December 9, 2024
The Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Secretary of Energy
Washington, DC 20585
Dear Secretary Granholm:
The purpose of this letter is to report the results and recommendations from the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) review of green building certification systems, pursuant to section 436(h) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) (42 U.S.C. § 17092). EISA requires GSA to review green building certification systems every 5 years and provide a recommendation to the Secretary of Energy as to which system(s) would be “most likely to encourage a comprehensive and environmentally sound approach to certification” of high-performance green buildings.
To better understand the green building certification system market, GSA conducted an analysis to:
- Identify the systems currently available in the U.S. commercial buildings market
- Address whole buildings with multiple performance and sustainable design attributes
- Award certification based on an independent third-party assessor
GSA further reviewed these certification systems based on specific building requirements found in 10 CFR § 435.300 (2014), EISA, and the 2020 Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings.
Based on its review, GSA recommends, not in any preferential order, that agencies consider using either Green Globes®, version 2021, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®), version 4.1, for new construction or major renovation projects. Both systems meet the requirements established under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Rule on Green Building Certification Systems for Federal Buildings (10 CFR § 435.300 (2014)).
For existing buildings, GSA recommends that agencies consider using one or more of the following six systems (not in any preferential order):
- Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) BEST® Sustainable Buildings, version 4.0
- Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM®) In-Use Commercial, version 6
- Green Globes for Existing Buildings version 2023
- LEED version 4.1 Operations and Maintenance
- Living Building Challenge version 4.0 and the Living Building Challenge CORE
- Passive House Inc US (PHIUS) Revive
Each of these systems contains requirements and options that align to varying degrees with the review criteria, and they all provide a sound approach to the certification of green buildings.
GSA recommends agencies use the certification system that best meets their mission, building type, and portfolio needs, and certify to a level that promotes the high-performance green building goals referenced in Executive Order 14008, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” and Executive Order 14057, “Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability.”
GSA has revised its green building certification system crosswalk on SFTool (https://www.sftool.gov) that identifies those areas within the above-referenced certification systems that agencies should focus on to best achieve Federal requirements and assist agencies in selecting the system that will best meet their needs. It is important for agencies to ensure that the options selected within a certification system are those that align with Federal criteria in order to realize the benefits of using such a system.
A copy of the Green Building Certification System Findings Report and associated appendices can be found on our website at https://www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview. As certification systems are revised, GSA will work with the system owners to update this information.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me or have a member of your staff contact Ms. Kinga Hydras, Acting Director of GSA’s Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings, at 202-501-0762 or kinga.porst@gsa.gov.
Signed by Robin Carnahan.
Robin Carnahan
Administrator
U.S. General Services Administration