Green Building
Federal Initiatives for the Nonfederal Sector Could Benefit from More Interagency Collaboration Gao ID: GAO-12-79 November 2, 2011Economic, environmental, and health concerns have spurred interest in "green building"--construction and maintenance practices designed to make efficient use of resources, reduce environmental problems, and provide long-term financial and health benefits. Federal laws and executive orders direct agencies to meet green building standards in federal buildings and to foster green building in the nonfederal sector; the latter includes private, state, local, and tribal entities and accounts for the majority of the nation's buildings. GAO was asked to (1) identify current initiatives by federal agencies to foster green building in the nonfederal sector and (2) determine what is known about the results of these initiatives. As part of the review, GAO sent questionnaires to the 11 agencies implementing the initiatives identified, including the Departments of Energy (DOE) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); examined agency documents; and spoke with agency officials. GAO did not report funding data because officials stated that agencies do not track many green building funds separately.
GAO identified 94 federal initiatives--implemented by 11 agencies--that foster green building in the nonfederal sector. About two-thirds of these initiatives are implemented by HUD (29 initiatives), EPA (18), and DOE (17). According to GAO's analysis of agency questionnaire responses, the initiatives vary in how they foster green building in the following ways: (1) Elements fostered. All initiatives foster at least one of six green building elements GAO identified. Three-quarters foster more than one element, and 21 initiatives across 7 agencies foster all six elements. (2) Direct or indirect fostering. Over two-thirds (64) of the initiatives foster green building directly, and the rest foster green building as part of a broader effort that is focused not primarily on green building but on other purposes, such as expanding the supply of affordable housing for low-income elderly. (3) Type of assistance. The initiatives provide multiple types of assistance, mostly through grants (47 initiatives) and technical assistance (45). (4) Recipients expected to benefit. The direct beneficiaries identified by agencies range from individual property owners and renters to state governments. About one-third of the initiatives have green building goals and performance measures; however, the overall results of most initiatives and their related investments are unknown. For example, according to HUD officials, to measure the results of the Green Retrofit Program for Multifamily Housing, HUD analyzes energy consumption data before and after retrofitting properties. Other agency officials reported various reasons for not having goals and measures, such as challenges in gathering reliable performance data. GAO identified some instances in which agencies have begun to collaborate to assess results but did not identify governmentwide collaboration on initiatives for the nonfederal sector. As GAO has reported, agencies and programs working collaboratively can often achieve more public value than when they work in isolation. Agencies with green building initiatives for the nonfederal sector may be missing opportunities to, among other things, reach agreement on governmentwide goals and measures for assessing the overall progress of their green building efforts. GAO recommends that DOE, HUD, and EPA lead an effort to collaborate with other agencies on assessing the results of federal green building initiatives for the nonfederal sector. DOE, HUD, and EPA generally agreed with the recommendation, and HUD and other agencies provided technical clarifications, which GAO incorporated into the report as appropriate.
RecommendationsOur recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
Director: Franklin W. Rusco Team: Government Accountability Office: Natural Resources and Environment Phone: (202) 512-4597GAO-12-79, Green Building: Federal Initiatives for the Nonfederal Sector Could Benefit from More Interagency Collaboration
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United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
Report to the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government
Information, Federal Services, and International Security, Committee
on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate:
November 2011:
Green Building:
Federal Initiatives for the Nonfederal Sector Could Benefit from More
Interagency Collaboration:
GAO-12-79:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-12-79, a report to the Subcommittee on Federal
Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and
International Security, Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate.
Why GAO Did This Study:
Economic, environmental, and health concerns have spurred interest in
’green building“-”construction and maintenance practices designed to
make efficient use of resources, reduce environmental problems, and
provide long-term financial and health benefits. Federal laws and
executive orders direct agencies to meet green building standards in
federal buildings and to foster green building in the nonfederal
sector; the latter includes private, state, local, and tribal entities
and accounts for the majority of the nation‘s buildings.
GAO was asked to (1) identify current initiatives by federal agencies
to foster green building in the nonfederal sector and (2) determine
what is known about the results of these initiatives. As part of the
review, GAO sent questionnaires to the 11 agencies implementing the
initiatives identified, including the Departments of Energy (DOE) and
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA); examined agency documents; and spoke with agency
officials. GAO did not report funding data because officials stated
that agencies do not track many green building funds separately.
What GAO Found:
GAO identified 94 federal initiatives”implemented by 11 agencies”that
foster green building in the nonfederal sector. About two-thirds of
these initiatives are implemented by HUD (29 initiatives), EPA (18),
and DOE (17). According to GAO‘s analysis of agency questionnaire
responses, the initiatives vary in how they foster green building in
the following ways:
* Elements fostered. All initiatives foster at least one of six green
building elements GAO identified (see table). Three-quarters foster
more than one element, and 21 initiatives across 7 agencies foster all
six elements.
* Direct or indirect fostering. Over two-thirds (64) of the
initiatives foster green building directly, and the rest foster green
building as part of a broader effort that is focused not primarily on
green building but on other purposes, such as expanding the supply of
affordable housing for low-income elderly.
* Type of assistance. The initiatives provide multiple types of
assistance, mostly through grants (47 initiatives) and technical
assistance (45).
* Recipients expected to benefit. The direct beneficiaries identified
by agencies range from individual property owners and renters to state
governments.
About one-third of the initiatives have green building goals and
performance measures; however, the overall results of most initiatives
and their related investments are unknown. For example, according to
HUD officials, to measure the results of the Green Retrofit Program
for Multifamily Housing, HUD analyzes energy consumption data before
and after retrofitting properties. Other agency officials reported
various reasons for not having goals and measures, such as challenges
in gathering reliable performance data. GAO identified some instances
in which agencies have begun to collaborate to assess results but did
not identify governmentwide collaboration on initiatives for the
nonfederal sector. As GAO has reported, agencies and programs working
collaboratively can often achieve more public value than when they
work in isolation. Agencies with green building initiatives for the
nonfederal sector may be missing opportunities to, among other things,
reach agreement on governmentwide goals and measures for assessing the
overall progress of their green building efforts.
Table: Federal Initiatives Fostering Green Building Elements in the
Nonfederal Sector:
Green building element: Energy conservation or efficiency;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 83.
Green building element: Indoor environmental quality;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 60.
Green building element: Water conservation or efficiency;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 51.
Green building element: Integrated design (collaborative planning at
all stages of a building‘s life);
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 48.
Green building element: Sustainable siting or location;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 43.
Green building element: Environmental impact of materials;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 39.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses for 94 initiatives.
Note: Numbers total more than 94 because many initiatives foster more
than one element.
[End of table]
What GAO Recommends:
GAO recommends that DOE, HUD, and EPA lead an effort to collaborate
with other agencies on assessing the results of federal green building
initiatives for the nonfederal sector. DOE, HUD, and EPA generally
agreed with the recommendation, and HUD and other agencies provided
technical clarifications, which GAO incorporated into the report as
appropriate.
View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-79] or key
components. For more information, contact Frank Rusco at (202) 512-
3841 or ruscof@gao.gov or David J. Wise at (202) 512-2834 or
wised@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Background:
Agencies Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector through More
Than 90 Initiatives, Primarily for Energy Conservation or Efficiency:
The Overall Results of Federal Green Building Initiatives in the
Nonfederal Sector Are Unknown:
Conclusions:
Recommendation for Executive Action:
Agency Comments:
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Appendix II: Federal Initiatives Identified That Foster Green Building
in the Nonfederal Sector:
Appendix III: Selected Questionnaire Responses for Federal Initiatives
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Appendix IV: GAO's Questionnaire for Federal Agencies with Initiatives
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Appendix V: Comments from the Department of Energy:
Appendix VI: Comments from the Department of Housing and Urban
Development:
Appendix VII: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
Tables:
Table 1: Number of Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the
Nonfederal Sector, by Federal Agency:
Table 2: Initiatives Fostering Green Building Elements in the
Nonfederal Sector:
Table 3: Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector, by Type of Assistance Provided:
Table 4: Recipients That Agencies Expect to Directly Benefit from
Initiatives Fostering Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 5: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Initiatives Identified
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 6: Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) Initiatives Identified That Foster Green Building in
the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 7: Department of Defense (DOD) Initiative Identified That
Fosters Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 8: Department of Education (ED) Initiatives Identified That
Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 9: Department of Energy (DOE) Initiatives Identified That Foster
Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 10: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Initiative
Identified That Fosters Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 11: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Initiatives Identified That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Table 12: Department of Transportation (DOT) Initiatives Identified
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 13: Department of the Treasury Initiatives Identified That
Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 14: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Initiatives Identified
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 15: Small Business Administration (SBA) Initiatives Identified
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 16: Department of Agriculture (USDA) Selected Questionnaire
Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Table 17: Department Commerce's National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) Selected Questionnaire Responses for Initiatives
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 18: Department of Defense (DOD) Selected Questionnaire Responses
for Initiative That Fosters Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 19: Department of Education (ED) Selected Questionnaire
Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Table 20: Department of Energy (DOE) Selected Questionnaire Responses
for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 21: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Selected
Questionnaire Responses for Initiative That Fosters Green Building in
the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 22: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Selected
Questionnaire Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in
the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 23: Department of Transportation (DOT) Selected Questionnaire
Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Table 24: Department of the Treasury Selected Questionnaire Responses
for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Table 25: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Selected Questionnaire
Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Table 26: Small Business Administration (SBA) Selected Questionnaire
Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Table 27: Total for All Agencies--Selected Questionnaire Responses for
Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Abbreviations:
DOD: Department of Defense:
DOE: Department of Energy:
DOT: Department of Transportation:
ED: Department of Education:
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency:
GPRA: Government Performance and Results Act of 1993:
HHS: Department of Health and Human Services:
HUD: Department of Housing and Urban Development:
IRS: Internal Revenue Service:
LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design:
NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology:
Recovery Act: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009:
SBA: Small Business Administration:
Treasury: Department of the Treasury:
USDA: U.S. Department of Agriculture:
[End of section]
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
November 2, 2011:
The Honorable Thomas R. Carper:
Chairman:
The Honorable Scott Brown:
Ranking Member:
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information,
Federal Services, and International Security:
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs:
United States Senate:
Economic, environmental, and human health concerns have spurred
interest in "green building"--construction and maintenance practices
designed to make efficient use of resources, reduce environmental
problems, and provide long-term financial and health benefits through
lower annual operating costs and better indoor air quality. These
practices are intended to help address issues posed by traditional
commercial and residential construction and maintenance practices for
buildings. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), in 2008,
buildings in the United States consumed almost 40 percent of the
nation's energy and emitted about 39 percent of its carbon dioxide, a
greenhouse gas recognized as a major contributor to climate change.
[Footnote 1] In addition, DOE reports that the approximately 30
million to 35 million tons of construction, renovation, and demolition
waste produced annually in the nation accounts for about 24 percent of
municipal solid waste, although as much as 95 percent of this waste
could be recycled. Furthermore, according to the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to indoor air pollutants, such as
radon and formaldehyde, can lead to harmful health effects, from
headaches to respiratory diseases.
In response to concerns about energy consumption, among other things,
federal laws and executive orders have directed agencies to reduce
energy consumption and meet other green building requirements in
federally owned or leased buildings.[Footnote 2] For buildings not
subject to these requirements because they are owned or leased by
private, state, local, or tribal entities, laws have also directed
federal agencies to foster green building. In this report, we refer to
these entities and their buildings as the "nonfederal sector," which
accounts for the majority of the nation's buildings. For example, one
provision of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 created
DOE's Office of Commercial High-Performance Green Buildings to
facilitate the development of green commercial buildings in
partnership with other federal and nonfederal entities. In addition,
agencies have initiated their own efforts to foster green building in
the nonfederal sector. For example, as we reported in 2008, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) promotes green
building in public housing and a small segment of multifamily
properties by providing training and technical assistance; offering
financial incentives to housing authorities for energy conservation
measures; and leveraging resources through partnerships with DOE and
EPA to expand the use of energy-efficient products in public and
assisted housing.[Footnote 3] In 2010, the U.S. Green Building Council
and other sponsoring organizations in energy, housing, environment,
and real estate identified existing federal authorities and programs
they believed could be used to achieve green buildings for multifamily
and commercial buildings.[Footnote 4] In addition, a recent report by
DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory assessed agency programs
related to one component of green building--energy efficiency--but not
others.[Footnote 5]
In this context, you asked us to review how the federal government is
fostering green building in the nonfederal sector. Our objectives were
to (1) identify current initiatives by federal agencies to foster
green building in the nonfederal sector and (2) determine what is
known about the results of these initiatives on fostering green
building in the nonfederal sector.
To identify current initiatives by federal agencies to foster green
building in the nonfederal sector, we reviewed (1) the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 requirements for a high-
performance green building, (2) the U.S. Green Building Council's
green building certification system, (3) the Green Globes assessment
and rating system, (4) the Enterprise Community Partners green
communities criteria, and (5) a 2006 memorandum of understanding
signed by 19 federal agencies and offices to commit to leadership in
the design, construction, and operation of high-performance and
sustainable buildings.[Footnote 6],[Footnote 7] From our review, we
identified six generally recognized green building elements and a list
of key terms based on these six elements. We searched federal
documents, websites, and databases for initiatives with descriptions
containing the terms and that were active during fiscal year 2011. On
the basis of this search, we identified initiatives and the 11
agencies responsible for them. We spoke with officials at these
agencies to confirm that the initiatives were current, and we asked
the officials to identify other initiatives they were aware of that
might fall within the scope of our objectives.[Footnote 8] We then
designed a questionnaire and submitted it to the agencies. For each
initiative, the questionnaire asked agency officials to (1) confirm
general information, (2) report funding, (3) identify goals and
performance measures, and (4) provide other information to help
understand the initiative. We received a questionnaire response for
every initiative and conducted follow-up discussions with officials,
as needed, to clarify responses and collect more data. To determine
what is known about the results of these initiatives on fostering
green building in the nonfederal sector, in addition to analyzing
questionnaire data on goals and performance measures, we selected a
subgroup of initiatives for which fostering green building is a
primary goal. For this subgroup, we reviewed agency documents and
interviewed officials about their progress on fostering green building
in the nonfederal sector. We also visited projects receiving
assistance from some of these initiatives and interviewed project
managers, among others. During this review, we did not evaluate the
effectiveness of green building initiatives, including the extent to
which entities may or may not have received benefits, or the
effectiveness of green building practices in general. We did not
report questionnaire responses about funding because, during follow-up
discussions, officials stated that, for many initiatives, green
building funds are not tracked separately from other activities;
therefore, we could not collect reliable funding data. We recognize
that the initiatives may vary greatly in the scale of their funding or
the number of entities expected to benefit, among other things;
however, in this report, we do not discuss these differences or
compare the scale of the initiatives we identified. A detailed
description of our scope and methodology is presented in appendix I,
and a copy of our questionnaire is presented in appendix IV.
We conducted this performance audit from September 2010 to November
2011 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
Background:
Green building is the practice of designing, constructing, operating,
maintaining, and removing buildings in ways that conserve natural
resources and reduce pollution. There is no generally accepted
definition for green building, but according to our analysis of
various standards, it may incorporate one or more of the following six
generally recognized elements:
* energy conservation or efficiency measures: the use of strategies to
reduce energy consumption in a building or use renewable sources of
energy;
* indoor environmental quality measures: the use of strategies to
enhance indoor environmental quality through ventilation, control of
pollution sources, and the use of low pollution-emitting materials;
* water conservation or efficiency measures: the use of strategies to
reduce water consumption inside and outside the building;
* integrated design principles: the use of a collaborative planning
and design process that involves a project team with a variety of
stakeholders, such as architects, builders, and building engineers,
who participate in all stages of a building's lifecycle, including
planning, building, and operation;
* sustainable siting or location measures: the use of certain
strategies when deciding on building location, including discouraging
development on previously undeveloped land and minimizing a building's
impact on the nearby ecosystem, among other things; and:
* measures to reduce the environmental impact of materials: the use of
strategies to reduce the environmental impact of materials, such as
using sustainably grown materials and products with high recycled
content, among other things.
