U.S. General Services Administration
Greening Federal Buildings
GSA, the government’s largest civilian landlord, leads the way in green building design, construction, retrofit and sustainable operations and maintenance. Through its commitment to sustainable design, GSA pledges to serve as a forward thinking and responsible steward of our nation’s economic and natural resources.
Green programs at GSA
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Deep energy retrofits
Learn about deep energy retrofits and what agencies can do to further their efforts toward energy and cost reduction in federal buildings.
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Energy and water management program
Reduces federal utility costs by promoting optimal energy use.
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Environment program
Optimizing operations to provide sustainable, high performance workplaces to federal employees.
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Integrated pest management
Award-winning program teaches federal and local agencies a coordinated system of technological and management practices to control pests in a safe, environmentally sound, and economical manner.
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Landscape management
Benefits GSA with healthier, longer-lived plantings which rely less on pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, and minimize water use.
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Green leasing
Steps for making all government offices compliant with Energy Star requirements.
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Green products, services, vehicles
How to use federal buying power to make sustainable choices.
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GSA Proving Ground
Leveraging our real estate portfolio to evaluate sustainable building technologies.
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Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings
Enabling and enhancing Federal leadership in sustainable real property portfolio management and operations by promoting, coordinating, and stimulating green building across the Federal government.
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Smart buildings
Partners people and technology to create a green building strategy.
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Sustainable buildings
An integrated approach positively impacts all phases of a building’s life-cycle.
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LEED building information
GSA requires LEED Gold as the minimum requirement for new construction and substantial renovation of GSA-owned facilities.
Guidance and policy
- Energy Efficient Commercial Building Tax Deduction (179D) bulletin
- Facilities Standards (P100)
- GSA Climate Change Adaptation Policy Statement [PDF - 184 KB]
- GSA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan
- Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Justice and Executive Order 12898 [PDF - 508 KB]
Online tools
Other resources
- ASHRAE Standard 189.1
- Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 [PDF]
- Energy Policy Act of 2005 [PDF]
- FedCenter
- High-performance federal building database
- International Green Construction Code
- Whole Building Design Guide
Publications and reports
- The Impact of High-Performance Buildings
- Re-Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 GSA Buildings
- Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 12 GSA Buildings
- The Benefits and Challenges of Green Roofs on Public and Commercial Buildings [PDF - 9 MB]
- Expanding Our Approach to Sustainable Design [PDF - 2 MB]
- High performance building certification system review
- GSA Net Zero Renovation Challenge Charrette
- Key Sustainable Products Standards [PDF - 998 KB]
- National Academies Report: Achieving High-Performance Federal Facilities – Strategies and Approaches for Transformational Change
- Submetering of building energy and water usage
- Sustainability Matters [PDF - 11 MB]
- Sustainable Building Rating Systems Summary
- Workplace Matters [PDF - 3 MB]
Federal partners
White House
Department of Agriculture
Department of Defense
- Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment
- DoD Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health Network and Information Exchange
- National Defense Center for Energy and Environment
Department of the Interior
Department of Energy
- Better Buildings Program
- Commercial Building Energy Alliance
- Building Technologies Program
- Federal Energy Management Program
- National Laboratories
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Department of Veterans Affairs
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of State
- Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations – Green Initiatives