Sustainability Measures, Implementation & Certification

The Public Buildings Service (PBS) of the General Services Administration (GSA) manages federal space and provides real estate solutions to government agencies. In Region 8, located in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming PBS manages a portfolio of over 10.9 million square feet of federally owned space and 9.1 million square feet of leased space in 100 owned and 522 leased facilities.

GSA is obligated to incorporate and measure sustainable practices into daily operations. These are known as the Guiding Principles (GP) under the “Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU - 2006) and the subsequent “High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Guidance (2008)”; which stem from Executive Orders and federally mandated laws. GSA is required to achieve 100% compliance with Guiding Principles of 18% of all owned and leased buildings greater than 5,000 gross square feet (GSF) by Fiscal Year 2015 and will seek compliance for all other applicable owned buildings as future schedules and budgets permit.

GP I: Employ Integrated Assessment, Operations & Management

Commissioning
Team Structure
Tenant Education
Occupant Feedback

GP II: Optimize Energy Performance

Benchmarking, Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency products
Measurement & Verification
Onsite Renewable Energy

GP III: Protect and Conserve Water

Indoor
Outdoor
Storm Water
Water Efficient Products

GP IV: Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality

Day-lighting and Controls
Integrated Pest Management
Low-Emitting Materials
Moisture Control
Tobacco Smoke Control
Ventilation & Thermal Comfort

GP V: Reduce Environmental Impact of Materials

Ozone Depleting Compounds
Recycled Content
Waste and Materials Management

To document GP requirements for existing buildings, GSA is utilizing the 2009 version 3, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for its Bulk Volume Certification program.

Sustainable design is vital to GSA’s mission of providing a superior workplace for the federal worker and superior value for the American taxpayer. The Sustainability and Environmental Management System (SEMS) Team advocates high performance design strategies that can produce efficient buildings to operate with increased asset value and higher occupant productivity.

Sustainable design is an integral part of the design excellence that GSA has become known for. It simply makes good business sense, it's good for the environment, and it's good for our customers.

Sustainability and Environmental Management Program
Objectives	Conserve energy
	Improve indoor air quality
	Enhance the work environment of federal workers
	Maintain environmental compliance and Pollution Prevention
Targets	Achieve 100% compliance with Guiding Principles of 18% of all owned and leased buildings greater than 5,000 gross square feet (GSF) by Fiscal Year 2015 and will seek compliance for all other applicable owned buildings as future schedules and budgets permit.
	All government owned new construction and major renovation projects must achieve a all new GSA building projects must be certified through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) New Construction GOLD rating. (updated 10/25/2010)
	All new lease construction and major renovation projects (over 10K sq ft) must achieve a LEED New Construction Silver rating; when the government is the sole occupant with the exception of retail space.

Federal, State, and Local Policy and Regulations

Additional Resources

Procedures and Forms

File Name	Date Revised
Sustainability & Guiding Principles [PDF - 365 KB]	06/217/2012

Confirm most recent version of Environmental Procedure with Marion Buntyn at 303-236-1977.

For other information about this program contact:
Lisa Haskins: lisa.haskins@gsa.gov or 303-236-2414
Michael Alosi: michael.alosi@gsa.gov or 303-550-1248