[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2935-2937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00861]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[Notice-MG-2014-04; Docket No. 2014-0002; Sequence No. 25]


GSA's Analysis of the Alignment of LEED v4 With Federal Green 
Building Requirements

AGENCY: Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings; Office of 
Government-wide Policy (OGP), General Services Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Request for information.

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SUMMARY: GSA is seeking public input on its analysis of the latest 
version of the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in 
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED v4) green building certification 
system and its alignment with Federal green building requirements. GSA 
is also seeking public input on several questions related to the 
Government's use of LEED v4 and future GSA reviews of green building 
certification systems.
    GSA used the findings from its supplemental review to consult with 
other Federal agencies in the EISA 436(h) Interagency Ad-hoc Discussion 
Group (Interagency Discussion Group) on the Federal Government's use of 
LEED v4. GSA will be using the deliberations from the Interagency 
Discussion Group as well as public input from this Federal Register 
notice and a to-be-scheduled public listening session to augment GSA's 
October 25, 2013 recommendation to the Secretary of Energy. The 
information being asked for in this notice is not for the purpose of a 
proposed GSA rulemaking or a GSA regulation.

DATES: Interested parties should submit written comments by one of the 
methods shown below on or before March 23, 2015 to be considered in the 
formation of GSA's updated recommendation to the Secretary of Energy.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in response to Notice-MG-2014-04 by any of 
the following methods:
     Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov. Submit 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by searching for ``Notice-
MG-2014-04''. Select the link ``Comment Now'' that corresponds with 
``Notice-MG-2014-04''. Follow the instructions provided on the screen. 
Please include your name, company name (if any), and ``Notice-MG-2014-
04'' on your attached document.
     Fax: 202-501-4067.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory 
Secretariat (MVCB), ATTN: Ms. Flowers, 1800 F Street NW., Washington, 
DC 20405.
    Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Notice-MG-2014-
04, in all correspondence related to this case. All comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal and/or business confidential information provided. Visit 
http://www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview for more information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bryan Steverson, Program Advisor, 
GSA Sustainability and Green Buildings, at telephone 202-501-6115 or 
email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Request For Public Input: GSA is seeking public input on questions 
that arose during the Interagency Discussion Group meetings:
    1. GSA is seeking public input on what LEED v4 credits agencies 
should consider focusing on. In its 2013 recommendations, GSA 
recommended that agencies should focus on achieving those credits or 
points that align with federal green building requirements. In 
discussions with the Interagency Discussion Group, agencies believed

[[Page 2936]]

that GSA should avoid making recommendations on specific credits 
agencies would be required to pursue if using LEED v4, and that any 
credit prioritization or requirement should be left up to the 
discretion of each department or agency. The Ad-hoc Discussion Group 
also believed GSA should develop guidance that maps LEED v4 credits to 
federal green building requirements in order to inform agencies as to 
those credits that agencies could achieve to determine conformance with 
federal green building requirements.
    2. While several agencies, GSA included, have had subject matter 
experts participate on technical committees and other advisory roles 
for green building certification systems in either their development or 
implementation, how else can the Federal Government better contribute 
and collaborate with green building certification system owners to 
ensure that the Federal Government's voice is heard in both the system 
development process and in the overall effort to push the built-
environment to be more sustainable?
    In order to improve future green building certification system 
reviews, GSA would like to seek public input on several questions on 
how to strengthen the analysis and improve GSA's review process:
    3. While GSA believes its analysis provides a good source of 
information for other agencies and the public at large, GSA would like 
input on where GSA's future certification system reviews could be 
stronger. In its supplemental analysis of LEED v4, GSA used the same 
criteria and methodology as it used in its 2012 green building 
certification system study. GSA had this analysis peer reviewed by 
other federal agencies, private sector high performance green building 
experts and notable members of academia as well as the U.S. Green 
Building Council.
    4. GSA is seeking public input on other ways to visually illustrate 
certification system alignment with Federal green building 
requirements. During the peer review process for GSA's supplemental 
analysis of LEED v4, several peer reviewers suggested GSA should 
revisit how it visually illustrates certification system alignment with 
Federal green building requirements in Table 1 (page vii) and Table 3-1 
(page 3-6) of the report (available at http://www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview). The tables show several differently shaded 
circles that are defined as follows:
    Full Circle--Federal requirement met automatically because 
certification system includes prerequisite that fully aligns with the 
Federal requirement;
    Three-quarters circle--Certification system has a credit that meets 
the Federal requirement;
    Half-circle--Certification system has a credit that is related to, 
but not specifically aligned with, the Federal requirement;
    Empty circle--Federal requirement is not an identified component 
within the certification system.
    5. GSA is seeking comment on how GSA and the Federal Government can 
better carry out its responsibilities in Section 436(h) of EISA, and do 
so in ``real-time''. During GSA's 2012 review of green building 
certification systems, both Green Globes and LEED were in the process 
of being revised. GSA's recommendation number five (from GSA's October 
25, 2013 letter to the Secretary of Energy) suggested that a process be 
established to keep current with revisions to green building 
certification systems and to review certification systems once they 
have been released to the public. While GSA still believes this process 
is critical in staying current with the evolving green building 
certification system marketplace, the reviews GSA conducts have proven 
to be time-consuming, and, in some cases, have overlapped with a 
release of a new version to a certification system not part of that 
current review.

