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uildings and development are responsible for a broad range of impacts 

on human health and the environment. EPA has developed numerous programs over the 

years to address these impacts. While these programs have achieved significant success, 

EPA recognizes that improved building performance can best be achieved by concentrating on 

the whole building and its impact on its occupants, its surroundings, and the larger environment. 

Thus, in 2008, the Agency launched the EPA Green Building Strategy to enhance coordination of 

these programs towards the overall goal of facilitating the mainstream adoption of effective green 

building practices. This strategy is designed to address the whole environmental footprint and life 

cycle of buildings, including siting and development.

EPA GREEN BUILDING Strategy

Building-related Impacts

Building-related impacts on the environment and public 

health reflect a broad range of concerns. Among other 

impacts, buildings account for:

- Nearly 40% of U.S. energy use. 

- About 40% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions (the 

primary greenhouse gas (GHG)), along with other GHG 

and air pollutant emissions.

- Over two-thirds of all non-industrial secondary materials generated in the U.S.

- More than 10% of U.S. freshwater usage.

- Health risks from indoor environments—where Americans spend nearly 90% of their time.

EPA’s Strategic Role

The goal of the EPA Green Building Strategy is to facilitate the mainstream adoption of effective green building 

practices. Recognizing that many other organizations are 

already working toward this goal, EPA will focus primarily on two roles. These roles, described below, will be 

undertaken with a spirit of partnership, collaboration, and 

consensus-building with others who share our green building interests.

What is Green Building?

At EPA, we define green 

building as the practice of 

maximizing the efficiency 

with which buildings and their 

sites use resources—energy, 

water, and materials—while 

minimizing building impacts 

on human health and the 

environment, throughout 

the complete building life 

cycle—from siting, design, 

and construction to operation, 

renovation, and reuse.
Strengthening the Foundations of Green Building

The green building field is growing rapidly, thanks to the 

support of many public, private and non-profit organizations, including EPA. Many building professionals are using 

voluntary green building programs and standards to guide 

their efforts. Green building is not a static term but one 

which will continuously develop as new approaches evolve 

to reducing the environmental footprint of buildings. EPA 

has the expertise and credibility to raise awareness of 

green building practices and to work with this emerging 

field to ensure that it promotes continual improvement and 

employs practices that most effectively advance environmental and human health protection. The Green Building 

Strategy commits EPA to strengthening the scientific, 

technical, economic and institutional foundations of green 

building. This includes working with other organizations 

and interested stakeholders to continually advance green 

building standards and metrics. Recognizing that much of 

the green building progress, to date, has been built upon 

breakthroughs in technology, practice, or understanding, 

EPA also will enhance the Agency’s support for green building research and development. This research is needed 

to ensure green building product quality and reliability, 

advance knowledge of environmental and health issues 

associated with buildings, and increase understanding of 

the economic costs and benefits of green building. EPA will 

support research through our own programs and laboratories and through collaboration with other academic, 

governmental and research organizations. 

Raising Public Awareness of Building-related Impacts and 

Opportunities

As the nation’s leading environmental agency, EPA has a 

unique platform for communicating with the public, other 

government agencies, and key stakeholders. EPA will increasingly use that platform to help raise awareness about 

the environmental impacts and opportunities associated 

with buildings, so that consumers and other organizations can make better informed decisions when purchasing building-related products or services. Recognizing 

that most of the attention to green building, to date, has 

focused on new commercial and public buildings, EPA will 

increase its focus on untapped opportunities for greening 

existing buildings and homes, which comprise the majority 

of the U.S. building market. In particular, the Agency will 

focus on providing green building information and opportunities to homeowners. While surveys suggest that many 

people would like to reduce the environmental impacts of 

their homes, many either do not know where to start or are 

overwhelmed by the breadth of information available. One 

additional way in which the Agency will raise awareness is 

by continuing to advance the greening of our own facilities 

and communication about these efforts. 

Looking Ahead

The EPA Green Building Strategy addresses a major sector of the economy that presents significant opportunities 

for improving environmental and public health protection. 

By working with others who share EPA’s interests and by 

strategically coordinating the Agency’s own building-related 

programs, EPA will play an important role in bringing about 

the widespread adoption of effective, high-performance 

green buildings for the benefit of this and future generations. 

For more information about EPA’s Green Building Strategy, please visit: 

www.epa.gov/greenbuilding

EPA GREEN BUILDING Strategy

EPA-100-F-08-073

November 2008