STEP 3: RATING AND LABELING

STEP THREE: RATING AND LABELING SYSTEMS FOR YOUR BUILDING

Many rating and labeling systems exist to give you ideas for how to make your building more sustainable, to measure your progress, and to provide third-party verification that your building has met a certain level of performance. While some building labels are comprehensive and take into account many different elements of sustainable building design (e.g., LEED, Green Globes, Living Building Challenge), others focus simply on energy use (e.g., ENERGY STAR, Building Energy Asset Score, Building Energy Quotient). We encourage you to research each of the systems listed below to determine which is right for your facility.

WHOLE-BUILDING SYSTEMS


LEED—Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council as a green building rating and certification system. As of August 2015, more than 13.8 billion square feet of building space is LEED-certified. More information is available online at: http://www.usgbc.org/leed


Green Globes

Green Globes is a rating and certification tool developed by the Green Building Initiative for whole building sustainability. More information is on the Green Globes website: http://www.thegbi.org/green-globes-certification/


ASHRAE Standard 189.1 for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings

A technical standard published by ASHRAE, 189.1 provides comprehensive sustainability guidance for designing, building, and operating commercial buildings. More information is available online at: https://www.ashrae.org/resources–publications/bookstore/standard-189-1


Living Building Challenge

The Living Building Challenge was designed by the International Living Future Institute as a rigorous certification program to recognize buildings that achieve high levels of sustainability. More information is available online at: http://living-future.org/lbc


BOMA 360

Developed by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), BOMA 360 focuses on all aspects of building management and operations, life safety, training and education, energy management, tenant relations, and community involvement. More information is available at http://www.boma.org/awards/360-program/Pages/default.aspx


ENERGY-SPECIFIC SYSTEMS


ENERGY STAR Certification

For buildings in the top 25 percent of energy performers, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed the ENERGY STAR Certification. Even if your building doesn’t qualify for certification, it might still make sense to benchmark your property using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager—a free tool to help you measure your property’s energy performance.


Building Energy Asset Score

Developed by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Building Energy Asset Score is a free tool for assessing the energy performance of your building, comparing your building to similar ones, and identifying upgrades to make your facility more energy-efficient. More information is available online at: http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/building-energy-asset-score


Outdoor Building Energy Quotient (bEQ)

Developed by ASHRAE, the Building Energy Quotient is a building labeling program designed to help measure and control energy use. More information is available at: http://www.buildingenergyquotient.org/



Step Four