SACRAMENTO, CA — California's portfolio of green real estate now includes 25 state office buildings that have been certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Standards.
The Golden State released its current tally of green building certifications this week.
California's Green Building Directory lists more than 200 state projects, excluding schools and colleges, that have received or are seeking certification as new buildings or existing structures.
Four of the more recently certified existing buildings that were retrofitted for resource efficiency are the:
California is working to make its state buildings more environmentally responsible under its Green Building Initiative. Launched by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004, the initiative calls for the state to reduce grid-based energy usage in its buildings by 20 percent by 2015.
The action plan for the initiative requires that all new state buildings and major renovation projects of existing state buildings that are 10,000 square feet or larger attain at least LEED-Silver certification. Projects involving buildings that are smaller than 10,000 square feet are to follow the same green design standards, but certification is not required. Existing state buildings that are larger than 50,000 square feet are required to meet LEED standards to the maximum extent that is cost effective no later than 2015.
Elihu Harris State of California Office Building, designed by AECOM -- Image courtesy of AECOM Design.