**GAO-09-111R**                      Published: Oct 31, 2008. Publicly Released: Oct 31, 2008.                  

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## Highlights

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, buildings in the United States account for 68 percent of the nation's total electricity consumption and 39 percent of its total energy consumption. In December 2007, Congress enacted the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) to, among other things, increase energy efficiency and the availability of renewable energy in federal buildings. Specifically, the act established new energy-related requirements and standards for federal buildings and for the agencies that oversee them. For example, it required the General Services Administration (GSA) to establish an Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings to coordinate green building information and activities within GSA and with other federal agencies. The act also required GAO to report to Congress on the implementation of certain provisions contained in EISA by October 31, 2008, and October 31, 2009. As determined in consultation with Congressional offices, this report fulfills the 2008 requirement by addressing the status of GSA's implementation of selected EISA requirements related to high-performance federal green buildings. We selected GSA as the focus of our initial report because GSA is responsible for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of thousands of federally owned or leased facilities and GSA's tenants represent a wide cross section of federal agencies. Specifically, this report provides general information on the status of GSA's (1) establishment of an Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings, (2) designation of energy managers for federally owned facilities, (3) adoption of a certification system for federal green buildings, and (4) efforts to accelerate the use of more cost-effective technologies and practices at GSA facilities.

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