GSA Updates Standards to Promote Green Federal Buildings

The General Services Administration on Monday announced updated design and construction standards that are intended to promote the use of “cleaner, more efficient” energy in 300,000 federal buildings across the country.

“These new standards reflect GSA’s decades of commitment to sustainable design practices and will accelerate our progress toward achieving a net-zero emissions portfolio by 2045,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said in a statement. “We will continue to drive clean energy innovation and make smart sustainability investments that deliver a triple win: good jobs, taxpayer savings through increased efficiency, and healthier communities across the country.”

These standards require that appliances and systems in buildings be powered by clean energy, mandate the use of low-emission materials (e.g. reused), and require buildings to reuse 15% of their drinking water.

The standards align with President Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order requiring federal buildings to have net-zero emissions by 2045. But GSA officials told the Government Accountability Office in a 2023 report that such a goal is unrealistic due to high costs and unavailability of the technology.

All major new construction and renovation projects must now include net-zero emission building designs and reduced waste and water use.

In 2021, approximately 31% of GSA’s buildings were deemed sustainable.

The Energy Department established a $250 million fund in 2023 for federal agencies to make their buildings more energy-efficient and energy-efficient. This funding was provided by the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 provided GSA $3.4 billion to purchase low-carbon materials for construction projects and accelerate the adoption of sustainable technologies by federal facilities.

GSA building standards, referred to as P100, are updated every three years.