WASHINGTON - The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is upgrading the requirement for new federal building construction from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver to LEED Gold certification. The new requirement will also apply to major renovation projects.

GSA announced that the higher rating would be reflected in its Facilities Standards for the Public Buildings Service by the end of calendar year 2010. For projects funded prior to fiscal year 2010 that are now being designed, GSA is requiring that LEED Gold prerequisites and other specific requirements be incorporated into ongoing designs whenever possible after considering budget and schedule constraints.

For GSA’s leased properties, the requirement remains at the LEED Silver certification for new construction lease projects of 10,000 square feet or more. For leases in existing buildings, LEED for commercial interiors is optional at the request of the tenant agencies. GSA administers more than 361 million square feet of space in 9,600 federally owned and leased facilities.

For more information, visit gsa.gov/sustainabledesign.

Publication date: 11/22/2010