8 Oct 2024

Identifying Sustainability and Resilience Investments to Implement the 2022 US Army Climate Strategy: Fiscal Year 2023 Sustainable Design and Development Update

Abstract: This report offers a detailed assessment of the US Army’s adherence to sustainable design and development (SDD) policies, encompassing the US Army Sustainable Design and Development (SDD) Policy memorandum; Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 1-200-02, High Performance and Sustainable Building Requirements; Executive Orders 14,008 and 14,057; the Army Climate Strategy; and required LEED v4 certifications. The evaluation comprises five primary tasks, including quarterly reports on US Army military construction (MILCON) project LEED v4 certifications, analysis of US Army LEED v4 certifications and trends, research and implementation of the intermediate objectives in the 2022 US Army Climate Strategy focusing on strategies to achieve climate goals, an analysis ex-plaining the advantages of Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal (PEER) certification for Army microgrids, and industry knowledge gained from participation in the Greenbuild 2022 conference. Key recommendations developed in this assessment include enhancing transparency in LEED reporting, considering PEER certification, expediting climate strategy implementation, and active participation in industry gatherings. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for informed decision-making, aiding the US Army in advancing its sustainable design and development initiatives to meet future environmental and sustainability objectives.

1 Nov 2023

Analysis of the Army Transition from LEED 2009 to LEED v4, with Updated LEED 4.1 Credits

Abstract: The objective of this effort was to identify and recommend an approach for Army green building certification that ensures Army projects meet federal and Army sustainability requirements during the transition from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 2009 to LEED v4. The first Army LEED v4 project was registered for certification with the Green Building Certification Institute in 2014. Since then, over 860 Army projects were registered for LEED v4 certification. As of the third quarter of FY20, when this report was written, 2 projects achieved LEED Silver certification. Other Army projects teams documented difficulty achieving the required LEED v4 Silver certification due to difficult site conditions, budget constraints, facility types, or project requirements. Commercial-sector project teams also had difficulty certifying with LEED v4, forcing the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to reconsider the credits and metrics project teams found challenging. The USGBC revised the troublesome credits and now offers LEED v4.1 pilot credits that can be used for any project registered with LEED v4. To assist Army project teams, this research investigates difficult-to-achieve LEED v4 cred-its and their possible replacement with LEED v4.1 pilot credits. The report concludes with guidance on implementing the updated version of the LEED rating system from v4 to v4.1.