Not having a generally accepted definition for green building has led
to the development of several national and regional standards that
builders and developers can use to certify whether a particular
structure is a green building. These standards include the Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system--the most
widely known standard--which was developed and is administered by the
U.S. Green Building Council.[Footnote 9] Many of these standards use a
system that assigns points for a variety of practices and certifies a
building at various levels of "green" depending on the number of
points acquired.
The federal government has long shown an interest in promoting green
building practices in buildings owned or leased by federal agencies.
For example, the Energy Policy Act of 1992 contains efficiency
requirements for the use of energy and water in federal buildings.
[Footnote 10] Furthermore, the federal Interagency Sustainability
Working Group was formed under DOE's Interagency Energy Management
Task Force in 2001 in response to an executive order to, among other
things, serve as a forum and develop policy and technical guidance to
promote green building for federally owned, operated, and leased
buildings. The group is coordinated by DOE and consists of
approximately 60 active members, including at least one representative
from every major federal department and agency.
More recently, the federal government has also focused on promoting
green building practices in the nonfederal sector. For example, the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 provided tax credits for home improvements
that increase energy efficiency and tax deductions for commercial
buildings that meet specific efficiency standards; the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 authorized $1.52 billion over 10
years, starting in fiscal year 2008, for DOE's efforts to promote
commercial green building in partnership with other federal, as well
as nonfederal, entities; and the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) provided at least $13 billion to foster
green building in the nonfederal sector through various agency
initiatives, such as DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program--which is
designed to make long-term energy-efficiency improvements to the homes
of low-income families.[Footnote 11] Weatherization includes
installing high-efficiency boilers, insulation, and energy-efficient
windows.[Footnote 12]
The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) provides
tools that agencies can use to assess the results of their activities,
including efforts that foster green building.[Footnote 13] Under GPRA,
federal agencies are required to develop strategic plans with long-
term, outcome-oriented goals and objectives, annual goals linked to
achieving the long-term goals, and annual reports on the results
achieved. Principles of good governance also indicate that agencies
should establish quantifiable performance measures to demonstrate how
they intend to achieve their program goals and measure the extent to
which they have done so.[Footnote 14] These measures should allow
agencies to compare their programs' actual results with desired
results and should be linked to program goals. Moreover, as we have
reported, GPRA, with its focus on strategic planning, the development
of long-term goals, and accountability for results, provides a
framework that Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and
executive branch agencies can use to consider the appropriate mix of
long-term strategic goals and strategies needed to identify and
address federal goals that cut across agency boundaries. For example,
we have reported that the strategic and annual performance planning
processes under GPRA provide opportunities for federal agencies to
identify other agencies addressing related outcomes and coordinate
with agencies across the government to ensure that program goals are
complementary; strategies are mutually reinforcing; and, as
appropriate, common performance measures are used.[Footnote 15] To
this end, under the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, agencies will be
required to adopt a more coordinated and crosscutting approach to
achieving common goals and will be required to describe in their
fiscal year 2012 performance plans, and each fiscal year thereafter,
how they are coordinating and collaborating with other agencies to
achieve the plans' goals.[Footnote 16]
Agencies Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector through More
Than 90 Initiatives, Primarily for Energy Conservation or Efficiency:
We identified 94 federal initiatives that foster green building in the
nonfederal sector; these initiatives, implemented by 11 agencies, vary
in how they foster green building, including which elements of green
building they foster, whether fostering green building is a primary
purpose of the initiative, what types of assistance they provide, and
what groups are expected to benefit. Furthermore, some of these
initiatives are required by statute, while others are being
implemented under agencies' discretionary authority. A description and
other information for each initiative are presented in appendixes II
and III.
Eleven Agencies Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector, Most
Commonly through Energy Conservation or Efficiency:
Table 1 shows the 11 federal agencies implementing the 94 green
building initiatives we identified. As table 1 indicates, 3 of the 11
agencies fostering green building in the nonfederal sector--HUD, EPA,
and DOE--are implementing most (about two-thirds) of these initiatives.
Table 1: Number of Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the
Nonfederal Sector, by Federal Agency:
Agency: HUD;
Number of initiatives: 29.
Agency: EPA;
Number of initiatives: 18.
Agency: DOE;
Number of initiatives: 17.
Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture;
Number of initiatives: 8.
Agency: Department of the Treasury;
Number of initiatives: 8.
Agency: Department of Transportation;
Number of initiatives: 5.
Agency: National Institute of Standards and Technology;
Number of initiatives: 3.
Agency: Department of Education;
Number of initiatives: 2.
Agency: Small Business Administration;
Number of initiatives: 2.
Agency: Department of Defense;
Number of initiatives: 1.
Agency: Department of Health and Human Services;
Number of initiatives: 1.
Agency: Total;
Number of initiatives: 94.
Source: GAO analysis of agency information and questionnaire responses.
[End of table]
We examined the 94 initiatives by (1) the type of green building
elements they foster, (2) whether they foster green building directly
or indirectly as part of a broader effort, (3) the type of assistance
they provide, and (4) the recipients expected to directly benefit from
the assistance.
Type of Green Building Elements Fostered:
Many of the initiatives we identified foster multiple elements of
green building. Table 2--which shows the green building elements
fostered by the 94 initiatives--indicates that energy conservation or
efficiency is the most commonly fostered element of green building.
Table 2: Initiatives Fostering Green Building Elements in the
Nonfederal Sector:
Green building element: Energy conservation or efficiency;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 83.
Green building element: Indoor environmental quality;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 60.
Green building element: Water conservation or efficiency;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 51.
Green building element: Integrated design;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 48.
Green building element: Sustainable siting or location;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 43.
Green building element: Environmental impact of materials;
Number of initiatives fostering each element: 39.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
Note: Numbers total more than 94 because many initiatives foster more
than one element.
[End of table]
All 11 agencies reported implementing initiatives that foster green
building through the energy conservation or efficiency element. For
example, DOE's Tribal Energy Program offers financial and technical
assistance to Indian tribes to help them evaluate and develop methods
to reduce their energy consumption through energy efficiency and
weatherization of buildings. This program also provides education and
training opportunities to develop and implement energy-efficiency and
renewable-energy projects. In addition, the tax code offers the Energy
Investment Tax Credit--implemented by the Department of the Treasury's
(Treasury) Internal Revenue Service (IRS)--which provides tax credits
to businesses for certain qualified renewable-energy and energy-
efficiency technologies. This program includes incentives for combined
heat and power investment and for fuel cells and microturbines.
However, the agencies reported that most initiatives fostering green
building through the energy conservation or efficiency element also
foster green building through one or more additional elements. For
example, the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST)
Improved Building Energy Performance Program is intended to develop
better tools for accurately evaluating a building's energy consumption
and indoor air quality after it is constructed.
According to our analysis of questionnaire responses, about three-
quarters of the 94 initiatives foster green building through more than
one element, including 21 initiatives across seven agencies that
foster green building through all six green building elements. For
example, through the Tribal Green Building Initiative, EPA is working
with tribal and federal partners to advance tribes' efforts to adopt
building codes related to green building and to address barriers
associated with developing and implementing these codes. The
initiative supports tribal building codes that reduce energy and water
use, improve indoor air quality, use nontoxic building materials, and
conserve other resources--all of which touch on the six elements of
green building. In addition, HUD's Green Retrofit Program for
Multifamily Housing makes loans and grants for retrofits (i.e., the
addition of new technology or features to older systems) that foster
any or all of the green building elements in certain HUD-assisted
multifamily buildings.
Direct or Indirect Fostering of Green Building:
According to our analysis, over two-thirds (64) of the 94 initiatives
foster green building directly--that is, one of their primary purposes
is to foster green building through one or more green building
elements. For example, EPA's Indoor Environments Program is intended
to provide resources to promote and protect occupants' health while
saving energy and money. These resources include Indoor Air Quality
Tools for Schools, a program whose goal is to help schools establish
and maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by providing
guidance, training, checklists, and other resources to identify,
correct, and prevent indoor air quality problems; and the Radon
Program, which is intended to promote radon-resistant construction
techniques for new homes and to educate the public on radon testing
and mitigation technologies in existing homes.
The remaining 30 initiatives foster green building indirectly--that
is, as part of a broader effort not primarily focused on green
building. For example, HUD's Supportive Housing for the Elderly
(Section 202) program is intended to expand the supply of affordable
housing with services for the low-income elderly by providing them
with options for independent living in an environment with support
activities, such as cleaning, cooking, and transportation. HUD seeks
to accomplish this purpose by providing interest-free capital advances
to private and nonprofit sponsors to finance development of the
housing. To support HUD's strategic goal of reducing energy
consumption, however, HUD requires applicants seeking Section 202
funding for new construction and substantial rehabilitation projects
to include energy efficiency and water conservation strategies. In
addition, HUD requires pre-and post-construction energy audits for
other types of rehabilitation projects funded through the Section 202
program.
Type of Assistance Provided:
Agencies reported that many of the 94 initiatives foster green
building by providing multiple types of assistance, most commonly
through grants or technical assistance, as shown in table 3. Technical
assistance can take many forms, including technical guidance and
expert advice; tools to evaluate performance against green building
metrics; education on the benefits of green building; and work with
organizations and end users to develop strategies to achieve their
green building goals.
Table 3: Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector, by Type of Assistance Provided:
Type of assistance provided: Grants;
Number of initiatives providing each type: 47.
Type of assistance provided: Technical assistance;
Number of initiatives providing each type: 45.
Type of assistance provided: Other[A];
Number of initiatives providing each type: 22.
Type of assistance provided: Research and development;
Number of initiatives providing each type: 21.
Type of assistance provided: Contracts;
Number of initiatives providing each type: 16.
Type of assistance provided: Direct loans;
Number of initiatives providing each type: 9.
Type of assistance provided: Mortgage-related assistance;
Number of initiatives providing each type: 6.
Type of assistance provided: Tax credits;
Number of initiatives providing each type: 5.
Type of assistance provided: Rent subsidies;
Number of initiatives providing each type: 4.
Type of assistance provided: Tax deductions;
Number of initiatives providing each type: 3.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
Notes: Numbers total more than 94 because many initiatives provide
more than one type of assistance.
[A] Other types of assistance--as marked in questionnaire responses--
include, for example, websites to disseminate information and direct-
to-consumer rebates.
[End of table]
Agencies reported providing grants for different purposes related to
green building. For example, DOE's Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Block Grant is intended to assist U.S. cities, counties, states,
territories, and Indian tribes to develop, promote, implement, and
manage energy efficiency and conservation projects for buildings,
among other things. In addition, the Small Business Administration's
(SBA) Small Business Energy Audit and Energy Efficiency Program makes
grants to Small Business Development Centers--partnerships primarily
between the federal government and colleges and universities--to
provide green building-related training to small businesses. Also, the
Department of Transportation's (DOT) Transit Investments for
Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction Program is intended to provide
grants to public transit agencies to implement new strategies to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions or reduce energy usage from their
operations.
Recipients Expected to Directly Benefit:
Agencies reported that the 94 initiatives are expected to directly
benefit a variety of recipients and can directly benefit multiple
recipients, as shown in table 4.
Table 4: Recipients That Agencies Expect to Directly Benefit from
Initiatives Fostering Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Recipients expected to directly benefit: Individual property owners or
renters;
Number of initiatives expected to provide direct benefits: 55.
Recipients expected to directly benefit: Local governments;
Number of initiatives expected to provide direct benefits: 49.
Recipients expected to directly benefit: Businesses;
Number of initiatives expected to provide direct benefits: 47.
Recipients expected to directly benefit: Nonprofit organizations;
Number of initiatives expected to provide direct benefits: 45.
Recipients expected to directly benefit: State governments;
Number of initiatives expected to provide direct benefits: 42.
Recipients expected to directly benefit: Other[A];
Number of initiatives expected to provide direct benefits: 36.
Recipients expected to directly benefit: Public housing agencies;
Number of initiatives expected to provide direct benefits: 35.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
Notes: Numbers total more than 94 because agencies expect some
initiatives to benefit multiple recipients.
[A] Other recipients--marked Other in questionnaire responses--
include, for example, tribal governments, metropolitan planning
organizations, U.S. territories, public transit agencies, and water
and wastewater utilities.
[End of table]
As table 4 indicates, the types of recipients that agencies reported
expecting to directly benefit from these initiatives range widely. For
example, under IRS's Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction,
businesses can claim a tax deduction for equipment that reduces energy
costs in buildings associated with lighting systems; building
envelopes;[Footnote 17] and heating, cooling, ventilation, and hot
water systems. In addition, through the Sustainable Community
Challenge Planning Grants Program, HUD makes funds available to state
and local governments, tribal governments, and other entities to,
among other things, promote green building and revise their building
codes to allow for more energy-efficient rehabilitation of older
buildings. Furthermore, through the WaterSense program, EPA partners
with local water utilities, local governments, product manufacturers,
retailers, and consumers to promote water-efficient products and
practices, which can benefit a wide variety of recipients--including
individual property owners, state and local governments, public
housing agencies, and businesses. Products and new homes can earn the
WaterSense label by being independently certified to meet EPA's
criteria for efficiency and performance. For example, WaterSense-
labeled plumbing fixtures reportedly use at least 20 percent less
water and perform as well or better than standard models.
Recipients of some of these initiatives told us that these initiatives
provide indirect benefits as a result of the money saved through green
building retrofits. For example, officials representing two apartment
complexes we visited said they are able to use the money saved to
offer additional services to their tenants that improve their quality
of life. One official stated these additional services include after-
school programs and dental services.
Some Agency Efforts to Foster Green Building Are Required by Statute:
According to our analysis of questionnaire responses, agencies are
implementing many of the initiatives we identified because they are
required to by statute. For example, the Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007 directed DOE to conduct outreach activities to
inform the public about education resources, technical assistance, or
other forms of assistance useful in planning and constructing high-
performance green building. DOE officials stated that they are
implementing the Commercial Building Initiative because of this
requirement. According to DOE, this initiative is intended to improve
the energy efficiency of new and existing commercial buildings by
researching technologies, strategies, and tools that improve energy
savings and by working with commercial building owners and operators
to ensure these technologies are market ready.
In addition, EPA's Brownfields Program--required by the Small Business
Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act--provides
financial and technical assistance intended to encourage states,
communities, and other stakeholders to prevent, assess, safely clean
up, and reuse brownfields, which are properties where reuse may be
complicated by the potential presence of a hazardous substance,
pollutant, or contaminant. By reusing brownfields, this program, among
other things, is attempting to encourage economic activity on
previously developed land rather than on undeveloped land, according
to an EPA official.
Furthermore, USDA's Rural Energy for America Program--required by the
Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008--promotes energy efficiency
and renewable energy for agricultural producers and rural small
businesses through the use of (1) grants and loan guarantees for
energy-efficiency improvements and renewable-energy systems and (2)
grants for energy audits and renewable energy development assistance.
According to our analysis of questionnaire responses, agencies are
also using their discretionary authority to implement some of the
initiatives we identified. For example, EPA's Green Infrastructure
Program is intended to promote cost-effective strategies for storm-
water management, including using rain gardens, porous pavements,
green roofs, trees and tree boxes, and rainwater harvesting for
nonpotable uses such as landscape irrigation. In addition, DOE's
Superior Energy Performance Program is a certification program
intended to provide managers of industrial and commercial buildings
with guidance on how to achieve continual improvement in energy
efficiency while maintaining competitiveness. The program is intended
to provide a transparent, globally accepted system for verifying
energy performance improvements and management practices.