Background

    GSA is seeking public input on its analysis of LEED v4 and its 
alignment with Federal green building requirements. Section 436(h) of 
the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA, Pub. L. 110-
140) requires the Director of GSA's Office of Federal High-Performance 
Green Buildings to evaluate green building certification systems every 
five years and to identify a system and certification level that ``will 
be most likely to encourage a comprehensive and environmentally sound 
approach to the certification of green federal buildings''. EISA 
requires the GSA Administrator to provide a recommendation to the 
Secretary of Energy, who then consults with the Secretary of Defense 
and the GSA Administrator, to identify the system(s) appropriate for 
use in the Federal sector.
    In October 2013, GSA recommended that agencies, if they choose to 
use a green building certification system, use one of two certification 
systems as best suited to agency missions and portfolio needs: The 
Green Building Initiative's Green Globes and USGBC's LEED v2009. GSA 
submitted additional recommendations on how the Government should stay 
involved with green building certification systems as they evolve over 
time, including the establishment of a process to keep current with 
revisions to green building certification systems.
    In November 2013, the USGBC released an updated version of LEED, 
LEED v4, for use in the marketplace. In keeping with its 
recommendation, GSA completed a supplemental review of LEED v4 in 
August 2014 and focused the analysis on LEED v4 BD+C: New Construction, 
LEED v4 O+M: Existing Buildings, and LEED v4 ID+C: Commercial 
Interiors. GSA considered this review a supplement to its previous 2012 
study (found at http://www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview) and used the 
same criteria and methodology in its evaluation of LEED v4. While no 
recommendations are offered in the supplemental study, the analysis 
shows that LEED v4 aligns well with Federal green building 
requirements. For a copy of the analysis and associated appendices, 
please visit http://www.gsa.gov/gbcertificationreview.
    In recognition that there was a high level of interest in the green 
building certification system review, both within and outside the 
Federal sector, GSA asked the Department of Energy (DOE) and the 
Department of Defense (DoD) to co-chair an Interagency Discussion Group 
to discuss the Federal Government's use of LEED v4. The Interagency 
Discussion Group included representatives from major Federal real 
estate portfolio holders, including GSA, the DoD, the DOE, the 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA), the Department of State (DOS), the Department of Health and 
Human Services (DHHS), the Department of Interior (DOI), the Department 
of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The 
Interagency Discussion Group met two times in September and October 
2014 to discuss the Federal Government's potential use of LEED v4, 
credits within LEED v4 that agencies should focus on, and the need for 
guidance that maps LEED v4 credits to Federal green building 
requirements.
    It should be noted that on October 14, 2014, the U.S. DOE published 
its final rule that formally identifies criteria that green building 
certification systems must meet in order to be used by the Federal 
Government. This GSA request for information is not for the purposes of 
that final rulemaking, but to inform GSA on its related 
responsibilities to study green building certification systems and 
recommend ones to the DOE that may fit within the framework

[[Page 2937]]

of the final rule. DOE's final rule can be found at http://www.regulations.gov (docket number EE-RM/STD-02-112 or RIN number 1904-
AC13).

    Dated: January 13, 2015.
Kevin Kampschroer,
Federal Director, Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, 
Office of Government-wide Policy, U.S. General Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-00861 Filed 1-20-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820-14-P