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New Commercial
Commercial buildings encompass a broad spectrum of the market: municipal buildings, commercial offices, restaurants and retail stores, laboratories and hospitals, schools.
The Navy League Building was the first project to participate in Arlington County's green building bonus density program. The LEED Silver project also earned the seal of approval from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for an innovative rainwater harvesting system that reuses stormwater onsite. Photo Credit: ©2005 Boris Feldblyum

Before you develop a green building program for commercial buildings, investigate what standards, tools and resources are already in use.

Groups or individuals may already be supporting development of skills, knowledge and capacity. For example, there are 70 chapters of the US Green Building Council throughout the nation, and many of these chapters have satellite branches serving nearby communities.

Over the next 25 years, direct carbon dioxide emissions from commercial buildings are projected to increase 1.8 percent each year through 2030 – faster than any other sector.

When coupled with indirect carbon dioxide emissions attributable to buildings — such as transportation of building materials, construction and demolition debris, and travel to and from buildings — the result is an even greater impact on the climate.

High-performance green buildings demonstrate that the technology to make substantial reductions in energy and carbon dioxide emissions already exists.