's Management Agenda.

For more information