GSA updates standards to advance green federal buildings

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

“These new standards represent GSA’s decades-long 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 investments in sustainability that get us a triple win: good jobs, taxpayer savings through increased efficiency and healthier communities across the nation.”

Specifically, the standards require building equipment and systems to be powered by clean energy, mandate the utilization of low carbon materials (e.g. reused) and direct buildings to reuse 15% of potable water. 

These standards align with a 2021 executive order from President Joe Biden for federal buildings to produce net-zero emissions by 2045. However GSA officials told the Government Accountability Office as part of a 2023 report that such a goal was unrealistic due to high costs and unavailable technology.  

All new, large construction and modernization projects already have to include building designs that are net-zero emissions and reduce waste and water usage. 

As of 2021, about 31% of GSA-owned buildings were designated as sustainable. 

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

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

GSA’s building standards, called P100, are updated every three years.