The Overall Results of Federal Green Building Initiatives in the
Nonfederal Sector Are Unknown:
About one-third of the federal initiatives we identified have green
building goals and performance measures; therefore, the overall
results of most initiatives and their related investments are unknown.
Agency officials provided several reasons for not having performance
information on the results of most green building initiatives for the
nonfederal sector. To assess initiatives' results, some agencies have
begun to collaborate, but we did not identify any broader, or
governmentwide, efforts to collaborate on assessing the results of
these initiatives in the nonfederal sector.
Some Initiatives Have Green Building Goals and Performance Measures:
According to our analysis of questionnaire responses, about one-third
of the 94 federal initiatives we identified that foster green building
in the nonfederal sector had goals and performance measures specific
to green building. Following are two examples:
* Under the Recovery Act, HUD established the Green Retrofit Program
for Multifamily Housing, which makes grants or loans to owners of
residential assisted housing for energy retrofit or other green
investments.[Footnote 18] According to HUD officials and our review of
program requirements and documents, HUD measures this initiative's
progress toward green building goals by collecting energy consumption
data for participating properties before and after they are
retrofitted and plans to compare these data to calculate savings and
evaluate effectiveness. The Castle Square Apartments in Boston
received assistance under this initiative. Once completed, the
project's 192 midrise apartments will reduce energy consumption by 72
percent, according to estimates by HUD officials and the private
developer.
* DOE's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program is a
$3.2 billion Recovery Act program that makes grants to cities,
counties, states, territories, and Indian tribes to develop and
implement energy efficiency and conservation projects for buildings,
among other things. DOE officials stated that the program has
implemented projects in more than 16,000 buildings. For example,
according to DOE's response to our questionnaire, the city of San
Francisco used these funds to help multifamily residential property
owners replace aging, inefficient boiler systems. Also, according to
its response, DOE has established project management milestones and
goals for the program that measure overall progress. DOE officials
told us the program has no official green building targets, and grant
recipients determine their own green building goals, such as the
amount of building space they want to retrofit. According to its
questionnaire response, DOE strongly encourages, but does not require,
grant recipients conducting green building activities to perform
industry-standard measurement and verification of their projects to
track performance on key metrics such as energy savings and emissions
reductions. To accomplish this purpose, DOE has issued optional
guidance for grant recipients on program evaluation and has provided
resources and training on suggested methods for recipients to estimate
energy savings and collect data.
[Side bar:
Energy Retrofit at Castle Square Apartments:
[Figure: photograph: Energy-efficiency improvements, including the
exterior shell, being made to Castle Square Apartments]
Source: Pinck & Co., Inc.
[End of figure]
The owners of Castle Square Apartments in Boston secured a mix of
federal, private, and Recovery Act funds to retrofit 500 low-income
family apartments”-a mixture of 192 midrise and 308 garden apartments”-
with energy-efficiency improvements.
The owners received a $6.7 million loan under HUD's Green Retrofit
Program and a $4.4 million grant from the state under DOE's State
Energy Program. The midrise apartment retrofits will include an
insulated exterior shell (R-40), an insulated reflective roof (R-40),
and high-efficiency windows (R-5); together, the retrofits are
expected to increase the insulation value of the midrise buildings by
about 600 percent, according to the private development official we
spoke with. According to the official, the funds committed by DOE were
used for the exterior shell, which made possible additional energy
improvements”-such as the use of smaller boilers that consume less
energy to heat the apartments--that would not have been possible
without the shell improvements. Other retrofits include high-efficiency
air conditioning units, solar thermal panels to preheat boiler water,
and bathroom and kitchen exterior exhaust systems for improved indoor
air quality.
For the 308 garden apartments without the exterior shell, the majority
owner of the apartments expects energy savings of 48 percent. In their
Green Retrofit Plan agreement with HUD, the owners committed to
provide tenant release forms that authorize HUD to collect utility
consumption data from utility providers, which HUD may request to
assess results through postrehabilitation studies. According to our
review of questionnaire responses, HUD is collecting utility
consumption data for each participating property before and after the
retrofits to compare the data, calculate savings, and evaluate the
effectiveness of the program. End of side bar]
As we have reported, leading organizations commonly define clear goals
and related outcomes, measure performance to gauge progress, and use
performance information to assess the results of their efforts and the
related investment.[Footnote 19] Leading organizations recognize, as
well, that performance measures can create powerful incentives to
influence organizational and individual behavior. When resources are
limited and public demands are high, it is particularly important that
agencies are accountable to Congress, the executive branch, and the
public for the results of their activities and investments. In the
federal sector, agencies are required to meet green building goals for
energy and water efficiency, among other things. Federal agencies are
also required to measure and report to DOE the progress they have made
meeting federal green building goals. DOE, in turn, uses this
information to report annually to Congress on agencies' energy use and
progress toward meeting federal green building goals.
Agency Officials Provided Reasons for Not Having Performance
Information on the Results of Green Building:
Agency officials provided various reasons for not having performance
information on the results of green building initiatives for the
nonfederal sector. For example, some agency officials said that many
of the initiatives we identified have a broader focus than green
building and may have performance goals and measures but not ones
specific to green building. Therefore, key performance information
related to green building is often not available. For instance, the
HUD Supportive Housing for the Elderly (Section 202) program is
designed to help expand the supply of affordable housing with services
for the low-income elderly by providing them with options for
independent living in a supportive environment. According to our
analysis of questionnaire responses and program documents supplied by
HUD, in fiscal year 2010, HUD incorporated green building into this
program by establishing both minimum requirements as well as
incentives for, among other things, energy efficiency and water
conservation practices for these properties. In addition, Department
of Defense (DOD) officials told us that the main goal of DOD's
Environmental Security Technology Certification Program is to evaluate
the cost-effectiveness and suitability of energy technologies that
could help DOD meet mandated reductions in energy use. DOD officials
said that the program has no overall goals specific to green building;
instead, individual demonstration projects under the program use goals
and performance measures specific to those projects. The officials
stated that it would not be appropriate for DOD to expend the funds
needed to assess the extent to which any of the technologies developed
affect green building.
In addition, agencies reported that they may not have information on
the results of green building initiatives for the nonfederal sector,
in part, because they face several challenges in gathering and
analyzing appropriate and reliable performance data. A 2011 industry
report identified several challenges in gathering utility usage data
for multifamily properties, including difficulty in obtaining the
resources necessary to develop systems for accurate data collection, a
lack of industry standards for performance data collection, and
utility companies' diverse policies governing data sharing, as well as
their wide-ranging capacities to collect data.[Footnote 20] HUD
officials told us the quality of utility data can vary by utility,
especially for water consumption data--which can be incomplete and
inaccurate and is often not available in electronic form. In addition,
the results of some green building elements are more easily measured
than others. For example, a General Services Administration official
we interviewed testified before Congress in 2010 that it is easier to
compare before and after utility consumption data (water or energy
conservation or efficiency) than to measure indoor environmental air
quality or the impact a building's siting has on transportation.
[Footnote 21] However, several federal and local agencies and entities
we reviewed reported making progress toward overcoming data gathering
and reporting challenges through better use of technology. For
example, officials at the Cambridge Housing Authority in Massachusetts
told us that they are developing an electronic billing system and
installing the technology necessary to collect and track utility
usage.[Footnote 22] They said they anticipate being able to use the
system to generate quantitative energy reports--a major step toward
accurately measuring, analyzing, and reporting energy consumption in
the housing authority's buildings.
Agencies Have Begun to Collaborate to Assess Results for Some
Initiatives, but without Apparent Governmentwide Collaboration to
Assess Overall Results:
We identified some instances in which agencies are collaborating on
specific initiatives, including establishing compatible procedures and
adopting common performance measures for assessing results. As we have
previously reported, achieving results for the nation increasingly
requires that federal agencies work together to identify ways to
deliver results more efficiently and in a way that is consistent with
their multiple demands and limited resources.[Footnote 23] Agencies
and programs working collaboratively can often achieve more public
value than when they work in isolation. We have also identified key
practices that can help enhance and sustain such federal agency
collaboration.[Footnote 24]
We found instances in which agencies used some of these key practices,
including establishing compatible procedures and adopting common
performance measures for assessing results, when working together on
specific initiatives that cut across agencies. For example, under the
Partnership for Sustainable Communities, DOT, EPA, and HUD
collaborated on a number of grant and technical assistance
initiatives, including recently developing guidance for HUD's
Community Challenge Planning Grants Program. This program makes funds
available to state and local governments, tribal governments, and
other entities to promote affordable, economically vital, and
sustainable communities through green building and a variety of other
eligible activities, including developing building codes that promote
the energy-efficient rehabilitation of older buildings to create
affordable and healthy housing. According to earlier guidance, the
agencies plan to adopt a common set of performance measures for this
and other related initiatives, but the more recent guidance does not
define these measures.[Footnote 25] Also, through the Partnership for
Sustainable Communities, DOT and HUD coordinated to accept a single
application for their respective transportation and community planning
grant programs that, according to agency documents, made it easier for
communities to apply to both programs simultaneously.[Footnote 26] HUD
officials told us that, other than through the Partnership for
Sustainable Communities, they typically coordinate on green building
on a targeted basis with DOE and EPA. According to these officials,
HUD has collaborated with EPA on the adoption of the Energy Star
standard in HUD programs.[Footnote 27] In addition, according to these
officials, HUD established an active partnership with DOE on the
implementation of the Recovery Act-funded Weatherization Assistance
Program, as well as on elements of the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Block Grant Program.
Furthermore, DOE chairs the Interagency Energy Management Task Force,
a group of agency headquarters energy managers who, among other
things, address energy issues affecting federal buildings and
operations. The task force includes 10 of the 11 agencies implementing
the initiatives in our review and establishes working groups for
specific issues--including green building--across federal agencies.
Since 1988, this task force has served as the interagency group for
collaborating on green building in the federal sector, measuring
progress, and acting as a forum for addressing challenges to green
building and developing common solutions for the federal sector. For
example, one of the task force's working groups sought EPA's expertise
in storm-water management to respond to new requirements in the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007. EPA developed and provided
guidance that other agencies could use in meeting the new requirements.
However, we did not identify a governmentwide effort to collaborate on
green building issues, including shared goals and common performance
measures, for the nonfederal sector that is comparable to the task
force's efforts for the federal sector. Without such an effort,
agencies may be missing opportunities to, among other things, reach
agreement on governmentwide goals and measures for assessing the
overall progress of their efforts to foster green building in the
nonfederal sector.
Conclusions:
The federal government has launched a variety of initiatives to
promote green building in the nonfederal sector--the vast majority of
the nation's building stock. These initiatives are intended to reach
many types of beneficiaries, ranging from individual renters and
homeowners to state governments. In some cases, agencies have measured
progress for individual initiatives and have collaborated on
initiatives across agencies, including identifying shared goals and
adopting common performance measures for assessing results. However,
the overall effect of these initiatives on the nation's nonfederal
buildings is unknown because agencies have largely not assessed either
the individual or the combined results of green building initiatives
in the nonfederal sector or the related investments. In contrast, the
federal government has been measuring, and reporting on, its progress
in making federal buildings greener. Because federal agencies have
experience with measuring progress in the federal sector, they are
well-positioned to apply this experience to measuring such progress in
the nonfederal sector, as well. In addition, DOE's Interagency Energy
Management Task Force has served as an agency forum for 10 of the 11
agencies implementing the initiatives to discuss challenges to green
building and develop common solutions for the federal sector. However,
we did not identify a similar governmentwide effort among the 11
agencies to collaborate on green building in the nonfederal sector.
Without comprehensive information about individual initiatives'
effects on fostering green building, and without collaboration across
federal agencies to establish green building goals and ways to measure
progress, Congress, agency heads, and the public--including potential
beneficiaries of federal initiatives--have incomplete information
about the effectiveness of individual and overall federal efforts to
foster green building in the nonfederal sector.
Recommendation for Executive Action:
To help assess the results of investments in individual federal
initiatives to foster green building in the nonfederal sector, as well
as their combined results, we recommend that the Secretaries of Energy
and of Housing and Urban Development work with the Administrator of
EPA in leading an effort with other agencies that are implementing
green building initiatives to collaborate on identifying performance
information, such as shared goals and common performance measures, for
green building initiatives for the nonfederal sector. This effort
should include, if necessary, an exploration of the need for
additional legislative or executive authority, such as the authority
to establish a coordinating entity (e.g., an interagency working
group).
Agency Comments:
We provided a draft of this report for review and comment to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), DOD, the Department of Education
(ED), DOE, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), HUD, and
DOT, as well as EPA, IRS, NIST, and SBA. In written comments,
reproduced in appendix V, DOE generally agreed with our
recommendation. In written comments, reproduced in appendix VI, HUD
stated that it welcomes our recommendation and provided technical
clarifications, which we incorporated into the report as appropriate.
On October 17, 2011, USDA provided comments in an e-mail message,
stating that it generally concurred with the information applicable to
its Rural Development programs. USDA also provided technical
clarifications, which we incorporated into the report as appropriate.
On October 20, 2011, DOD provided comments in an e-mail message,
stating that it concurred with the draft report as written. On October
21, 2011, EPA provided comments in an e-mail message, stating that it
generally agreed with our findings, conclusions, and recommendation.
In particular, EPA stated that it believes significant benefits could
be achieved by identifying information on performance for green
building efforts in the nonfederal sector across federal agencies and
that our recommendation supports the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010.
DOT, ED, IRS, and SBA did not provide formal written comments but
provided technical clarifications, which we incorporated into the
report as appropriate. In its technical clarifications, ED noted the
announcement of its new Green Ribbon Schools Initiative, which is
being implemented in fiscal year 2012. According to ED, the initiative
resulted from cooperative efforts made with other federal agencies,
state and local school officials, and other potential stakeholders. ED
also stated that the initiative's preparation work and announcement is
already having a positive impact on the "efforts of state and local
officials to recognize the exemplary efforts of schools and
communities to be energy conscious, promote healthy and sustainable
environments, and educate students to become environmentally literate
citizens." HHS and NIST stated that they did not have any comments on
the draft report.
As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce the contents
of this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days
from the report date. At that time, we will send copies to the
Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy,
Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and
Transportation; the Administrators of EPA and SBA; the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue; the appropriate congressional committees; and other
interested parties. In addition, the report will be available at no
charge on the GAO website at [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov].
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please
contact Frank Rusco at (202) 512-3841 or ruscof@gao.gov or David J.
Wise at (202) 512-2834 or wised@gao.gov. Contact points for our
Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on
the last page of this report. GAO staff who made key contributions to
this report are listed in appendix VII.
Signed by:
Frank Rusco:
Director:
Natural Resources and Environment:
Signed by:
David J. Wise:
Director:
Physical Infrastructure:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Scope and Methodology:
Our objectives were to (1) identify current initiatives by federal
agencies to foster green building in the nonfederal sector and (2)
determine what is known about the results of these initiatives on
fostering green building in the nonfederal sector. For the purposes of
this review, the nonfederal sector includes private, state, local, and
tribal entities.
To identify current initiatives by federal agencies to foster green
building in the nonfederal sector, we first developed a working
definition of green building, which often varies, depending on the
stakeholder. To develop the definition, we reviewed and analyzed five
sources for key elements of a green building: (1) the requirements for
a high-performance green building in the Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007, (2) the U.S. Green Building Council's green
building certification system,[Footnote 28] (3) the Green Globes
assessment and rating system,[Footnote 29] (4) the Enterprise
Community Partners green communities criteria,[Footnote 30] and (5) a
memorandum of understanding signed by many federal agencies to commit
to federal leadership in the design, construction, and operation of
high-performance and sustainable buildings.[Footnote 31] We identified
these five sources on the basis of background research and interviews
with knowledgeable stakeholders from the following nonprofit groups
and trade associations: the Building Owners and Managers Association
International, the Housing Assistance Council, the International
Facility Management Association, the National Housing Trust, the
National Institute of Building Sciences' High Performance Building
Council, Neighborworks America, the Public Housing Authorities
Directors Association, and the U.S. Green Building Council.
