EPA GREEN BUILDING Strategy
BUILDINGS AND DEVELOPMENT ARE RESPONSIBLE for a broad range of impacts
on human health and the environment. EPA has developed numerous programs over the
years to address these impacts. While these programs have achieved significant success,
EPA recognizes that improved building performance can best be achieved by concentrating on
the whole building and its impact on its occupants, its surroundings, and the larger environment.
Thus, in 2008, the Agency launched the EPA Green Building Strategyio enhance coordination of
these programs towards the overall goal of facilitating the mainstream adoption of effective green
building practices. This strategy is designed to address the whole environmental footprint and life
cycle of buildings, including siting and development.
Building-related Impacts
Building-related impacts on the environment and public
health reflect a broad range of concerns. Among other
impacts, buildings account for:
- Nearly 40% of U.S. energy use.
- About 40% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions (the
primary greenhouse gas (GHG)), along with other GHG
and air pollutant emissions.
- Over two-thirds of all non-industrial secondary materi-
als generated in the U.S.
- More than 10% of U.S. freshwater usage.
- Health risks from indoor environments—where Ameri-
cans spend nearly 90% of their time.
EPA's Strategic Role
The goal of the EPA Green Bui/ding Strategy is to facili-
tate the mainstream adoption of effective green building
practices. Recognizing that many other organizations are
already working toward this goal, EPA will focus primar-
ily on two roles. These roles, described below, will be
undertaken with a spirit of partnership, collaboration, and
consensus-building with others who share our green build-
ing interests.
What is Green Building?
At EPA, we define green
building as the practice of
maximizing the efficiency
with which buildings and their
sites use resources—energy,
water, and materials—while
minimizing building impacts
on human health and the
environment, throughout
the complete building life
cycle—from siting, design,
and construction to operation,
renovation, and reuse.
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EPA GREEN BUILDING Strategy
Strengthening the Foundations of Green Building
The green building field is growing rapidly, thanks to the
support of many public, private and non-profit organiza-
tions, including EPA. Many building professionals are using
voluntary green building programs and standards to guide
their efforts. Green building is not a static term but one
which will continuously develop as new approaches evolve
to reducing the environmental footprint of buildings. EPA
has the expertise and credibility to raise awareness of
green building practices and to work with this emerging
field to ensure that it promotes continual improvement and
employs practices that most effectively advance environ-
mental and human health protection. The Green Building
Strategy commits EPA to strengthening the scientific,
technical, economic and institutional foundations of green
building. This includes working with other organizations
and interested stakeholders to continually advance green
building standards and metrics. Recognizing that much of
the green building progress, to date, has been built upon
breakthroughs in technology, practice, or understanding,
EPA also will enhance the Agency's support for green build-
ing research and development. This research is needed
to ensure green building product quality and reliability,
advance knowledge of environmental and health issues
associated with buildings, and increase understanding of
the economic costs and benefits of green building. EPA will
support research through our own programs and labo-
ratories and through collaboration with other academic,
governmental and research organizations.
Raising Public Awareness of Building-related Impacts and
Opportunities
As the nation's leading environmental agency, EPA has a
unique platform for communicating with the public, other
government agencies, and key stakeholders. EPA will in-
creasingly use that platform to help raise awareness about
the environmental impacts and opportunities associated
with buildings, so that consumers and other organiza-
tions can make better informed decisions when purchas-
ing building-related products or services. Recognizing
that most of the attention to green building, to date, has
focused on new commercial and public buildings, EPA will
increase its focus on untapped opportunities for greening
existing buildings and homes, which comprise the majority
of the U.S. building market. In particular, the Agency will
focus on providing green building information and oppor-
tunities to homeowners. While surveys suggest that many
people would like to reduce the environmental impacts of
their homes, many either do not know where to start or are
overwhelmed by the breadth of information available. One
additional way in which the Agency will raise awareness is
by continuing to advance the greening of our own facilities
and communication about these efforts.
Looking Ahead
The EPA Green Building Strategy addresses a major sec-
tor of the economy that presents significant opportunities
for improving environmental and public health protection.
By working with others who share EPA's interests and by
strategically coordinating the Agency's own building-related
programs, EPA will play an important role in bringing about
the widespread adoption of effective, high-performance
green buildings for the benefit of this and future generations.
For more information about EPA's Green Building Strategy, please visit:
www.epa.gov/greenbuilding
EPA-100-F-08-073
November 2008
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