Federal Agencies Agree to Green Their Buildings

Following nearly two years of planning and negotiations, 17 federal agencies and departments signed a landmark memorandum of understanding (MOU) during the White House Summit on Federal Sustainable Buildings in January 2006. Titled “The Federal Leadership Memorandum of Understanding to Adopt Guiding Principles for High Performance and Sustainable Buildings,” the MOU represents agencies and departments operating 85 to 90% of the more than 3 billion ft2 (280 million m2) of floor space owned by the federal government, according to Federal Environmental Executive Edwin Piñero.

“The federal government is committed to designing, locating, constructing, maintaining, and operating its facilities in an energy-efficient and sustainable manner that strives to achieve a balance that will realize high standards of living, wider sharing of life’s amenities, maximum attainable reuse and recycling of depletable resources, in an economically viable manner, consistent with Department and Agency missions,” according to the MOU. The overarching goals of the MOU are reducing the total ownership cost of facilities; conserving energy and water; providing safe, healthy, and productive built environments; and promoting sustainable environmental stewardship.