Knowledgeable stakeholders from these organizations stated that these
sources represent leading efforts to promote green building
nationwide. From our analysis of these sources, we determined that,
for the purposes of this report, a "green building" is a building
that, through its design, construction, rehabilitation, operation, or
maintenance, incorporates one or more of the following six elements:
(1) integrated design principles, (2) energy conservation or
efficiency measures, (3) water conservation or efficiency measures,
(4) indoor environmental quality measures, (5) measures to reduce the
environmental impact of materials, and (6) sustainable siting or
location measures.[Footnote 32]
With this definition of a green building, we then developed a list of
key terms and used them to search a broad range of sources for federal
initiatives with descriptions containing any of the terms. The sources
we searched primarily included federal agency budget justifications,
program websites, and databases. We also searched Federal Register
announcements, agencies' news releases, and strategic planning
documents. We analyzed each initiative identified through this process
to determine whether it fell within the scope of our objectives,
including whether it was active anytime during fiscal year 2011, and
through this analysis, we developed a list of initiatives organized by
agency.[Footnote 33] We confirmed these initiatives with officials at
the federal agencies with roles in implementing the initiatives, and
we asked the officials to identify other initiatives they were aware
of that might fall within the scope of our objectives.[Footnote 34] We
identified at least one initiative at each of the following 11
agencies: the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy
(DOE), Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development (HUD),
Transportation (DOT), and the Treasury (Treasury); the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA); the National Institute of Standards and
Technology; and the Small Business Administration. Although we
attempted to ensure that we had a complete list of federal green
building initiatives, our list is not intended to be comprehensive
because, in part, of differences in definitions of a green building
across agencies.
We then developed a questionnaire to collect information on the green
building initiatives we identified at the 11 agencies. To identify
officials who were most knowledgeable about each initiative, and thus
the most appropriate person to complete the questionnaire, we used
information from our initial meetings with agency officials and
information gathered by each agency's audit liaisons. Working with an
independent GAO survey expert, we conducted, in person, pretests of
draft questionnaires with officials we had identified at three
agencies. The pretests took place with officials with expertise in
green building at HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing, officials
with tax credit expertise at Treasury's Internal Revenue Service, and
commercial and residential building program officials at DOE. We
conducted pretests to check that (1) the questions were clear and
unambiguous, (2) terminology was used correctly, (3) the questionnaire
did not place an undue burden on agency officials, (4) the information
could feasibly be obtained, and (5) the questionnaire was
comprehensive and unbiased. Using the feedback we received, we made
changes to the content and format of the questionnaire. After deciding
on the final questionnaire, we sent it to the appropriate agency
officials by e-mail in an attached Microsoft Word form. For each
initiative, the questionnaire asked officials to (1) confirm general
information, (2) report funding for green building, (3) identify goals
and performance measures for green building, and (4) provide
additional information that would help us further understand the
initiative. We received a questionnaire response for each initiative
and, thus, had a response rate of 100 percent. After analyzing the
responses, we conducted follow-up interviews, e-mail exchanges, or
telephone discussions with agency officials when responses were
unclear or conflicting, such as when both "Yes" and "No" boxes were
checked or boxes were left completely unchecked. When necessary, we
used the clarifying information provided by agency officials to update
answers to questions to improve the accuracy and completeness of the
data. During our follow-up conversations, agency officials stated
that, for many initiatives, green building funds are not tracked
separately from other related activities; therefore, we could not
determine governmentwide funding for green building in the nonfederal
sector because we could not collect complete or reliable funding data.
As a result, we did not report the responses about funding for green
building. In addition, the questionnaire asked agency officials to
identify entities expected to directly benefit from the initiatives.
However, we did not evaluate the effectiveness of the initiatives,
including the extent to which the entities identified may or may not
have received benefits. The initiatives we identified may vary in the
scale of their funding or the number of entities expected to benefit
from them, among other things; however, in this report, we do not
discuss these differences or compare the scale of the initiatives we
identified. A copy of our questionnaire is presented in appendix IV.
Because this effort was not a sample survey, it has no sampling
errors. However, the practical difficulties of conducting any survey
may introduce errors, commonly referred to as nonsampling errors. For
example, difficulties in interpreting a particular question, sources
of information available to respondents, or entering data into a
database or analyzing them can introduce unwanted variability into the
survey results. We took steps in developing the questionnaire and
collecting and analyzing the data to minimize such nonsampling errors.
For example, social science survey specialists designed the
questionnaire in collaboration with GAO staff who had subject matter
expertise. We pretested the draft questionnaire to ensure that the
questions were relevant, clearly stated, and easy to understand. When
we analyzed the data using computer programs, an independent analyst
checked the results from all the computer programs. Finally, we
verified the accuracy of a small sample of keypunched records by
comparing them with their corresponding questionnaires, and we
corrected the errors we found. Less than 0.5 percent of the data items
we checked had random keypunch errors that would not have been
corrected during data processing.
To determine what is known about the results of these initiatives on
fostering green building in the nonfederal sector, in addition to
analyzing questionnaire data on goals and performance measures, we
conducted follow-up interviews with officials representing initiatives
for which fostering green building is a primary purpose. We identified
this subgroup of initiatives by conducting a content analysis of the
initiative descriptions each agency had confirmed or updated in its
questionnaire responses. More specifically, based on the research we
conducted to develop our full list of initiatives, we had prepopulated
each questionnaire with a description of the initiative and then asked
respondents to confirm the description or edit it, as appropriate.
Using these confirmed or edited descriptions, we categorized
initiatives into two groups: those where a primary purpose of the
initiative was to foster the use of one or more green building
elements by nonfederal entities, and those where it was a secondary or
other purpose. Our content analysis results indicated that 64 of the
94 initiatives had green building as a primary purpose. In
consideration of resource constraints, to limit the number of follow-
up interviews, we listed the initiatives in the primary purpose
subgroup by agency to identify the agencies with the most initiatives.
On the basis of this analysis, we determined that HUD, DOE, and EPA
were the three agencies that had the most initiatives with green
building as a primary purpose, accounting for about 67 percent of the
initiatives in our subgroup. We then conducted follow-up interviews
with officials from the offices chiefly responsible for implementing
the three agencies' initiatives, based on the number of initiatives,
general mission of the office, or both. During these interviews, we
asked officials about their progress and the challenges they face, if
any, in implementing the pertinent initiatives, including the extent
to which the agency collects performance data and coordinates--
internally and with other agencies--on similar initiatives. We also
asked the officials to provide related documents, and we reviewed
these and other relevant documents from their offices.
Finally, we conducted site visits to green building projects that have
received support from some of the initiatives we identified. During
these site visits, we interviewed officials connected to the projects--
including developers, resident groups, and property managers; local
housing authority officials implementing green building projects; and
regional federal officials with expertise in fostering green building
through some of the initiatives. We identified sites to visit from
examples provided in agency responses to our questionnaire, and we
selected locations that had several projects that could be visited,
covered a range of agencies and building types, and were convenient to
GAO offices. During these visits, we toured projects at varying stages
of completion. Specifically, we toured projects funded by the HUD
Green Retrofit Program at Castle Square Apartments in Boston and Eden
Issei Terrace Apartments in Hayward, California. In addition, we
toured a project being conducted by the Cambridge Housing Authority in
Massachusetts that participates in the HUD Moving to Work program. We
toured projects funded by the DOT Transit Investments for Greenhouse
Gas and Energy Reduction program at Alameda-Contra Costa Transit
District facilities in Oakland, California. We also toured two Energy
Star hotels in Boston and San Francisco. We interviewed officials
responsible for overseeing the projects and asked them to discuss,
among other things, the progress and challenges they faced, if any, in
implementing the projects. The findings from our site visit interviews
cannot be generalized to sites or projects not included in this
nonprobability sample.
We conducted this performance audit from September 2010 to November
2011 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Federal Initiatives Identified That Foster Green Building
in the Nonfederal Sector:
We identified 11 federal agencies with 94 initiatives that foster
green building in the nonfederal sector, which includes private,
state, local, and tribal entities. The following tables provide
summaries, based on the questionnaire responses, of each of these
initiatives by agency, and whether--according to our analysis--they
foster green building directly or indirectly. A primary purpose of
direct initiatives is to foster green building (or any element
thereof); thus, they foster one or more green building elements
directly. Indirect initiatives are part of broader efforts not focused
primarily on green building (or any element thereof); thus, they
foster green building elements indirectly.
Table 5: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Initiatives Identified
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Type of initiative/name and description of initiative:
Direct initiatives:
High Energy Cost Grant Program: This program provides financial
assistance for a broad range of energy facilities, equipment, and
related activities to offset the impacts of extremely high residential
energy costs on eligible communities. Grant funds may be used for on-
grid and off-grid renewable energy systems and for the implementation
of cost-effective demand-side management and energy conservation
programs that benefit eligible communities.
Rural Energy for America: This program promotes energy efficiency and
renewable energy for agricultural producers and rural small businesses
through the use of grants and loan guarantees for energy-efficiency
improvements and renewable-energy systems, and grants for energy
audits and renewable-energy development assistance.
Rural Housing Service Section 502 Direct and Guaranteed Loan
Assistance and Section 504 Loan and Grant Assistance for the Rural
Economic Development Energy Efficiency Initiative: This initiative is
a USDA-Department of Energy partnership as part of a governmentwide
"Recovery Through Retrofit" initiative. Section 502 and Section 504
funding will be used through the Rural Economic Development Energy
Efficiency program to improve the energy efficiency of single and
multifamily housing and businesses.
Rural Housing Service Section 514 and Section 516 Assistance for Farm
Labor Housing: These programs provide direct loans and grants for new
construction of housing for farm laborers. Under Notices of Funding
Availability for the programs, USDA promotes the use of energy saving
design, materials, construction, and operation for newly constructed
or substantially rehabilitated residential housing and for the
rehabilitation of existing portfolio properties.
Rural Housing Service Section 515 Assistance for Low-income, Elderly,
and Handicapped Housing: This program provides direct loans for the
construction of rural rental housing for low-income eligible tenants.
Under Notices of Funding Availability for the program, USDA promotes
the use of energy saving design, materials, construction, and
operation for newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated
residential housing and for the rehabilitation of existing portfolio
properties.
Rural Utilities Service Electric Loan Programs: USDA's Rural Utilities
Service is authorized to provide direct loans to provide and improve
electric generation, transmission, and distribution service in rural
areas and to assist electric borrowers in implementing demand-side
management, efficiency and conservation programs, and on-grid and off-
grid renewable-energy systems. In addition, USDA may provide loan
guarantees to not-for-profit lenders that may be used to make loans
for a full range of eligible electric and telephone purposes, which
may include borrower energy efficiency and conservation programs.
Type of initiative/name and description of initiative: Section 538
Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program: This program helps increase
the supply of affordable rental housing in rural areas and ensures
that housing is affordable to certain rural residents, among other
things. Under the program, all new multifamily housing projects
financed in whole or in part by USDA will be encouraged to use green
building practices, emphasizing energy efficiency and conservation.
Indirect initiative:
Rural Housing Service Section 502 Direct and Guaranteed Loan
Assistance for the Rural Energy Plus Program: This program provides
loans primarily to help low-income individuals or households purchase
homes in rural areas. Under the program, eligible applicants may be
able to increase qualifying ratios used to determine an applicant's
ability to repay a home loan by up to 2 percentage points if they are
purchasing a newer home that is energy efficient.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and USDA information.
[End of table]
Table 6: Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) Initiatives Identified That Foster Green Building in
the Nonfederal Sector:
Type of initiative/name and description of initiative:
Direct initiatives:
Advanced Building Energy Technologies Program: This program develops
the measurement science needed to deploy renewable and emerging energy-
efficient technologies to help achieve net-zero energy use in
residential and commercial buildings.
Embedded Intelligence in Buildings Program: This program develops the
measurement science needed to promote the use of embedded intelligence
systems in buildings that enable more energy-efficient building
operations, new integrated functionality for building systems, and
improved occupant comfort and safety.
Improved Building Energy Performance Program: This program develops
the measurement science needed to evaluate how buildings perform,
covering carbon dioxide emissions, indoor air quality, and other
metrics, in order to better evaluate overall building performance
compared to other approaches that rely on modeling or other inexact
assessment methods.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and NIST information.
[End of table]
Table 7: Department of Defense (DOD) Initiative Identified That
Fosters Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Type of initiative/name and description of initiative:
Indirect initiative:
Environmental Security Technology Certification Program: This program
identifies and demonstrates cost-effective technologies that address
the agency's highest priority environmental requirements, including
green building, although the effort is broadly focused on issues
related to managing the agency's energy needs.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and DOD information.
[End of table]
Table 8: Department of Education (ED) Initiatives Identified That
Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Type of initiative/name and description of initiative:
Indirect initiatives:
Impact Aid Construction Program: Through this program, ED allows local
school districts to use competitive grant funds to support emergency
repairs and modernization efforts of school and college facilities,
including green building efforts. This program's green building
authority applied only to the one-time funding provided by the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
State Fiscal Stabilization Fund: This fund provides funding to states,
local educational agencies, and public institutions of higher
education for, among other things, modernization, renovation, and
repair of public school and college facilities. States and local
educational agencies may use program funds for construction, but
public institutions of higher education may not.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and ED information.
[End of table]
Table 9: Department of Energy (DOE) Initiatives Identified That Foster
Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Type of initiative/name and description of initiative:
Direct initiatives:
Building Technologies Program/Commercial Building
Integration/Commercial Building Initiative: This initiative aims to
improve the energy efficiency of new and existing commercial buildings
by researching technologies, strategies, and tools to improve energy
savings over current building codes; help guide DOE research;
encourage industry to move toward energy-efficient design and
strategies; and provide technical assistance for specific commercial-
sector projects that will demonstrate possibilities in energy
reduction.
Building Technologies Program/Emerging Technologies: The Emerging
Technologies subprogram conducts research and development and
technology transfer activities associated with energy-efficient
products and technologies for both residential and commercial
buildings. These efforts address opportunities within building
components, such as lighting, building envelope technologies
(including advanced windows), space conditioning (including low Global
Warming Potential refrigerant research), water heating, appliances,
solar heating and cooling, and analysis tools.
Building Technologies Program/Home Energy Score Pilot Program: Under
the Home Energy Score Pilot subprogram, trained and certified
contractors use a standardized assessment tool developed by DOE and
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory to evaluate a home's energy
assets, such as its heating and cooling systems and insulation levels.
It was launched in November 2010 and is currently being tested with
local government, utility, and nonprofit partners in nine pilot
communities across the country, located in both urban and rural areas
that cover a wide range of climates.
Building Technologies Program/Residential Buildings Integration: The
Residential Buildings Integration subprogram focuses on improving the
efficiency of new and existing homes through research, development,
deployment, and technology transfer activities.
Building Technologies Program/Residential Buildings Integration/Solar
Decathlon: The Solar Decathlon subprogram focuses on educating
students and the public about the money-saving opportunities and
environmental benefits presented by clean energy products and design
solutions. It is intended to demonstrate the comfort and affordability
of homes that combine energy-efficient construction and appliances
with renewable-energy systems currently available.
Building Technologies Program/Technology Validation and Market
Introduction/Building Energy Codes: The Building Energy Codes
subprogram assists in the development, adoption, and enforcement of
energy codes in the states. It develops and maintains free software
and tools to support those codes and standards, as well as conducts
outreach and deployment activities related to energy codes and high-
performance sustainably designed buildings.
