Juan D' Lopez

1
US Federal Green Building Council

• Juan D. Lopez
• Office of the Federal Environmental Executive

2
Background

• OFEEs Fall 2003 report The Federal Commitment
  to Green Building -- Experiences Expectations
• Assesses which sustainable building policies and
  practices the Federal government is following
• Outlines Federal building environmental
  performance objectives
• Recommends further actions to advance towards
  these objectives

3
Background

• On December 2003, OFEE formed the Federal Green
  Buildings Council (FGBC)
• To guide Federal agencies with sustainable
  building practices
• To help agencies strategize to make the business
  case for green building
• To establish appropriate metrics
• To improve information-sharing mechanisms so that
  agencies can learn from other successes
• To further research and development efforts
• To help manage individual agency green building
  actions and determine the need for
  government-wide sustainable policy

4
Mission

• The Federal government plans, acquires, sites,
  designs, builds, operates, maintains, and
  disposes of facilities in a manner that
• Achieves our agencies functional missions
• Uses sound financial practices
• Provides a healthy and safe workplace
• Protects and sustains the environment
• The Federal Green Building Council guides
  research and policy development among Federal
  agencies to empower them to be world leaders in
  green building

5
Vision

• In pursuit of its core mission, each Federal
  agency practices sustainable environmental
  stewardship, restoring and renewing resources for
  this and future generations
•  

6
Core Practices

• The Federal government will use resources
  efficiently and effectively, protect our natural
  environment, and create a healthy built
  environment by
• Leading by example to demonstrate leadership and
  transform the market
• Planning holistically to achieve the most
  effective result for the taxpayer, the worker,
  and the environment
• Working together to build partnerships,
  communicate, and educate, in and outside the
  Federal government
• Measuring performance and ensure effective
  implementation

7
Performance Objectives

• Optimize site potential, including ways that
  strengthen neighborhoods, promote economic
  opportunity, and improve transportation
• Protect and conserve natural resources, including
  water, materials, and the atmosphere
• Expand renewable energy consumption, and
  ultimately create net energy
• Effectively and efficiently use materials, and
  ultimately recover materials for use in new
  products and services
• Provide a safe, healthy, and productive built
  environment for inhabitants and users
• Reduce facility life-cycle costs and optimize
  operations and maintenance costs
• Use green products and services

8
FGBCs Four Priority Areas

• Performance Metrics what is considered a
  sustainable or high performance building?
• Research Development efforts to help in
  making the business case for Green Construction
• Life Cycle Cost analysis and Life Cycle
  Assessment benefits become clear when capital
  investments become linked to cash flows for
  operations and maintenance.
• Information-sharing Strategies getting Green
  Building information to the right agency members
  helps to identify successful strategies,
  effective measures

9
FGBCs Four Priority Areas

• The Federal Green buildings Report outlined over
  25 recommendations under these priority areas
• Four (4) FGBCs Working Groups were established
  to review each recommendation, determine the work
  that had been performed, and if any on-going
  and/or planned activities were underway
• Working Groups also provided a follow-up plan of
  action and a lead entity (agency or group) to
  address each recommendation
• Finally each recommendation was ranked in
  accordance with level of importance in order to
  develop an overall Work Plan

10
FGBCs Decision Matrixes
11
FGBCs Decision Matrixes
12
FGBCs Decision Matrixes
13
FGBCs Decision Matrixes
14
FGBCs Decision Matrixes
15
FGBCs Decision Matrixes
16
FGBCs Decision Matrixes
17
FGBCs Decision Matrixes
18
FGBCs Decision Matrixes
19
Memorandum of Understanding(MOU)

• Addresses Federal Leadership by
• Committing signatory agencies to federal
  leadership in the design, construction, and
  operation of High Performance Sustainable
  Buildings
• Implementing common strategies for planning,
  acquiring, siting, designing, building,
  operating, and maintaining High Performance
  Sustainable Buildings
• Capitalizing on other applicable efforts,
  including work already underway within the
  Federal government as well as the private and
  public

20
MOUs GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

• Consistent with and in addition to Federal
  policy, statutes, executive orders and
  supplemental agency policies and guidance, the
  MOU seek to establish a common set of Sustainable
  Guiding Principles for integrated design, energy
  performance, water conservation, indoor
  environmental quality, and materials aimed at
  helping Federal agencies and organizations
• Reduce the total ownership cost of facilities
• Improve energy efficiency and water conservation
• Provide safe, healthy, and productive built
  environments
• Promote sustainable environmental stewardship

21
MOU UPDATE

• Current draft version includes the original ISWG
  MOU (now the Guiding Principles) with most Agency
  comments incorporated -- some comments were
  contradictory to others, so balance and
  compromise was needed
• The new language includes the introduction, the
  MOU-specific administrative elements, as well as
  a synopsis of the Federal policy" being
  developed
• A copy of has been provided to CEQ for WH legal
  counsel review
• After WH concurrence, OFEE will forward MOU
  formally to the agencies senior leadership for
  final review and determine who intends to sign  

22
Sustainable Buildings Policy (SBP)

• The FEE has convened an Agency Senior leadership
  Task Force to develop a Sustainable Buildings
  Policy in order to address the Federal
  governments position on sustainable building
  goals -- specifically how that relates to
  existing and proposed standards, such as LEED
• Membership include those agencies that have
  included LEED in purchasing requirements, those
  about to do so, and others who are interested
• OMB and NIST are also critical to the group
• This would be a relatively short-lived task force
  with specific tasks

23
SBPs Tasks

• Develop a more unified Federal position on
  sustainable buildings
• So that Federal goverment can have more
  productive dialogue with USGBC and other
  stakeholders
• To deliver the message to the marketplace that
  the Federal government is opened to other
  alternatives besides USGBC
• Start investigating other alternatives
• Federal goverment does not have at this point an
  alternate robust verification and certification
  process to support the available criteria
• Federal goverment should be able to assess and
  verify that its indeed implementing green
  building techniques and practices as defined by
  credible bodies -- as an alternative to LEED
  certification

24
For More Information

• Juan D. Lopez
• Office of the Federal Environmental Executive
• Lopez.Juan_at_ofee.gov
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]