New Buildings and Infrastructure
Sustainability Resources

EPA has extensive programs and information to help you create and maintain buildings that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle , including:

• Advanced Refrigeration Technology
• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Environmentally Preferable Building Materials and Specifications
• Indoor Air Quality
• Managing Pests & Pesticides
• Smart Growth and Sustainable Development
• Waste Reduction
• Water Use / Water Management

Advanced Refrigeration Technology

• GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership: The GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership works with food retailers to promote advanced technologies, strategies, and practices that reduce refrigerant charges and emissions of ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases.
• Advanced Refrigeration Technology: Advanced refrigeration technology helps food retailers reduce refrigerant charges and refrigeration emissions that harm the ozone layer and contribute to climate change.

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Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

• EPA and U.S. Department of Energy's ENERGY STAR® program promotes partnerships with homebuilders, office building managers, product manufacturers, and many other organizations to improve the energy efficiency of homes, buildings, and various building components and appliances.
  • ENERGY STAR for Business is a program to help businesses improve their buildings' energy performance.
• Responsible Appliance Disposal Program – Our Partners recover ozone-depleting chemicals from old refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, and humidifiers.
• Combined Heat and Power Partnership – This program promotes the use of CHP to reduce the environmental impact of power generation.
• See also the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• EPA's Green Power Partnership provides information about renewable power sources, benefits of using them, and how to participate in the Partnership.
• Department of Energy: Bringing clean, reliable and affordable energy technologies to the marketplace

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Environmentally Preferable Building Materials and Specifications

• EPA's Industrial Materials Recycling Program provides information on how industrial materials, such as coal combustion products, foundry sand, and construction and demolition debris, can be recycled to meet the material needs of our construction industry. Industrial materials can be recycled in construction applications because they have many of the same chemical and physical properties as the virgin materials they replace. In some cases, they can even improve the quality of a product.
• EPA's Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program aims to make the environment a factor in federal purchasing of all kinds of products, including building products.
  • EPA's Database of Environmental Information on Products includes product-specific information (e.g., environmental standards and guidelines or contract language) developed by government programs, both domestic and international, as well as third parties.
• EPA's Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines program designates products that are or can be made with recovered materials, and recommends practices for buying these products
• EPA’s Coal Combustion Products Partnership (C2P2) program provides detailed information on coal combustion products (CCPs), their applications, and the environmental and economic benefits of their use. CCPs are used in a variety of building applications

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Indoor Air Quality

• Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) (sometimes also referred to as Indoor Environmental Quality or IEQ) is a critical component of constructing "green" homes and buildings. EPA's Indoor Environments Program offers several IAQ tools and programs designed to protect occupant health, promote comfort and productivity, and enhance the durability of structures.
  • IAQ Building Education and Assessment Model (I-BEAM) helps building professionals establish and maintain good indoor air quality.

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Managing Pests & Pesticides

• EPA's Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP) forms partnerships with pesticide users to reduce the potential health and environmental risks associated with pesticide use and implement pollution prevention strategies.
• Integrated Pest Management: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices.

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Smart Growth and Sustainable Development

• EPA's Green Infrastructure program promotes a new approach to stormwater management that is cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.
• EPA's GreenScapes program provides cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for large-scale landscaping that are designed to help preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution.
• EPA's Brownfields Initiative works with public, private and non-profit partners to sustainably reuse sites whose redevelopment may be complicated by the real or perceived presence of contaminants.
• EPA's Heat Island Reduction Initiative works with communities and other partners to reduce the heat island effect caused by urban patterns of development.
  • Cool Roofs provides information about energy saving roofs.
  • Cool Pavements provides information about solar energy and enhance water evaporation.
  • Green Roofs provides information about water and energy saving vegetated roofs.
  • Trees and Vegetation
• Parking Spaces / Community Places explores new, flexible parking policies that can encourage growth and balance parking needs with other goals.
• Smart Growth On-Line provides details on the various aspects of planning and development that make up smart growth.
• Smart Growth is Smart Business report shows how building better communities boosts the bottom line.

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Waste Reduction

• Reducing and recycling C&D materials conserves landfill space, reduces the environmental impact of producing new materials, creates jobs, and can reduce overall building project expenses through avoided purchase/disposal costs.
• EPA's GreenScapes program provides cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for large-scale landscaping that are designed to help preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution.
• EPA's Industrial Materials Recycling Program provides information on how industrial materials, such as coal combustion products, foundry sand, and construction and demolition debris, can be recycled to meet the material needs of our construction industry. Industrial materials can be recycled in construction applications because they have many of the same chemical and physical properties as the virgin materials they replace. In some cases, they can even improve the quality of a product.
• EPA’s Responsible Appliance Disposal Program supports the collection of used refrigerators, freezers, window air conditioning units, and dehumidifiers, and implementation of best practices for the recycling/disposal of these units in compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
• EPA’s GreenChill Advanced Refrigeration Partnership is a cooperative alliance with food retailers to reduce refrigerant emissions, which harm the ozone layer and contribute to climate change.

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Water Use / Water Management

• EPA's WaterSense program promotes and enhances the market for water-efficient products and services and educates homeowners, businesses, landscapers and others. WaterSense also develops performance criteria for water efficient products and services.
• EPA's GreenScapes program provides cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for large-scale landscaping that are designed to help preserve natural resources and prevent waste and pollution.
• EPA's Green Infrastructure program promotes a new approach to stormwater management that is cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.