Energy Efficient Building Systems Regional Innovation Cluster
Initiative: This initiative is a multiagency pilot intended to spur
regional economic growth while developing innovative energy-efficient
building technologies, designs, and systems.
Energy Transformation Acceleration Fund/Advanced Research Projects
Agency/Building Energy Efficiency Through Innovative Thermodevices:
This subprogram seeks to develop energy-efficient building cooling
technologies that will reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions from overall cooling and refrigerants used in vapor
compression systems.
State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program: This program makes
funds available to states and territories to promote the purchase of
Energy Star-qualified appliances. Under this program, consumers can
receive rebates to purchase new energy-efficient appliances when they
replace used appliances.
Superior Energy Performance Program: This program is a certification
program that is intended to provide managers of industrial and
commercial buildings with a road map for achieving continual
improvement in energy efficiency while maintaining competitiveness.
The program is intended to provide a transparent, globally accepted
system for verifying energy performance improvements and management
practices.
Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities/Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Block Grant: This subprogram is intended to help U.S.
cities, counties, states, territories, and Indian tribes develop,
promote, implement, and manage energy-efficiency and conservation
projects and programs designed to improve energy efficiency in
buildings, transportation, and other sectors. Grants can be used for
energy-efficiency and conservation programs and projects
communitywide, as well as renewable-energy installations on government
buildings.
Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities/State Energy Program:
The goal of this subprogram is to provide financial and technical
assistance to states through formula and competitive grants. States
use their formula grants to develop strategies and goals to address
their energy priorities, including developing energy projects focused
on buildings.
Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities/Tribal Energy Program:
This program is intended to provide financial and technical assistance
to Indian tribes to help them evaluate and develop their renewable-
energy resources and reduce their energy consumption through
efficiency and weatherization. The program also provides education and
training opportunities to build knowledge and skills essential to
developing, implementing, and sustaining energy-efficiency and
renewable-energy projects.
Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities/Weatherization
Assistance Program: The goal of this program is to enable low-income
families to permanently reduce their energy bills by making their
homes more energy efficient. DOE provides funding to states, U.S.
territories, and Indian tribal governments, each which manages the
program's day-to-day details. These governments, in turn, fund a
network of local community action agencies, nonprofit organizations,
and local governments that provide these weatherization services.
Weatherization Innovation Pilot Program: This program aims to
accelerate innovations in whole-house weatherization for low-income
families. Projects include using new and nontraditional partners and
weatherization service providers leveraging nonfederal financial
resources in addition to federal funds and aiming to improve the
effectiveness of low-income weatherization through the use of new
materials, technologies, behavior-change models, and processes.
Indirect initiatives:
Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology
Transfer programs: These programs allow federal agencies with large
research and development budgets to set aside a small fraction of
their funding for competitions among small businesses. Small
businesses that win awards in these programs keep the rights to any
technology developed and are encouraged to commercialize the
technology. These competitions include multiple research areas,
including energy use in buildings.
Title 17 Loan Guarantee Program: This program, authorized under the
Energy Policy Act of 2005, guarantees loans for projects that (1) use
new or significantly improved technologies, as compared with
commercial technologies already in service in the United States, and
(2) avoid, reduce, or sequester emissions of air pollutants or man-
made greenhouse gases.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and DOE information.
[End of table]
Table 10: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Initiative
Identified That Fosters Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Type of initiative/name and description of initiative:
Indirect initiative:
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program: This program is a block
grant to assist low-income households, particularly those with the
lowest incomes, in meeting their immediate home energy needs. Under
this program, grantees, including states, territories, and Indian
tribes and tribal organizations, may use a portion of the funds for
weatherization and other energy-related home repair.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and HHS information.
[End of table]
Table 11: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Initiatives Identified That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Type of initiative/name and description of initiative:
Direct initiatives;
Capital Fund Recovery Act Competitive Grant Program: This program was
included in the Recovery Act. One component was the "Creation of
Energy Efficient Green Communities" grant competition, which provided
competitive grants to public housing agencies for either new
construction or energy retrofit projects that increase the energy
efficiency and environmental performance of public housing properties.
Green Retrofit Program for Multifamily Housing: The American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included authority for HUD to make loans
or award grants for utility-saving retrofits and other retrofits that
produce environmental benefits in existing HUD-assisted multifamily
housing, subject to agreement between HUD and the owner. HUD offered
Green Retrofit Grants and Green Retrofit Loans of up to $15,000 per
unit that can be used to finance projects that, among other things,
lower electricity use, lower the use of raw materials, and increase
the amount of recycled content.
Healthy Homes Program: This program awards grants to mostly local
government agencies to create healthier and greener homes through a
number of subprograms: (1) the Coordinated Housing Hazard Intervention
Grant Program, (2) Healthy Homes Production Grants, (3) Asthma
Interventions in Multifamily Housing Grant Program, (4) Healthy Homes
Technical Studies Grant Program, and (5) contracts and interagency
agreements.
Mark to Market Green Initiative: This initiative is a nationwide pilot
program to encourage owners and purchasers of affordable, multifamily
properties to rehabilitate and operate their properties using
sustainable building principles. When property owners and purchasers
refinance their properties under HUD's Mark to Market financial
restructuring program and incorporate environmentally sustainable or
energy-efficient improvements, HUD will reduce their required
contribution toward the improvements, allowing those costs to be
financed rather than paid out of pocket by the owner up front. The
initiative uses a property assessment and energy audit to determine
the best energy and green retrofit needs and opportunities for
specific properties.
Multifamily Energy Innovation Fund: This fund is directed at the
multifamily rental market and is designed to help catalyze a home
energy retrofit market in the United States by providing competitive
grants to accelerate private investment in cost-saving energy-
efficiency retrofits in the multifamily residential sector.
PowerSaver Pilot Program: This program offers homeowners low-cost
loans to make energy-saving improvements to their homes. Backed by the
Federal Housing Administration, these loans provide single-family
homeowners with up to $25,000 to make energy-efficient improvements,
such as the installation of insulation, duct sealing, doors and
windows, HVAC systems, water heaters, as well as solar panels or
geothermal systems. The PowerSaver initiative is based on the Federal
Housing Administration's Title I program and is specifically designed
and promoted as a green initiative.
Public Housing Environmental and Conservation Clearinghouse: Through
this initiative, HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing, among
other things, provides energy consumption and water consumption
benchmarking tools for residential public housing buildings. The tools
are based on energy and water consumption data voluntarily submitted
for over 9,100 buildings by almost 350 public housing authorities.
Public Housing Operating Fund, Energy Performance Contract Incentives:
This initiative provides incentives for public housing authorities to
secure third-party financing for energy projects implemented with an
Energy Services Company through an energy performance contract.
Incentives include an "add-on" subsidy, or a "frozen rolling base"
incentive. HUD project approval is based on a determination that
payments under the contract can be funded from reasonably anticipated
energy savings.
Public Housing Operating Fund, Streamlining Energy Performance
Contracting: This initiative is designed to help small public housing
authorities increase their use of energy performance contracting--the
use of third-party financing for energy projects. Small public housing
authorities have been traditionally underserved by the energy industry
and HUD's utility incentives, and by helping public housing
authorities adopt the best energy-improvement practices through a
simplified submission and approval process, HUD hopes to reduce their
utility consumption and carbon emissions.
Section 203(b) Mortgage Insurance, Energy Efficient Mortgage: The
Energy Efficient Mortgage is designed to help homebuyers or homeowners
finance the cost of adding energy-efficiency features to new or
existing housing as part of a Federal Housing Administration-insured
home purchase or refinancing mortgage.
Section 203(b) Mortgage Insurance, Weatherization: This initiative
allows borrowers to include up to $3,500 in a Federal Housing
Administration mortgage to pay for basic weatherization items such as
thermostats, insulation, storm windows, or similar building envelope
improvements.
Sustainable Communities Initiative, Housing-Transportation Integration
Research: This initiative is a research and development effort
designed to support location efficient transportation planning and
housing development for local communities wishing to learn more about
the combined cost of housing and transportation. The initiative is
administered by HUD, in partnership with DOT and EPA.
Sustainable Communities Initiative, Sustainable Community Challenge
Grants: This initiative is designed to create incentives for state,
metropolitan, and local organizations to change zoning and land-use
ordinances in ways that encourage sustainable growth. The grants
leverage local and federal funds for a variety of eligible activities,
including revisions to building codes that promote energy-efficient
rehabilitations of older buildings to create affordable and healthy
housing.
Transformation Initiative, Energy Efficiency and Green Building Across
Affordable Housing Program: This is a coordinated technical assistance
and capacity building program for HUD partners and grantees to
incorporate energy-efficient and green activities in their properties
or programs through energy training and technical assistance to state
and local housing agencies and other affordable housing organizations.
Transformation Initiative, Green and Healthy Homes: This initiative is
designed to reduce the number of homes with health and safety hazards
in low-and moderate-income homes through targeted physical
interventions. Projects incorporate green building elements such as
integrated design, energy conservation and efficiency, water
conservation and efficiency, and indoor air quality. HUD provides a
limited amount of technical assistance to some localities where
projects are active and makes relevant grant programs available to
initiative participants.
Transformation Initiative, Sustainable Building Practice: This
initiative facilitates sustainable construction in Indian country by
providing technical assistance to tribes, documenting activities, and
disseminating results. The initiative builds on efforts already
performed by HUD's Office of Native American Programs to help tribes
improve their housing, but it focuses on sustainable construction and
incorporates enhanced communication and information dissemination
plans.
Transformation Initiative, Sustainable Communities Grant Program: This
is a research grant program operated by HUD's Office of Policy
Development and Research that funds proposals, many of which relate to
green building principles. It is designed to fill data and information
gaps regarding sustainability; increase understanding of incentives,
strategies, and approaches that encourage integrated planning and
promote sustainable green and energy-efficient practices; and
encourage strategic thinking about a broad, sustainable agenda for
urban areas beyond current program priorities.
Indirect initiatives:
Choice Neighborhoods: This initiative seeks to transform distressed
neighborhoods and public and assisted housing projects into
sustainable mixed-income neighborhoods by linking housing improvements
with appropriate schools, public assets, transportation, and access to
jobs. Planning grants enable communities to develop a comprehensive
transformation plan. Implementation grants include, but are not
limited to, construction, acquisition or rehabilitation of public,
assisted and privately owned housing that incorporate sustainable
design principles, including energy efficiency.
HOME Investment Partnerships Program: HUD uses this initiative to
allocate funds by formula to eligible state and local governments to
expand the supply of decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing
for very low-income and low-income families, with primary attention to
rental housing. State and local governments use HOME funds to carry
out multiyear housing strategies through acquisition, rehabilitation,
and new construction of housing, as well as tenant-based rental
assistance. Local housing organizations can encourage or require green
building elements, including energy efficiency, and must report the
number of units that meet the Energy Star standard. HUD has developed
an Energy Star training module and encourages grantees to incorporate
energy efficiency in their projects.
HOPE VI Revitalization Grant Program: This program awards funds to
public housing authorities with severely distressed public housing.
Grant applicants are awarded points for meeting various criteria for
physical revitalization projects, including green development and
energy-efficiency strategies.
Indian Community Development Block Grant Program: This program,
created by the Recovery Act, provides funds to low-and moderate-income
individuals residing in Indian and Alaska native communities for
improvements to housing, living environments, and economic
opportunities. Funds may be used for energy-efficient housing
rehabilitation and new construction under limited circumstances.
Indian Housing Block Grant Program: HUD received a $510 million
appropriation under the Recovery Act for this program, also known as
the Native American Housing Block Grant Program. These funds were
allocated for new residential construction, acquisition, and
rehabilitation projects, some of which include energy-efficiency and
conservation measures.
Moving to Work Demonstration Program: This program allows public
housing authorities to design and test innovative, locally designed
housing and self-sufficiency strategies for low-income families by
permitting public housing authorities to combine certain housing funds
into a single source and exempting them from existing public housing
and Housing Choice Voucher program rules. In addition to other
activities, it also allows public housing authorities to retain
monetary savings from projects to reduce energy consumption.
Section 203(k) Mortgage Insurance, Section 203(k) Streamlined Mortgage
Insurance: This initiative enables homebuyers and homeowners to
finance both the purchase (or refinancing) of a house and the cost of
its rehabilitation through a single mortgage, or to finance the
rehabilitation of their existing home. HUD's Federal Housing
Administration insures these mortgages against default. Eligible
upgrades include making energy-conservation improvements.
Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities (Section 811): In
fiscal year 2010, HUD began requiring applicants seeking Section 811
funding to increase energy and water conservation and offered
incentives to applicants who incorporate green building features into
their projects. Specific requirements and incentives depend on the
type of development proposed by applicants. For new construction and
substantial rehabilitation projects, sponsors and owners are required
to incorporate energy efficiency and water conservation strategies;
for acquisition and moderate or modest rehabilitation projects, pre-
and post-construction energy audits and incorporation of conservation
techniques are required; and for all applicants, incentives in the
form of additional scoring points are available to applications that
meet certain criteria concerning green development, sustainable
design, solar orientation principles, and operations and maintenance
manuals.
Supportive Housing for the Elderly (Section 202): This program is
intended to help expand the supply of affordable housing with services
for the low-income elderly by providing them with options for
independent living in a supportive environment. In fiscal year 2010,
HUD began requiring applicants seeking Section 202 funding to increase
energy and water conservation and offered incentives to applicants who
incorporate green building features into their projects. Specific
requirements and incentives depend on the type of development proposed
by applicants. For new construction and substantial rehabilitation
projects, sponsors and owners are required to incorporate energy
efficiency and water conservation strategies; for acquisition and
moderate or modest rehabilitation projects, pre-and post-construction
energy audits and incorporation of conservation techniques are
required; and for all applicants, incentives in the form of additional
scoring points are available to applications that meet certain
criteria concerning green development, sustainable design, solar
orientation principles, and operations and maintenance manuals.
Sustainable Communities Initiative, Capacity-building Program and
Tools Clearinghouse: This grant program provides tools, skills, and
best practices to educate and assist local or tribal governments,
metropolitan areas and regional partnerships in adopting integrated
plans, strategies, and management tools designed to help them become
more sustainable. The program uses funds from HUD's Sustainable
Communities Initiative and EPA's Offices of Sustainable Communities,
Brownfields and Land Revitalization, and Water.
Sustainable Communities Initiative, Sustainable Communities Regional
Planning Grants: This initiative is designed to improve regional
planning efforts that integrate housing and transportation decisions,
including the challenges of energy use and climate change. Eligible
activities include developing a comprehensive regional plan for
sustainable development that will guide local, regional, and state
governments as they consider a variety of issues, including energy
reduction strategies.
Title I Property Improvement Loan Insurance Program (Title I Program):
This is a home improvement loan initiative that can be used to improve
a home's energy efficiency. Through the program, the Federal Housing
Administration insures secured and unsecured loans made by private
lenders, offering consumers the opportunity to obtain more affordable
home improvement loans. While the loans are primarily used to make
needed repairs or improvements to residential properties, they can
also be used for weatherization or other energy-conservation
improvements. Title I loans are usually second loans, and the maximum
loan amount is $25,000. The Federal Housing Administration insures
private lenders against the risk of default for up to 90 percent of
any single loan.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and HUD information.
[End of table]
Table 12: Department of Transportation (DOT) Initiatives Identified
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Direct initiatives:
Federal Transit Administration Environmental Management Systems
Training and Technical Assistance: This program is designed to help
transit agencies develop and implement environmental management
systems, using the 14001 Standard of the International Organization
for Standardization. An environmental management system sets
procedures that ensure an organization's daily operations comply with
environmental regulations and support environmental stewardship
objectives to minimize impact to the environment and increase
efficiency.
