[Skip to Content]

Search results for “IEQ Management Plan”

Search by these terms

Learn & Plan Topics

  • Planning to Build Green

    Sustainability "means to create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations." Executive Order 13514

  • Plan Section Guidance

    For each project there is a selection of issues and questions you should consider before selecting specific materials or products. This will help you and your team address the most critical sustainability concerns and opportunities for that project type; look for synergies and mitigate unintended consequences. There are ways to improve even the simplest projects, such as repainting or re-carpeting.

  • Improved IEQ Benefits

    Improvements in indoor environments are estimated to save $17-48 billion in total health gains and $20-160 billion in worker performance. Source: Fisk, W. (2000) Health and productivity gains from better indoor environments and their relationship with building energy efficiency. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment: 25, 537-66.

  • Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

    Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) is most simply described as the conditions inside a building. It does not refer to the air quality alone, but the entire environmental quality of a space, which includes air quality, access to daylight and views, pleasant acoustic conditions, and occupant control over lighting and thermal comfort.

  • IEQ Health Risks

    Indoor contaminants such as dust mites, molds, cockroaches, pet dander, secondhand smoke and some chemicals can trigger asthma attacks. Source: Asthma Prevalence, Health Care Use and Mortality: United States, 2003-05, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/ashtma03-05/asthma03-05.htm 

  • IEQ Asthma Attacks

    More than 20 million people, including over 6 million children, have asthma, accounting for over 10 million outpatient clinic visits, nearly 2 million emergency department visits and nearly 4,500 deaths annually (2000). Source: Asthma Prevalence, Health Care Use and Mortality: United States, 2003-05, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/ashtma03-05/asthma03-05.htm

  • Life Cycle Approach

    Materials and resources all have environmental, social and economic impacts beyond just their "use" phase in a project. Analyzing these environmental impacts and financial costs over the entire life span of a product or material is what is known as a Life Cycle Approach.

  • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Overview

    When seeking to make the most sustainable choice, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides the most data to inform your decision. By including the impacts throughout the product life cycle, LCA provides a comprehensive view of the environmental aspects of the product or process and a more accurate picture of the true environmental trade-offs in product and process selection.

  • LCA Standards, Tools and Resources

    ISO 14040:2006 describes the principles and framework for life cycle assessment (LCA) including: definition of the goal and scope of the LCA, the life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) phase, the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase...

  • Sustainable Building Operations and Maintenance Services

    Follow these sustainable strategies as your space renovations are complete and the building and interiors are operated in an environmentally sustainable manner. Operations staff should endeavor to establish best practices in energy efficiency, resource conservation, ecologically sensitive products, and other sustainable practices, and implement them.

  • Sustainable Sites

    Choosing a building's site and managing that site during construction are important considerations for a project’s sustainability. Environmentally responsible site selection discourages development of previously undeveloped land; minimizes a building's impact on ecosystems and waterways; encourages regionally appropriate landscaping; rewards smart transportation choices; and controls stormwater runoff. Additionally, appropriate site management can reduce erosion, light pollution, the heat island effect and construction-related pollution. Buildings can be placed in various locations; project teams should choose the environmentally preferred option and follow up with responsible stewardship of the site.

  • Best Practices Applicable to All Project Types

    This section presents key issues that should be considered for each project type. It is intended to help you think about your overall project, before you begin to compare and select specific materials. This will enable you to select the "best" strategies and materials for your project, given the opportunities and constraints you have identified. Use the sidebar to navigate to your specific project type.

  • Keys to Success

    Sustainable design, construction, operation, and renovation are best thought of as an integrated process, rather than a collection of things. The process involves new ways of designing, constructing and operating our buildings and facilities.

  • Flexibility

    Today's workplaces are often in flux. As organizations change direction or develop new services, people also move. Teams form and re-form. People move to new spaces and take on new responsibilities. The spaces themselves are transformed to meet new needs. These changes are much easier to accommodate, with less stress on people and the organization, when the workplace is designed to support flexibility.

  • Spatial Equity

    Organizations today are less hierarchical and work is more team based, more mobile, and more cross functional. A key to spatial equity is that space layout and workstation standards are based on new ways of working and specific work tasks and business needs rather than organizational hierarchy.

  • Conducting LCA

    The US Department of Energy has developed an LCA report to help evaluate the energy and environmental benefits of LEDs when compared to incandescent and fluorescent lighting. This analysis follows the four steps outlined above. When using LCA to compare equipment, it is important to establish a common unit of performance by which each will be judged.

  • Space Reconfiguration and Renovation Projects

    As needs change over time, tenants often need to convert space or phase the conversion of individual space or rooms to meet these changing needs.

  • Under 10,000 SF Interiors Gut Rehab Project

    Following are Sustainable Strategies to consider as the space has or will undergo a major tenant gut rehab for projects under 10,000 SF. Note to use a current version of LEED for Commercial Interiors for tenant improvement projects over 10,000 SF. Refer to the Share Section for a represented project Case Study to discover key practices, benefits, results and checklists.

  • Comfort

    Comfortable workers are more likely to be productive and engaged with their work than those who struggle to work in spaces that create barriers and stresses. With ever increasing needs to be mindful of the environment when designing spaces, GSA is developing practices that support both sustainability and worker comfort.

  • Materials, Furniture, and Furnishings Replacement

    Daily wear and tear means that materials, furniture and furnishings require periodic replacement.


Whole Building Analysis


  • Everything 137

    • Learn & Plan Topics 20

      • Learn
      • Plan

    • Whole Building 117

    • Compare Materials 0

Procure Products 0

in the Green Products Compilation