Net-Zero Emissions Buildings and Operations
Greenhouse Gas Reduction
NASA continues to ensure that new facilities are designed and constructed to meet the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings requirements, and each earns at least a LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council or equivalent Green Globes independent third-party certification.
Building 4200 of Marshall’s administrative complex is prepared for demolition in the fall of 2022. Building 4200 was Marshall’s administrative headquarters from 1963 until 2020. The project will make way for a newer, more energy-efficient facilities, providing worksites for new generations of engineers, scientists, and support teams.
NASA/MSFC
What’s Up?
New construction to meet guiding principles, Executive Orders (EOs), and improve the operation of buildings.
Top 2 Priorities to Revitalize Programs and Accelerate Progress:
- Reassessment of existing buildings
- NASA’s program to commission existing buildings ensures that older buildings operate at peak efficiency. NASA will expand the commissioning program to also reassess current high-performing, energy-efficient buildings to confirm they still meet the goals of the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings. The intent of combining complementary analyses of commissioning and sustainable recertification of existing buildings is to fully ensure that older existing buildings operate at their greatest efficiencies to meet program requirements.
- Infrastructure repair
- With major projects funded annually to repair, renovate, and replace aging infrastructure, NASA is evaluating whether a certification system would provide a flexible system of criteria and performance objectives for infrastructure projects. An independent certification system would verify NASA project teams are identifying sustainable, resilient, and equitable approaches during the planning, design, and construction that will continue throughout the infrastructure project’s operations, maintenance, and end-of-life phases.
EO 14057: Executive Order on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability directs federal agencies to develop strategies for enhancing the resilience of critical supply chains to reduce vulnerabilities and ensure the availability of essential goods.