Federal Transit Administration Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas
and Energy Reduction: This program offers capital assistance to public
transit agencies to implement new strategies for reducing greenhouse
gas emissions or reduce energy usage from their operations, including
for transit facilities.
Indirect initiatives:
Federal Transit Administration Bus and Bus Facilities Program: This
program provides capital assistance for new and replacement buses,
related equipment, and facilities. If funds are not earmarked, then
project selections for funding may be determined when green building
certification is specified as funding criteria in a notice of funding
availability.
Federal Transit Administration Urbanized Area Formula Program: This
program makes federal resources available to urbanized areas and to
governors, or their designee, for transit capital and operating
assistance in urbanized areas and for transportation-related planning.
Eligible projects that may be funded include capital investments in
bus and bus-related activities such as construction of maintenance and
passenger facilities.
Formula Grants for Other than Urbanized Areas: This formula-based
program provides funding to states to support public transportation in
rural areas with a population of less than 50,000. Eligible projects
that may be funded include capital investments and operating costs
associated with public transportation facilities that meet green
building standards.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and DOT information.
[End of table]
Table 13: Department of the Treasury Initiatives Identified That
Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Direct initiatives:
Accelerated Depreciation Deduction for Specified Energy Property:
Under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System, businesses may
deduct depreciation on certain energy property eligible for the Energy
Production Tax Credit or the Energy Investment Tax Credit under a
shorter 5-year recovery period than otherwise is permitted under the
general depreciation system. This property includes equipment that
uses solar energy to heat or cool (or to provide hot water for use in)
a building.
Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction: This program allows
businesses to take a tax deduction on the cost of energy-efficient
property for new or renovated buildings by reducing the energy costs
associated with three components--lighting systems; building envelope;
and heating, cooling, ventilation, and hot water systems.
Energy Investment Tax Credit: This program provides tax credits to
businesses for certain qualified renewable energy and energy-
efficiency technologies. For example, this program offers a 10 percent
investment tax credit for small (50 megawatts or less) combined heat
and power systems that have an energy efficiency of greater than 60
percent (or a lesser efficiency with a reduced credit for biomass
facilities), produce at least 20 percent of their useful energy as
useful thermal energy, and produce at least 20 percent of their useful
energy as either electrical or mechanical energy (or as a combination
of the electrical and mechanical energy). This program also offers
investment tax credits for fuel cell and microturbine property.
New Energy Efficient Home Credit: This program offers tax credits of
either $1,000 or $2,000 for each new home that meets energy-efficiency
requirements in the law.
Nonbusiness Energy Property Tax Credit: This program provides a
personal tax credit for nonbusiness energy property. Generally, there
are two categories of nonbusiness energy property: eligible building
envelope components, such as qualifying insulation and exterior
windows; and residential energy property, such as qualifying air
conditioners and electric heat pumps.
Payments for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax Credits: Section
1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 established
this renewable energy grant program for certain qualified renewable-
energy technologies. Cash payments under this program may be taken in
lieu of the Energy Investment Tax Credit or the Energy Production Tax
Credit.
Residential Energy Conservation Subsidy Exclusion: This program makes
nontaxable certain energy conservation subsidies provided to customers
by public utilities, either directly or indirectly. Eligible dwellings
include houses, apartments, condominiums, and mobile homes; and energy-
conservation measures may include installations or modifications made
that are designed to reduce consumption of electricity or natural gas
or improve the management of energy demand.
Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit: This program provides a
tax credit for homeowners of up to 30 percent of the costs for
eligible solar electric property, solar water heating property, small
wind energy property, fuel cell property, and geothermal heat pump
property.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and Department of the
Treasury information.
[End of table]
Table 14: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Initiatives Identified
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Direct initiatives:
Energy Star Program: The Energy Star Program offers labels for
products that are more energy efficient than required by current
standards, works with homebuilders, home energy raters, and other
stakeholders and organizations to promote energy-efficient homes and
also promotes guidance, tools, and other resources to help businesses
and organizations reduce their energy use.
Green Communities Program: This program is intended to provide a web-
based toolkit and planning guide designed to help communities access
the tools and information needed to help them become more sustainable
and livable communities.
Green Infrastructure Program: This program is intended to promote a
new approach to storm-water management that is cost-effective,
sustainable, and environmentally friendly. Practices promoted through
the program include rain gardens, porous pavement, green roofs, and
rainwater harvesting.
Green Power Partnership: This voluntary program is intended to build
organizational demand for newer sources of green power generation by
offering expert advice, technical support, tools, and resources. Green
power is electricity produced from a subset of renewable resources,
such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass.
Healthy Communities--Clean, Green, and Healthy Schools: This
initiative is designed to support states and communities in promoting
healthier school environments and to broaden the implementation of
EPA's existing school environmental health programs, including those
for asthma, indoor air quality, and integrated pest management.
Indoor Environments Program: This program promotes the use of
integrated, whole-building approaches to protect occupant health while
saving energy, resources, and money. These resources include Indoor
Air Quality Tools for Schools, a program whose goal is to help schools
establish and maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by
providing guidance, training, checklists, and other resources to
identify, correct, and prevent indoor air quality problems; and the
Radon Program, which is intended to promote radon-resistant
construction techniques for new homes and to educate the public on
radon testing and mitigation technologies in existing homes.
Industrial Materials Recycling Program: This program provides
information on how industrial materials, such as coal combustion
products, foundry sand, and construction and demolition debris, can be
recycled to meet the material needs of the nation's construction
industry.
Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program: This voluntary membership
program works with the nation's pesticide-user community to reduce the
human health and environmental risks associated with both pest and
pesticide use, promoting the use of Integrated Pest Management,
including in schools.
Smart Growth Program: This program is a key component of EPA's Office
of Sustainable Communities, which serves as the lead office for EPA's
involvement in the Partnership for Sustainable Communities with HUD
and DOT. The office is intended to help communities improve the
environmental and health outcomes from development by conducting
research and developing tools, providing information and outreach to
communities, delivering technical assistance, and engaging other
federal partners.
Tribal Green Building Initiative: Through this initiative, EPA works
with tribes and other federal agencies to advance tribes' efforts to
adopt building codes related to green building and to address barriers
associated with developing and implementing these codes. The
initiative supports tribal building codes that reduce energy and water
use, improve indoor air quality, use nontoxic building materials, and
conserve other resources.
WaterSense: Through this program, EPA partners with local water
utilities and governments, product manufacturers, retailers, and
consumers to promote water-efficient products and practices that can
benefit a wide variety of recipients, including individual property
owners, state and local governments, public housing agencies, and
businesses.
Indirect initiatives:
Brownfields Program: This program is intended to provide financial and
technical assistance by encouraging states, communities, and other
stakeholders to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and reuse
brownfields, which are properties where reuse may be complicated by
the potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or
contaminant.
Design for the Environment Program: Through this program, EPA works in
partnership with industry, environmental groups, local and state
governments, the federal government, and academia to reduce risk to
people and the environment by finding ways to prevent pollution.
Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program: This program is
intended to help the federal government "buy green" and, in doing so,
uses the federal government's buying power to stimulate market demand
for green products and services.
Environmentally Responsible Redevelopment and Reuse: The goal of this
program is to use enforcement and other agencywide incentives to
promote sustainable cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated sites.
Heat Island Reduction Program: This program focuses on translating
urban heat island research into outreach materials, tools, and
guidance to provide communities with information needed to develop
urban heat island projects, programs, and policies.
Small Business Innovation Research Program: This program is a
multiagency effort to support research, development, and
commercialization of technologies by small businesses. EPA focuses on
the development of green building technologies through the program.
WasteWise: This voluntary program is intended to help organizations
eliminate municipal solid waste and select industrial wastes. The
program is part of EPA's overall efforts to promote resource
conservation and sustainable materials management through waste
prevention and recycling. WasteWise's green building-related
activities have focused on providing tools, information and resources
to businesses, local governments, state governments, and nonprofit
organizations to increase municipal solid waste recycling as part of
greening the operations of buildings.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and EPA information.
[End of table]
Table 15: Small Business Administration (SBA) Initiatives Identified
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Direct initiative:
Small Business Energy Audit and Energy Efficiency Program: This
program provides energy-efficiency assistance to small businesses
through small business development centers. Assistance may include,
among other things, access to information and resources on energy-
efficiency practices and financing options, training and educational
activities, and free energy audits.
Indirect initiative:
Certified Development Company 504 Loan Program: This program provides
small business with long-term, fixed-rate financing for the purchase
of land, buildings, and long-life capital equipment. The program is
for the purposes of, among other things, helping businesses reduce
energy consumption by at least 10 percent; increase the use of
sustainable or low-impact design; and promote the use of renewable
fuel sources.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses and SBA information.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Selected Questionnaire Responses for Federal Initiatives
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
We identified 11 federal agencies with 94 initiatives that foster
green building in the nonfederal sector, which includes private,
state, local, and tribal entities. We developed a questionnaire about
the initiatives and submitted it to the agencies. The following tables
provide selected questionnaire responses for each of the initiatives,
by agency. We are reporting responses that elaborate on our report
findings and for which agencies provided the most complete information.
Table 16: Department of Agriculture (USDA) Selected Questionnaire
Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: High Energy Cost Grant Program:
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Rural Energy for America; Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Rural Housing Service Section 502 Direct and Guaranteed
Loan Assistance and Section 504 Loan and Grant Assistance for the
Rural Economic Development Energy Efficiency initiative; Green
building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Check];
9: [Check]
10: [Check];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Rural Housing Service Section 502 Direct and Guaranteed
Loan Assistance for the Rural Energy Plus Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Check];
9: [Check];
10: [Check];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Rural Housing Service Section 514 and Section 516
Assistance for Farm Labor Housing; Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Check];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Rural Housing Service Section 515 Assistance for Low-
income, Elderly, and Handicapped Housing; Green building elements
fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Check];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Rural Utilities Service Electric Loan Programs;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: P;
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Total; Green building elements fostered:
1: 6;
2: 8;
3: 5;
4: 5;
5: 4;
6: 4;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 2;
8: 5;
9: 5;
10: 2;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 3;
16: 2;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 7;
18: 6;
19: 6;
20: 5;
21: 4;
22: 8;
23: 5.
[End of table]
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
Table 17: Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) Selected Questionnaire Responses for Initiatives
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: Advanced Building Energy Technologies Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Embedded Intelligence in Buildings Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Improved Building Energy Performance Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Total:
Green building elements fostered:
1: 3;
2: 3;
3: 0;
4: 3;
5: 3;
6: 0;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 3;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 3;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 3;
16: 0;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 0;
18: 0;
19: 0;
20: 0;
21: 0;
22: 0;
23: 3.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
[End of table]
Table 18: Department of Defense (DOD) Selected Questionnaire Responses
for Initiative That Fosters Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: Environmental Security Technology Certification Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Total;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 1;
2: 1;
3: 1;
4: 1;
5: 0;
6: 0;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 0;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 1;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 0;
16: 0;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 1;
18: 0;
19: 0;
20: 1;
21: 0;
22: 0;
23: 1.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
[End of table]
Table 19: Department of Education (ED) Selected Questionnaire
Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: Impact Aid Construction Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: State Fiscal Stabilization Fund;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Total;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 2;
2: 2;
3: 2;
4: 2;
5: 2;
6: 2;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 2;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 0;
16: 0;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 0;
18: 0;
19: 2;
20: 0;
21: 0;
22: 1;
23: 2.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
[End of table]
Table 20: Department of Energy (DOE) Selected Questionnaire Responses
for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: Building Technologies Program/Commercial Building
Integration/Commercial Building Initiative;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Building Technologies Program/Emerging Technologies;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Building Technologies Program/Home Energy Score Pilot
Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Building Technologies Program/Residential Buildings
Integration;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Building Technologies Program/Residential Buildings
Integration/Solar Decathlon;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Building Technologies Program/Technology Validation and
Market Introduction/Building Energy Codes;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Energy Efficient Building Systems Regional Innovation
Cluster Initiative;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Energy Transformation Acceleration Fund/Advanced Research
Projects Agency/Building Energy Efficiency Through Innovative
Thermodevices;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business
Technology Transfer programs;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Superior Energy Performance Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Title 17 Loan Guarantee Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities/Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Check];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities/State
Energy Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Weatherization and Intergovernmental Activities/Tribal
Energy Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Check];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Weatherization and Intergovernmental
Activities/Weatherization Assistance Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Weatherization Innovation Pilot Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Total;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 9;
2: 17;
3: 11;
4: 12;
5: 7;
6: 3;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 4;
8: 1;
9: 8;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 7;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 13;
16: 4;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 12;
18: 14;
19: 10;
20: 10;
21: 9;
22: 9;
23: 3.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
[End of table]
Table 21: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Selected
Questionnaire Responses for Initiative That Fosters Green Building in
the Nonfederal Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative:
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Total;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 0;
2: 1;
3: 0;
4: 0;
5: 0;
6: 0;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 1;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 0;
16: 0;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 0;
18: 1;
19: 0;
20: 0;
21: 0;
22: 0;
23: 0.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
[End of table]
Table 22: Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Selected
Questionnaire Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in
the Nonfederal Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: Capital Fund Recovery Act Competitive Grant Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Check];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Choice Neighborhoods;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Green Retrofit Program for Multifamily Housing;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Check];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Healthy Homes Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: ;
2: ;
3: ;
4: [Check];
5: ;
6: ;
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: HOME Investment Partnerships Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Hope VI Revitalization Grant Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Check];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Indian Community Development Block Grant Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Indian Housing Block Grant Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Mark to Market Green Initiative;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Check];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Moving to Work Demonstration Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [A];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Check];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Check];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Multifamily Energy Innovation Fund;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: PowerSaver Pilot Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Check];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Public Housing Environmental and Conservation
Clearinghouse;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Public Housing Operating Fund, Energy Performance Contract
Incentives;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Check];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Public Housing Operating Fund, Streamlining Energy
Performance Contracting;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Section 203(b) Mortgage Insurance, Energy Efficient
Mortgage;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Check];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Section 203(b) Mortgage Insurance, Weatherization;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Check];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Section 203(k) Mortgage Insurance, Section 203(k)
Streamlined Mortgage Insurance;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities (Section
811);
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Check];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Supportive Housing for the Elderly (Section 202);
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Check];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Check];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Sustainable Communities Initiative, Capacity-building
Program and Tools Clearinghouse;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Empty];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Sustainable Communities Initiative, Housing-Transportation
Integration Research;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Empty];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Sustainable Communities Initiative, Sustainable
Communities Regional Planning Grants;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Empty];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Sustainable Communities Initiative, Sustainable Community
Challenge Grants;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Empty];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Title I Property Improvement Loan Insurance Program (Title
I Program);
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Check];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Transformation Initiative, Energy Efficiency and Green
Building Across Affordable Housing Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Check];
12: [Empty];
13: [Check];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Transformation Initiative, Green and Healthy Homes;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Transformation Initiative, Sustainable Building Practice;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Transformation Initiative, Sustainable Communities Grant
Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Total;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 14;
2: 24;
3: 16;
4: 20;
5: 10;
6: 15;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 6;
8: 2;
9: 16;
10: 4;
11: 4;
12: 5;
13: 1;
14: 0;
15: 8;
16: 7;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 5;
18: 20;
19: 8;
20: 11;
21: 11;
22: 5;
23: 10.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
[A] GAO could not confirm with HUD whether contracts are provided
under the Moving to Work Demonstration Program.
