Explore high-performance building policies across the United States
The USGBC Policy Library is an interactive tool that showcases policies that incentivize, require, or encourage high-performance buildings, including but not limited to LEED, across state and local jurisdictions in the United States.
Policies, including structural incentives like density and height bonuses and expedited or no-cost permitting, information mechanisms, and financial incentives like tax credits, grants and low interest loans - help drive the market for high-performance buildings.
If there is a high performance building policy, or any policy that references LEED, in your jurisdiction that is not shown on this map, we encourage you to submit them to publicpolicies@usgbc.org.
FAQ
USGBC defines a high performance building is a new building designed and constructed to perform well above code, or an existing building whose performance exceeds those of code buildings. For USGBC, it is a holistic concept for creating healthy, resource efficient buildings.
The USGBC Policy Library currently includes policies enacted at a state and local (municipal & county) level, of which we are aware. At present, the Library does not include federal policies or regulations.
We’ve included repealed, replaced, and amended policies to help users understand the evolution of green building policy in the United States.
We recommend one uses the Policy Library to find out what high performance policies exist where you live, and/or research example policies that you would like to see enacted in your community. To do so, users can click on one or more of the filters on the left-hand side of the Library to narrow down the types of policies that are displayed. Users may also click on a state to view all policies in that state, or use the zoom-in function to see all policies in a region or area.
USGBC sources its data from public records. The provided library of policies is neither exhaustive nor subject to government review. To help us make the policy library as comprehensive and accurate as possible, please contact publicpolicies@usgbc.org with any errors or policies that may be missing. While we attempt to maintain the information accurately, users of the library should contact the appropriate government entity to verify a policy before relying upon it.
The USGBC Policy Library is updated by the Policy & Advocacy team, with contributions from volunteers. While USGBC strives to update the Library within a reasonable timeframe from the passage or modification of a high-performance building policy, there may be unintentional errors and omissions. Additionally, the team completes a data audit every summer. To that end, we recommend that Library users contact the appropriate government entity to verify a policy before relying upon it.
There are many ways to define ‘green building’ and many ways to leverage a policy towards green building goals (e.g.energy and water efficiency, benchmarking, building performance standards, or property assessed clean energy). The USGBC Policy Library includes policies that advance high performance buildings using third party certification where LEED would be included as a compliance option. Additional resources on green building policy include American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy’s State and City Scorecards, Building Performance Policy Center, Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions’ State Climate Policy Maps, or Climate XChange’s State Climate Policy Tracker.
Our suggested citation is:
U.S. Green Building Council. USGBC Policy Library. Available online at: public-policies.usgbc.org.
Please send inquiries to publicpolicies@usgbc.org. A member of USGBC’s Policy & Advocacy team will respond as soon as possible.