U.S. General Services Administration
Advice Letters and Resolutions
The Advisory Committee provides independent policy advice and recommendations to GSA’s Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings, as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), to advance federal building innovations in planning, design, and operations to reduce costs, enable agency missions, enhance human health and performance, and minimize environmental impacts. As the products of an independent advisory committee, these proposals may or may not be consistent with current GSA or other Federal agency policy. Mention of any product, service or program herein does not constitute endorsement.
Approved December 2023:
- Advice Letter: Recommendations for Federal Building Decarbonization - Integrated Electrification Solutions [PDF - 404 KB]
- Advice Letter: Recommendations for Achieving E.O. 14057 Green Lease Targets [PDF - 937 KB]
Approved November 2022:
- Advice Letter: Recommendations for Advancing Greenhouse Gas Reductions in Existing Federal Buildings [PDF - 1 MB]
Approved April 2022:
- Advice Letter: Federal Building Decarbonization: Preliminary Recommendations [PDF - 164 KB]
- Advice Letter: Recommendations for Environmental Justice and Equity in Federal Sustainable Buildings [PDF - 1 MB]
Approved November 2021:
Approved February 2021:
- Advice Letter: Policy Recommendations for Procurement of Low Embodied Energy and Carbon Materials by Federal Agencies [PDF - 324 KB]
- Advice Letter: Sustainable Response to COVID-19 Task Group [PDF - 126 KB]
Approved July 2020:
- Advice Letter: Renewable Energy Outleasing
Approved December 2019:
- Advice Letter: Federal Building & Grid Integration: Proposed Roadmap
- Advice Letter: Data-Integrated Building Systems (DIBS)
Approved December 13, 2018:
- Advice Letter and Report: Recommendations for Adoption of Grid-Integrated Building Policy Provisions:
Approved October 24, 2017:
- Advice Letter and Report: Recommendations for Adoption of Health and Wellness Policies for Federal Facilities:
- Advice Letter and Report: Recommendations for Accelerating the Adoption of High-Performance Federal Buildings:
- Advice Letter and Report: Recommendations for Increased Federal Use of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs):
Approved November 17, 2016:
- Advice Letter and Report: Recommendations for the Adoption of Model High Performance Leasing Provisions
- Advice Letter and Report: Recommendations for the Adoption of New Energy Use Intensity Metrics
- GBAC EUI Cover Letter [PDF - 159 KB]
- GBAC EUI Proposal [PDF - 429 KB]
- In support of this recommendation, the Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) conducted a study, “The Influence of Occupancy on Building Energy Use Intensity and the Utility of an Occupancy-Adjusted Performance Metric” [PDF].
Approved April 28, 2016:
- Advice Letter: Strategic Portfolio Planning for Sustainability, Resilience, and Footprint Consolidation
- GBAC Port Prioritize Advice Letter [PDF - 1 MB]
- In support of this recommendation, the National Academy of Sciences’ Federal Facilities Council conducted two workshops entitled “Strategically Incorporating Sustainability, Resilience, and Footprint Consolidation in Portfolio Planning”[PDF].
Approved September 10, 2014:
- Advice Letter: Recommendations for the Adoption of Net Zero Energy Buildings by All Federal Agencies
Approved November 12, 2013:
- Resolution: Cost of Carbon in Portfolio Decision Making
- “All federal building investment, design, construction, retrofit and location decisions should incorporate the social cost of carbon, including carbon from energy use and embedded in materials. The cost of carbon referenced should be the most current calculation as updated by the US Office of Management and Budget.”