[End of table]
Table 23: Department of Transportation (DOT) Selected Questionnaire
Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: Federal Transit Administration Bus and Bus Facilities
Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Federal Transit Administration Environmental Management
Systems Training and Technical Assistance;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Federal Transit Administration Transit Investments for
Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Federal Transit Administration Urbanized Area Formula
Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Formula Grants for Other than Urbanized Areas;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Total;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 1;
2: 5;
3: 5;
4: 5;
5: 2;
6: 4;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 4;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 1;
16: 1;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 0;
18: 0;
19: 5;
20: 3;
21: 0;
22: 4;
23: 4.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
[End of table]
Table 24: Department of the Treasury Selected Questionnaire Responses
for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: Accelerated Depreciation Deduction for Specified Energy
Property;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Check];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Check];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Energy Investment Tax Credit;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Check];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: New Energy Efficient Home Credit;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Check];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Nonbusiness Energy Property Tax Credit;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Check];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Payments for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax
Credits;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Residential Energy Conservation Subsidy Exclusion;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Check];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Check];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Check];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Total;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 0;
2: 8;
3: 0;
4: 0;
5: 0;
6: 1;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 1;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 4;
14: 3;
15: 0;
16: 0;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 5;
18: 3;
19: 1;
20: 0;
21: 1;
22: 1;
23: 1.
[End of table]
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
Table 25: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Selected Questionnaire
Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: Brownfields Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Empty];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Design for the Environment Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Empty];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Energy Star Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Environmentally Responsible Redevelopment and Reuse;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Green Communities Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Empty];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Green Infrastructure Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Empty];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Check];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Green Power Partnership;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Healthy Communities--Clean, Green, and Healthy Schools;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Heat Island Reduction Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Indoor Environments Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Industrial Materials Recycling Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Empty];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Empty];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Small Business Innovation Research Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Smart Growth Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Check];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Tribal Green Building Initiative;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Check];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: WasteWise;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Empty];
3: [Empty];
4: [Empty];
5: [Check];
6: [Empty];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Empty];
22: [Check];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: WaterSense;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Empty];
3: [Check];
4: [Empty];
5: [Empty];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Empty];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Check];
19: [Check];
20: [Check];
21: [Check];
22: [Check];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Total;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 11;
2: 12;
3: 10;
4: 10;
5: 9;
6: 12;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 4;
8: 1;
9: 6;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 5;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 16;
16: 7;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 15;
18: 11;
19: 17;
20: 15;
21: 10;
22: 16;
23: 6.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
[End of table]
Table 26: Small Business Administration (SBA) Selected Questionnaire
Responses for Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal
Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Initiative: Certified Development Company 504 Loan Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Empty];
2: [Check];
3: [Empty];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Empty];
16: [Check];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Empty].
Initiative: Small Business Energy Audit and Energy Efficiency Program;
Green building elements fostered:
1: [Check];
2: [Check];
3: [Check];
4: [Check];
5: [Check];
6: [Check];
Types of assistance provided:
7: [Empty];
8: [Empty];
9: [Check];
10: [Empty];
11: [Empty];
12: [Empty];
13: [Empty];
14: [Empty];
15: [Check];
16: [Empty];
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: [Check];
18: [Empty];
19: [Empty];
20: [Empty];
21: [Empty];
22: [Empty];
23: [Check].
Initiative: Total;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 1;
2: 2;
3: 1;
4: 2;
5: 2;
6: 2;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 1;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 1;
16: 1;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 2;
18: 0;
19: 0;
20: 0;
21: 0;
22: 0;
23: 1.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
[End of table]
Table 27: Total for All Agencies--Selected Questionnaire Responses for
Initiatives That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
Key:
1. Integrated design;
2. Energy conservation or efficiency;
3. Water conservation or efficiency;
4. Indoor environmental quality;
5. Environmental impact of materials;
6. Sustainable siting or location; Key:
7. Contracts;
8. Direct loans;
9. Grants;
10. Mortgage-related assistance;
11. Rent subsidies;
12. Research and development;
13. Tax credits;
14. Tax deductions;
15. Technical assistance;
16. Other;
17. Businesses;
18. Individual property owners or renters;
19. Local governments;
20. Nonprofit organizations;
21. Public housing agencies;
22. State governments;
23. Other.
Agency: USDA;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 6;
2: 8;
3: 5;
4: 5;
5: 4;
6: 4;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 2;
8: 5;
9: 5;
10: 2;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 3;
16: 2;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 7;
18: 6;
19: 6;
20: 5;
21: 4;
22: 6;
23: 5.
Agency: NIST;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 3;
2: 3;
3: 0;
4: 3;
5: 3;
6: 0;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 3;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 3;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 3;
16: 0;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 0;
18: 0;
19: 0;
20: 0;
21: 0;
22: 0;
23: 3.
Agency: DOD;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 1;
2: 1;
3: 1;
4: 1;
5: 0;
6: 0;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 0;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 1;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 0;
16: 0;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 1;
18: 0;
19: 0;
20: 1;
21: 0;
22: 0;
23: 1.
Agency: ED;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 2;
2: 2;
3: 2;
4: 2;
5: 2;
6: 2;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 2;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 0;
16: 0;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 0;
18: 0;
19: 2;
20: 0;
21: 0;
22: 1;
23: 2.
Agency: DOE;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 9;
2: 17;
3: 11;
4: 12;
5: 7;
6: 3;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 4;
8: 1;
9: 8;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 7;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 13;
16: 4;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 12;
18: 14;
19: 10;
20: 10;
21: 9;
22: 9;
23: 3.
Agency: HHS;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 0;
2: 1;
3: 0;
4: 0;
5: 0;
6: 0;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 1;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 0;
16: 0;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 0;
18: 1;
19: 0;
20: 0;
21: 0;
22: 0;
23: 0.
Agency: HUD;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 14;
2: 24;
3: 16;
4: 20;
5: 10;
6: 15;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 6;
8: 2;
9: 16;
10: 4;
11: 4;
12: 5;
13: 1;
14: 0;
15: 8;
16: 7;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 5;
18: 20;
19: 8;
20: 11;
21: 11;
22: 5;
23: 20.
Agency: DOT;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 1;
2: 5;
3: 5;
4: 5;
5: 2;
6: 4;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 4;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 1;
16: 1;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 0;
18: 0;
19: 5;
20: 3;
21: 0;
22: 4;
23: 4.
Agency: Treasury;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 0;
2: 8;
3: 0;
4: 0;
5: 0;
6: 1;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 1;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 4;
14: 3;
15: 0;
16: 0;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 5;
18: 3;
19: 1;
20: 0;
21: 1;
22: 1;
23: 1.
Agency: EPA;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 11;
2: 12;
3: 10;
4: 10;
5: 9;
6: 12;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 4;
8: 1;
9: 6;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 5;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 16;
16: 7;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 15;
18: 11;
19: 17;
20: 15;
21: 10;
22: 16;
23: 6.
Agency: SBA;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 1;
2: 2;
3: 1;
4: 2;
5: 2;
6: 2;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 0;
8: 0;
9: 1;
10: 0;
11: 0;
12: 0;
13: 0;
14: 0;
15: 1;
16: 1;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 2;
18: 0;
19: 0;
20: 0;
21: 0;
22: 0;
23: 1.
Agency: Total;
Green building elements fostered:
1: 48;
2: 83;
3: 51;
4: 60;
5: 39;
6: 43;
Types of assistance provided:
7: 16;
8: 9;
9: 47;
10: 6;
11: 4;
12: 21;
13: 5;
14: 3;
15: 45;
16: 22;
Recipients expected to directly benefit:
17: 47;
18: 55;
19: 49;
20: 45;
21: 35;
22: 42;
23: 36.
Source: GAO analysis of questionnaire responses.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix IV: GAO's Questionnaire for Federal Agencies with Initiatives
That Foster Green Building in the Nonfederal Sector:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Questions About Federal Initiatives To Foster Green Building Among
Local, State, And Private Entities:
Introduction:
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), an
independent, legislative branch agency, is examining how the federal
government is fostering green building among local, state, and private
entities across the United States”that is, for buildings that are not
owned or leased by the federal government. GAO is undertaking this
work at the request of the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal
Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and
International Security of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs. Specifically, we are first seeking to
identify federal government initiatives to foster green building among
local, state, and private entities active during fiscal year 2011,
including those funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
of 2009 (ARRA). Second, we are seeking to collect certain information
about these initiatives, including the progress federal agencies are
making and the challenges they face, if any, in implementing them.
For our purposes, a green building is one that, through the design,
building, rehabilitation, and/or maintenance or operation of the
building, incorporates one or more of the following: (1) integrated
design principles, (2) energy conservation or efficiency measures, (3)
water conservation or efficiency measures, (4) indoor environmental
quality measures, (5) measures to reduce the environmental impact of
materials, or (6) sustainable siting or location measures.
For our purposes, a green building initiative is any program or
activity related to one or more of these six elements, regardless of
funding, that an agency is implementing for the purpose of fostering
green building among local, state, and private entities. These
initiatives may include direct financial support, research and
development, technical assistance, tax credits, tax deductions or
other types of support or assistance provided by the federal
government to local, state, and private entities.
Through this questionnaire, we are asking federal agencies to provide
certain information about the initiatives that we have identified.
After we have gathered the responses, we plan to speak with pertinent
agency officials to discuss in more detail the agency's role in
implementing the initiatives and to collect other information related
to this review, such as the progress that the agency has made in
implementing the initiative and the challenges it has faced, if any.
Please complete this questionnaire and return it to one of the
individuals mentioned below by May 5, 2011. When returning the
questionnaire, please attach any relevant supporting documentation to
your email.
If you have any questions or comments about this questionnaire, please
call or e-mail John Barrett at (202) 512-5902 (barrettj@gao.gov) or
Nathan Morris at (617) 788-0553 (morrisn@gao.gov). Thank you very much
for your assistance.
Instructions:
This questionnaire can be filled out using MS-Word and returned via e-
mail to barrettj@gao.gov or morrisn@gao.gov. Please complete this
questionnaire and return it by May 5, 2011.
Please use your mouse to navigate by clicking on the field or check
box you wish to answer.
To select a check box or button, simply click on the center of the box
and an 'X' will appear.
To change or deselect a check box response, simply click on the check
box and the 'X' will disappear.
To answer a question that requires that you write a comment, click on
the answer box and begin typing. The box will expand to accommodate
your answer.
Section I: General Information For Initiative:
We have collected some preliminary information on your initiative,
which is listed below.
a) Initiative Title: [Pre-populated information];
b) Implementing Agency: [Pre-populated information];
c) Implementing Office: [Pre-populated information];
d) Description: [Pre-populated information].
1) Is the information provided above about the initiative correct and
complete?
Yes:
No:
If you answered No, what information is incorrect or incomplete, and
what is the correct or complete information? Please use the space
provided below.
2) Has this initiative been active at your agency at any time during
fiscal year 2011?
Yes:
No:
If you answered No, please explain in the space provided below.
3) Is your agency mandate external required to implement this
initiative by statute, executive order or other to the agency?
a) Statute?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
b) Executive Order?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
c) Other mandate external to the agency?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
d) Other? [Please specify]:
If you answered Yes to any of the above, please provide the name or
citation for the specific statute(s), executive order(s) or other
mandate(s) in the space provided below.
If you answered No to all of the above, please explain the impetus for
the initiative in the space provided below.
4) Does your agency have documents describing how this initiative
should be implemented?
Yes:
No:
If Yes, please provide electronic copies of these documents when
returning this questionnaire or provide link(s) to the relevant
website(s) in the space provided below.
5) For our purposes, a green building is one that, through the design,
building, rehabilitation, and/or maintenance or operation of the
building, incorporates one or more of the elements defined below.
Additionally, a green building initiative is any program or activity
related to one of these six elements, regardless of funding, that an
agency is implementing for the purpose of fostering green building
among local, state, and private entities.
Based on the definitions below, which of the following element(s) of
green building pertain to this initiative?
a) Integrated design: Integrated design can involve the use of a
collaborative, integrated planning and design process that initiates
and maintains an integrated project team in all stages of a building's
lifecycle, including planning, building, and deconstruction.
Integrated design can also entail the use of ongoing maintenance and
operation to verify performance of building components and systems and
help ensure that design requirements are met:
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
b) Energy conservation/efficiency: The energy conservation/efficiency
element can involve the use of strategies to reduce energy
consumption, such as through ongoing maintenance; energy use
monitoring; efficient design and construction; efficient appliances,
systems and lighting; the use of renewable and clean sources of energy
generated on-site or off-site; and other innovative strategies:
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
c) Water conservation/efficiency: The water conservation/efficiency
element can involve the use of various strategies to reduce water
consumption inside and outside the building, such as through more
efficient appliances, fixtures and fittings inside and water-wise
landscaping outside:
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
d) Indoor environmental quality: The indoor environmental quality
element can involve the use of various strategies to enhance indoor
environmental quality through ventilation, thermal comfort, acoustics,
moisture control, daylighting, pollution source control, and the use
of low-emission materials:
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
e) Environmental impact of materials: The environmental impact of
materials element can involve the use of various strategies to reduce
the environmental impact of materials such as using sustainably grown,
harvested, and transported products and materials; using products with
high recycled and/or biobased content; reducing or eliminating the use
of ozone depleting compounds; and promoting the reduction of waste
through reuse and recycling:
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
f) Sustainable siting or location: The sustainable siting or location
element can involve using certain strategies when deciding on building
location, including discouraging development on previously undeveloped
land; minimizing a building's impact on ecosystems and waterways;
encouraging regionally appropriate landscaping; rewarding smart
transportation choices; controlling stormwater runoff; and reducing
erosion, light pollution, heat island effect and construction-related
pollution:
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
If needed, please use the space provided below to provide further
details regarding your answers above.
If you answered No to all green building elements listed above, please
stop and return this questionnaire or contact us to discuss whether
your initiative should be included in our review (see page one for
contact information). Thank you very much for your time.
6) For this initiative, what type(s) of assistance or support does it
provide to foster green building?
a) Contracts?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
b) Direct loans?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
c) Grants?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
d) Mortgage-related assistance?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
e) Rent subsidies?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
f) Research and development?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
g) Tax credits?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
h) Tax deductions?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
i) Technical assistance?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
j) Other? [Please specify]:
If needed, please use the space provided below to provide further
details regarding your answers above.
7) What type(s) of buildings are eligible for this initiative?
a) Education?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
b) Hospital/Health Care?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
c) Industrial?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
d) Laboratory?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
e) Lodging?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
f) Office?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
g) Residential (owner-occupied or rental property)?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
h) Retail?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
i) Warehouse?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
j) Other? [Please specify]:
8) Which entities are expected to directly benefit from the
assistance or support provided by this initiative?
a) Businesses?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
b) Individual property owners or renters?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
c) Local governments?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
d) Nonprofit organizations?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
e) Public housing agencies?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
f) State governments?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
g) Other? [Please specify]:
9) If possible, please describe two or three examples of specific
projects funded or supported by this initiative in the space provided
below.
If needed, please use the space provided below to provide further
details about your answers in Section 1 of this questionnaire.
Section II: Funding For Initiative:
10) For each of the following, please indicate whether your agency
dedicated funds to this initiative. "Dedicated funds" means that the
Congress or the agency set aside money to fund the initiative.
a) From the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
b) In fiscal year 2009 (excluding ARRA)?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
c) In fiscal year 2010?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
d) In fiscal year 2011?
Yes:
No:
Not sure:
11) If you answered Yes to any of the above in Question 10, please
provide the exact or estimated amount dedicated to the green building
portion of this initiative. Please round to the nearest $100,000
(e.g., $1.2 million).
a) From the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)?
Funds Dedicated ($ million):
If estimated, please describe how this estimate was determined:
b) In fiscal year 2009 (excluding ARRA)?
Funds Dedicated ($ million):
If estimated, please describe how this estimate was determined:
c) In fiscal year 2010?
Funds Dedicated ($ million):
If estimated, please describe how this estimate was determined:
d) In fiscal year 2011?
Funds Dedicated ($ million):
If estimated, please describe how this estimate was determined:
For your answers above in Question 11, please provide electronic
copies of any relevant budget documents when returning this
questionnaire. If these documents are not available, please explain in
the space provided below.
