Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The best intended initiatives can sometimes run into unforeseen roadblocks. This is especially true in the context of new codes, ordinances and regulations (laws) that allow for the application of sustainable design and construction of green buildings. For example, a local government might approve certain green building technologies/techniques but retain conflicting codes/ordinances. Ideally, local governments should harmonize potentially conflicting laws to achieve the desired sustainability goals envisioned by the community. However, given the complexity and amount of laws and ordinances, performing such an assessment can be an overwhelming task.
To help local governments identify and remove regulatory/permitting barriers to the application of sustainable design and construction of green buildings, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed the Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments (Toolkit). The Toolkit includes 3 main sections: an Assessment Tool, a Resource Guide and an Action Plan.
Local government officials can use the Assessment Tool to improve their understanding of their jurisdiction’s current codes/ordinances and permitting process. The EPA divided the Assessment Tool into the following five categories that they identified as having the greatest potential to reduce a building’s environmental impact:
- Sustainable Sites and Responsible Land Use Development
- Materials and Resource Conservation
- Energy Conservation and Atmospheric Quality
- Water Efficiency, Conservation, and Management
- Indoor Environmental Air Quality
- Required by code/ordinance (green tally);
- Incentivized (green tally);
- Expressly allowed (yellow tally);
- Code/ordinance silent, but typically allowed (yellow tally);
- Code/ordinance silent, but not typically allowed or approved only under special circumstances (red tally); or
- Expressly prohibited (red tally).
