April 30, 2008—The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a new agency approach to encourage the mainstream adoption of green building practices. This strategy offers a multi-faceted approach to reducing the environmental and public health impacts of buildings and building-related products through their complete life span.
EPA’s green building strategy builds upon and calls for better coordination among existing programs, such as Energy Star and WaterSense, which are designed to reduce the impacts of buildings and development. It involves working with the building industry to improve the quality and supply of green buildings and related products while also increasing demand through improved understanding of green building characteristics, says EPA.
The strategy revolves around five objectives:
- To inform building decisions with better standards and metrics
- To advance knowledge, and overcome barriers through research
- To lead by example with the agency’s own facilities
- To expand understanding of green building
- To increase adoption of green building practices in areas where progress has been more limited, including existing commercial and public buildings
The strategy was announced at EPA’s National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall. For more information about green building, visit EPA’s Web site.
