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USGBC HQ Renovation

Rating system: LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiorsv4.1 - LEED v4.1
Last certified on:
Certification level: Platinum
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Project info

Size13,500 sq ft

The U.S. Green Building Council’s new headquarters in Washington, D.C. earned triple Platinum certification from the Green Building Certification Inc. (GBCI): LEED ID+C, WELL, and TRUE, marking the first time a project has achieved this feat. Architecture firm Perkins & Will played a key role in the USGBC space design; and SK&A structural engineering provided the demolition documentation and engineering design for various structural elements; along with JLL, owner's rep; GHT Limited, MEP engineering firm; Advanced Building Performance, Inc., commissioning agent, Hotbed Technology for audio visual work; and general contractor, HITT Contracting.

Awards and recognitions

  • 2023 NAIOP Award of Merit for Best Sustainable Project
  • 2023 ASID Honors - FOCUS Wellness – Large Firm Merit Recipient
  • 2023 District of Columbia AIA Citation for Resources (AIA DC Chapter)
  • 2023 Premiere Design Awards, Finalist-Design with Purpose (IIDA Mid-Atlantic Chapter)

Materials reuse and circularity

USGBC’s former workspace was used as a materials resource, providing the design team with ample products and materials to reuse and repurpose.

  • 95% of the original construction materials were reused or diverted from landfills, including ceiling tiles, ceiling grid, drywall, glass panels, hardware, millwork, and terrazzo flooring.
  • 60% of furniture and supplies were reused. To further avoid landfill, the USGBC offered furniture to staff, donated items, and sold items at auction.
  • Multiple offices were kept in place and intact, reducing demolition waste.

Sustainable and Efficient Operations

Measuring and monitoring operational data was a primary goal for the USGBC, with the objective of analyzing, benchmarking, and continuing to improve the headquarters’ carbon output.

  • Energy consumption is metered and pulled from the building's BMS (Building Management Systems) into a data acquisition server. The overall reduction in energy use intensity (EUI) is 3%, and overall, the project’s greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 58%.
  • Water meters monitor water consumption and incentivize ways to improve conservation; currently, water use intensity (WUI)--a metric calculated by dividing the total water consumed by the space in one year by the total gross floor area—is being reduced by 41%.
  • Specialized monitors collect indoor air quality data, including temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, particulate matter 10 and 2.5, and total volatile organic compounds.

Carbon reduction strategies

Precedent-setting reductions in embodied carbon and life cycle emissions were achieved by employing sustainability and wellness strategies throughout the design process.

  • The Building Transparency Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) Tool allowed the firm to research and specify materials with a low embodied carbon impact.
  • Completion of a tallyCAT Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to provide further insights into opportunities to reduce emissions in embodied, operational, and end-of-use scenarios.
  • The space achieved 80% reused and repurposed materials, resulting in an outstanding 44% reduction in carbon emissions below the Carbon Leadership Forum baseline for an interior buildout.

Waste reduction

To record information for TRUE, the janitorial team helps with daily tracking of waste streams, and waste data is reported annually to maintain certification.

  • The USGBC space saw a robust waste diversion rate of 94.3% and repurposed and reused furniture, equipment and supplies from the previous space to reduce both operational and embodied carbon.

Explore the materials used in the space:

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