For your answers above in Question 11, if needed, please use the space
provided below to further explain any limitations in estimating the
funds dedicated to the green building portion of this initiative.
12) Does this initiative, or any portion of it, currently have an
expiration date?
Yes:
No:
Not Sure:
Not Applicable:
If you answered Yes, please provide date:
If you answered Yes, and if only a portion of the initiative is set to
expire, please provide details on the portion that is set to expire in
the space provided below.
If you answered Yes, please provide electronic copies of documents
supporting this expiration date when returning this questionnaire or
provide link(s) to the relevant website(s) in the space provided
below. If these documents are not available, please explain in the
space provided below.
If needed, please use the space provided below to provide further
details about your answers in Section II of this questionnaire.
Section III: Goals And Performance Metrics For Initiative:
13) Has your agency established goals for the green building portion
of this initiative?
Yes:
No:
Not Sure:
Not Applicable:
If you answered Not Sure or Not Applicable, please explain using the
space provided below.
If you answered Yes, does your agency have documents describing the
goals for the green building portion of this initiative?
Yes:
No:
Not Sure:
Not Applicable:
If you answered Not Sure or Not Applicable, please explain using the
space provided below.
If you answered Yes, please provide electronic copies of these
documents when returning this questionnaire or provide link(s) to the
relevant website(s) in the space provided below. If these documents
are not available, please explain in the space provided below.
14) Has your agency established performance metrics or measures for
the green building portion of this initiative?
Yes:
No:
Not Sure:
Not Applicable:
If you answered Not Sure or Not Applicable, please explain using the
space provided below.
If you answered Yes, does your agency have documents describing the
performance metrics or measures for this initiative?
Yes:
No:
Not Sure:
Not Applicable:
If you answered Not Sure or Not Applicable, please explain in the
space provided below.
If you answered Yes, please provide electronic copies of these
documents when returning this questionnaire or provide link(s) to the
relevant website(s) in the space provided below. If these documents
are not available, please explain in the space provided below.
If needed, please use the space provided to provide further details
about your answers in Section III of this questionnaire.
Section IV: Other Information For Initiative:
15) Are there any additional data, further sources of information, or
comments that would help us further understand and report on how this
initiative is being implemented? If so, please describe and/or provide
link(s) to the relevant website(s) in the space provided below. If
applicable, please provide electronic copies of the relevant documents
when returning this questionnaire. Alternatively, you can suggest that
further discussion about this initiative be conducted through follow-
up conversations with GAO.
16) Please provide the contact information for a representative from
your agency for follow-up questions we may have about this initiative:
Agency/Organization:
Contact Name:
Email:
Phone:
Please remember to attach any relevant supporting documentation when
returning this questionnaire to either barrettj@gao.gov or
morrisn@gao.gov.
Thank you for your time!
[End of section]
Appendix V: Comments from the Department of Energy:
Department of Energy:
Washington, DC 20585:
October 28, 2011:
Mr. Frank Rusco:
Director:
Natural Resources and Environment:
United States Government Accountability Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Mr. Rusco:
This letter responds to the recommendations for executive action
contained in the U.S. General Accountability Office (GAO) report,
Green Building: Federal Initiatives for the Nonfederal Sector Could
Benefit from More Interagency Collaboration (GAO-12-79). Specifically,
the report recommends the following action:
* To help assess the results of the investments in individual federal
initiatives to foster. green building in the nonfederal sector, as
well as their combined results, the Secretaries of Energy and of
Housing and Urban Development should work with the Administrator of
EPA to take the lead in developing an approach-including, if
necessary, exploring the need for any additional legislative or
executive authority, such as the authority to establish a coordinating
entity (e.g., an interagency working group)-with the other eight
federal agencies that implemented the initiatives to collaborate on
identifying performance information, such as shared goals and common
performance measures, for green building initiatives for the
nonfederal sector.
Recognizing the need for increased interagency collaboration, in 2009
DOE and EPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance and
expand federal programs, including the Energy Star and the National
Building Rating Program, to advance energy efficiency which is
critical to addressing climate change, economic, and energy security
issues. The Energy Star label identifies top performing, cost-
effective products, homes, and buildings. The National Building Rating
program will provide efficiency ratings and assessments of cost-
effective improvements for homes and buildings. The MOU helps ensure
that this collaborative effort will be effective, efficient and avoid
duplication. It also will help ensure effective communication with
other Agencies and stakeholders, maximize the use of resources, and
build upon Agency and stakeholder efforts to date.
Although we maintain that the key recommendation for executive action
is correct and have taken measures to further engage other agencies,
we would like to emphasize certain differences between the federal and
non-federal sectors that make efforts to identify performance measures
challenging. As part of its conclusion, GAO states on page 20 of the
report that, "Because federal agencies have experience with measuring
progress in the federal sector, they are well positioned to apply this
experience to measuring such progress in the non-federal sector as
well." Although this may seem obvious, there are critical differences
between these two sectors. While the federal government can easily
collect performance information on federal buildings, it is not the
case in the private sector. In many instances, the private building
owners though willing to make "green" improvements, are disinclined to
monitor the resulting benefits (energy or water saved, for example).
The federal government may not be able to require monitoring in all
instances from the non-federal sector to measure progress.
We look forward to continuing to work with GAO on helping the federal
government meet its energy goals for the non-federal sector. If you
have any questions concerning the report or our response, please
contact me or Mr. Roland Risser, Program Manager, Buildings Technologies
Program at (202) 287-1691.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Kathleen B. Hogan:
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency:
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy:
[End of section]
Appendix VI: Comments from the Department of Housing and Urban
Development:
U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Development:
Office Of Departmental Operations and Coordination:
Washington, D.C. 20410-0003:
October 21, 2011:
Mr. Chad M. Gorman:
Senior Analyst, Natural Resources & Environment:
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO):
301 Howard St., Suite 1200:
San Francisco, CA 94105:
Dear Mr. Gorman,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) draft report GA0-12-79, entitled "Green
Building: Federal Initiatives for the Nonfederal Sector Could Benefit
from More Interagency Collaboration."
The focus of this draft report was to identify current initiatives by
federal agencies to foster green building in the nonfederal sector;
and to determine what is known about the results of these initiatives.
As part of the review, GAO sent questionnaires to the 11 agencies
implementing the initiatives identified, including the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); examined HUD documents; and
spoke with HUD officials. GAO identified 95 federal initiatives
implemented by those 11 agencies. About two-thirds of these
initiatives are implemented by HUD (29 initiatives). EPA (18), and DOE
(17). GAO recommends that HUD, DOE, and EPA work together to develop
and implement an approach for the 11 agencies to collaborate on
assessing the results of federal green building initiatives for the
nonfederal sector. HUD welcomes this recommendation.
Our edits to the draft report are attached. General comments were
provided by individual program offices that identify areas in the
draft report, either in the introduction or in an appendix, which HUD
found to be ambiguous or require further clarification.
HUD would like to express its appreciation for the opportunity to
participate in GAO's Green Building Initiatives review. HUD recognizes
the professional and courteous manner in which GAO staff worked with
HUD staff to obtain the information and data needed to complete its
review and issue its draft report.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Inez Banks-Dubose:
Director, Office of Departmental Operations and Coordination:
Enclosure:
[End of section]
Appendix VII: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
GAO Contacts:
Frank Rusco, (202) 512-3841 or ruscof@gao.gov; or David J. Wise, (202)
512-2834 or wised@gao.gov:
Staff Acknowledgments:
In addition to the contacts named above, Karla Springer (Assistant
Director), Maria Edelstein (Assistant Director), John Barrett, Cindy
Gilbert, Chad M. Gorman, Gary Guggolz, Nathan Morris, Carol Herrnstadt
Shulman, and Barbara Timmerman made key contributions to this report.
[End of section]
Footnotes:
[1] Concentrations of greenhouse gases--including carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, and synthetic chemicals such as fluorinated
gases--trap heat in the atmosphere and prevent it from returning to
space.
[2] We have reported on agencies' responses to these directives on
several occasions. See GAO, Federal Energy Management: Agencies Are
Taking Steps to Meet High-Performance Federal Building Requirements,
but Face Challenges, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-22] (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 30,
2009); Status of GSA's Implementation of Selected Green Building
Provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007,
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-111R] (Washington,
D.C.: Oct. 31, 2008); and Federal Energy Management: Addressing
Challenges through Better Plans and Clarifying the Greenhouse Gas
Emission Measure Will Help Meet Long-term Goals for Buildings,
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-08-977] (Washington, D.C.:
Sept. 30, 2008).
[3] GAO, Green Affordable Housing: HUD Has Made Progress in Promoting
Green Building, but Expanding Efforts Could Help Reduce Energy Costs
and Benefit Tenants, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-46] (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 7,
2008).
[4] The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit organization that
runs Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an
internationally recognized green building certification system. Van
Ness Feldman, P.C., et al., Using Executive Authority to Achieve
Greener Buildings: A Guide for Policymakers to Enhance Sustainability
and Efficiency in Multifamily Housing and Commercial Buildings
(Washington, D.C.: Apr. 29, 2010).
[5] DOE, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Federally Funded
Programs Related to Building Energy Use: Overlaps, Challenges, and
Opportunities for Collaboration (Richland, Wash.: October 2010).
[6] Signatories include senior officials from the departments of
Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services,
Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, the Interior,
Justice, Labor, State, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs; the
Environmental Protection Agency; the Executive Office of the
President; the General Services Administration; the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration; the Office of Personnel
Management; and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
[7] We identified these five sources on the basis of background
research and interviews with knowledgeable stakeholders from nonprofit
groups and trade associations, who stated that these sources represent
leading efforts to promote green building nationwide.
[8] The 11 agencies include the departments of Agriculture, Defense,
Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban
Development, Transportation, and the Treasury; the Environmental
Protection Agency; the National Institute of Standards and Technology;
and the Small Business Administration.
[9] In 2008, we identified several examples of national and regional
green building standards for commercial, single-family, and
multifamily properties. In addition to LEED, other examples of
national green building standards include EPA's Energy Star for
Qualified Homes, Enterprise Community Partners' Green Communities
Criteria, and the National Association of Home Builders' Model Green
Home Building Guidelines. Examples of regional green building
standards include the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Associations &
Southface Energy Institute's EarthCraft House, Washington Department
of Economic Development and Trade's Evergreen Sustainable Development
Criteria, and the Seattle Office of Housing's SeaGreen Guidelines. See
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-46].
[10] Pub. L. No. 102-486, § 152, 106 Stat. 2776, 2884 (1992).
[11] American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Pub. L. No. 111-
5, 123 Stat. 115 (2009).
[12] According to EPA information, the ability of insulation to resist
heat is measured by its R-Value. The higher the R-Value, the better
the insulation is designed to perform.
[13] Pub. L. No. 103-62, 107 Stat. 285 (1993).
[14] GAO, Agencies' Annual Performance Plans under the Results Act: An
Assessment Guide to Facilitate Congressional Decisionmaking,
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD/AIMD-10.1.18]
(Washington, D.C.: February 1998); and The Results Act: An Evaluator's
Guide to Assessing Agency Annual Performance Plans, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-10.1.20] (Washington, D.C.: April
1998).
[15] GAO, Results-Oriented Government: Practices That Can Help Enhance
and Sustain Collaboration among Federal Agencies, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-15] (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 21,
2005).
[16] Pub. L. No. 111-352, 124 Stat. 3866 (2011).
[17] According to DOE documentation, a building envelope includes a
building's walls, roofs, floors, windows, and doors.
[18] Public housing under HUD's purview is commonly considered to be
in the federal sector, but for the purposes of this review, because
the buildings are privately owned and not subject to the same energy
efficiency and other green building requirements that federal
buildings face, we have included them in the nonfederal sector.
[19] GAO, Executive Guide: Effectively Implementing the Government
Performance and Results Act, [hyperlink,
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO/GGD-96-118] (Washington, D.C.: June
1996).
[20] Todd Trehubenko and Deidre Schmidt, Multifamily Utility Usage
Data: Issues and Opportunities (Boston, Mass., June 16, 2011),
prepared for Living Cities.
[21] Green Building Practices in the Federal Sector: Progress and
Challenges to Date, 111th Cong. 16 (2010) (statement of Kevin
Kampschroer, Director, Office of Federal High-Performance Green
Buildings, U.S. General Services Administration).
[22] Cambridge Housing Authority participates in HUD's Moving to Work
demonstration program, which allows public housing authorities to
design and test innovative, locally designed housing strategies for
low-income residents. Cambridge Housing Authority is one of about 12
housing authorities that, under the program, can seek exemptions from
existing rules and provide utility subsidies to residents based on
utility consumption levels "frozen" when they signed their agreement
with HUD. If resident utility consumption drops due to energy savings
investments made by the housing authority, HUD's subsidy will not
decrease, and housing authorities can retain any of the difference
between the "frozen" subsidy and residents' lower utility consumption
costs.
[23] [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-15].
[24] Such practices include (1) define and articulate a common
outcome; (2) establish mutually reinforcing or joint strategies; (3)
identify and address needs by leveraging resources; (4) agree on roles
and responsibilities; (5) establish compatible policies, procedures,
and other means to operate across agency boundaries; (6) develop
mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and report on results; (7) reinforce
agency accountability for collaborative efforts through agency plans
and reports; and (8) reinforce individual accountability for
collaborative efforts through performance management systems. See
[hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-06-15].
[25] The 2009 DOT-EPA-HUD partnership established a framework of
principles that the agencies can use to coordinate federal housing,
transportation, and environmental investments, as well as promote
public health and the environment.
[26] These programs include DOT's Transportation Investment Generating
Economic Recovery Discretionary Grant Program and HUD's Community
Challenge Planning Grants.
[27] Energy Star is a voluntary program that EPA began in 1992 to
encourage the purchase of energy-efficient computers and monitors as
part of the agency's broader efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Since 1996, EPA has shared management responsibilities for
the program with DOE. The program is designed to identify appliances
and other products that deliver the same or better performance as
comparable models while using less energy.
[28] The U.S. Green Building Council is a nonprofit organization that
developed and runs Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED)--an internationally recognized green building certification
system.
[29] The Green Globes assessment and rating system is used in Canada
and the United States. In the United States, the license to promote
and further develop the Green Globes system is owned by the Green
Building Initiative, which is an accredited standards developer under
the American National Standards Institute--the only accreditor of U.S.
voluntary consensus standards developing organizations.
[30] Enterprise Community Partners is a nonprofit organization that
provides development capital and expertise to create affordable homes
and rebuild communities through public-private partnerships with
financial institutions, governments, community organizations, and
others.
[31] Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings,
Memorandum of Understanding (January 2006). Signatories include senior
officials from the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense,
Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and
Urban Development, the Interior, Justice, Labor, State,
Transportation, and Veterans Affairs; the Environmental Protection
Agency; the Executive Office of the President; the General Services
Administration; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; the
Office of Personnel Management; and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
[32] During this review, we did not evaluate the overall effectiveness
of green building practices in general or the effectiveness of any of
the six green building elements that we identified.
[33] We defined federal initiatives that could foster green building
to include those that provide direct financial support, research and
development, technical assistance, or other types of federal
assistance to nonfederal entities for promoting green building. Our
review does not include federal initiatives, such as the Low Income
Housing Tax Credit implemented by the Internal Revenue Service,
through which state or local authorities have the flexibility to
support green building practices, even though the initiatives have no
specific green building incentives or requirements.
[34] Based on feedback from agency officials, some initiatives that we
initially identified were excluded from our review for several
reasons, such as not being current (as of fiscal year 2011) or having
only proposed green building requirements or incentives that were not
yet implemented. Such programs include the Department of Housing and
Urban Development's Tax Credit Assistance Program and the Department
of Transportation's Capital Investment Grants New and Small Starts
Program.
[End of section]
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