National Academies Report "Achieving High-Performance Federal Facilities: Strategies and Approaches for Transformational Change"
The National Academies’ National Research Council recently released an expert panel report commissioned by GSA’s Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings. This report, Achieving High-Performance Federal Facilities: Strategies and Approaches for Transformational Change, calls for bold thinking and specific reforms to rapidly transform Federal facilities from the status quo to genuine sustainability. The National Academies' report can be found on their website.
The panel, comprised of nationally-recognized green building experts, identified seven “Levers for Change” to spur transformative change across the Federal buildings portfolio:
- Systems-Based Thinking: going beyond piecemeal approaches to identify solutions that shrink the entire Federal footprint while delivering greater value: rethinking and improving how the government overall uses resources and impacts people and the environment.
- Portfolio-Based Facilities Management: planning and administering the Federal buildings portfolio more systematically.
- Integrated Work Processes: bringing the buildings and facilities trades to work together in integrated work teams and processes.
- Procurement, Contracting and Finance: using the Federal government’s spending power to move the market to sustainable products and services.
- Communication and Feedback for Behavioral Change: disseminating key sustainability messages and information to all levels of government for buy in and implementation.
- Standards and Guidelines: driving sustainability into Federal operations through the use of robust, well-aligned sustainability standards, guidance and best practices.
- Technologies and Tools: aggressively identifying effective, innovative sustainable building technologies for widespread Federal adoption.
