The year 2021 was a busy and productive one for USGBC’s advocacy efforts. Dominating the year was the arrival of the Biden administration and congressional activity on COVID-19 recovery and infrastructure, even as many states and cities pushed ahead with climate-focused building policies. We are grateful for the ongoing partnerships with USGBC member volunteers and organizational allies that help amplify this critical work.

Staying active in a busy year for green building advocacy

In 2021, USGBC worked to advance the visibility and necessity of buildings as a climate solution. We presented a primer on buildings and climate policy to congressional staff at EESI’s Climate Boot Camp and contributed to initiatives at the CLEEN Project. We met with key officials of the administration both in the early days and throughout the year to keep buildings policy on the front burner. We collaborated with ally organizations and member companies to amplify our messages.

We also engaged in Congress, meeting with upwards of 50 offices to highlight priorities for infrastructure: federal buildings, critical facilities, green schools, affordable housing and tax incentives for private sector green building. Through these efforts, USGBC emerged as a leader within the nongovernmental and efficiency advocates community in these priority areas. We were pleased to see Congress enact the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November with some of our core "asks" intact. The act includes billions of dollars for USGBC priorities such as energy efficiency improvements to federal buildings, clean energy upgrades for schools, airport terminal modernization and EV charging stations. In some places, the act specifically cites LEED certification as a pathway for demonstrating that a project meets the bill’s sustainability objectives.

Also in 2021, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., introduced the GREEN Buildings Jobs Act (S.832) and Reps. John Sarbanes, D-Md., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced the Federal Clean Buildings Jobs Act (H.R. 2060)—both key USGBC-championed bills to push federal buildings toward low- and zero carbon goals, along with energy efficiency, health and resilience outcomes.

With President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, USGBC engaged with numerous congressional committees to support robust, targeted funding aimed at climate and equity outcomes. We saw a suite of these policy concepts come together in the House of Representatives package, passed by that chamber in November. The House bill is the largest-ever single investment in climate and contains tens of billions of dollars in tax incentives, grants, loans and other investments that could prove transformational for the green buildings sector in the coming years. We continue to work to pass the Build Back Better agenda, whether through a slimmed-down version of the House bill or, potentially, a series of individual bills.

USGBC also helped shape critical tax policy, including the 179D commercial efficiency deduction and the 45L new home/multifamily construction credit, both of which are poised for substantial updates and improvements in the pending Build Back Better bill.

Throughout 2021, USGBC engaged with officials across the federal agencies, including the White House Climate Task Force, the Council on Environmental Quality, the General Services Administration (GSA), the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and others.

As the new administration hit its stride, new executive orders and policies were issued on federal sustainability and related topics, with direction on climate mitigation and adaptation and reflecting many USGBC policy priorities for public buildings. GSA issued its P100 Facilities Standards, retaining LEED Gold as its green building program for new construction and major rehabilitation. As we kick off 2022, USGBC is prioritizing its work with agencies as they initiate new programs in the Infrastructure Act, as well as implementing buildings and building materials programs directed in the executive orders.

Advancing state green building policies

USGBC continued to engage in green building policy in the U.S. states, as well. More than 5,000 bills were screened last year!. We tracked 170 bills through the legislative process, and engaged on over 75 bills through letters, direct advocacy and other tactics, which resulted in several new laws impacting green building. For example:

In Virginia, Delegate Dan Helmer’s HB 2001 was enacted, adding resilience and EV infrastructure to the existing green building program for state buildings and creating a new green building requirement for local government building projects. Following passage, USGBC has collaborated with the Virginia Energy Efficiency Council and USGBC members to provide fact sheets and help educate local officials.
New Mexico became the first state to incentivize LEED Zero. The state legislature adopted increased funding, more stringent thresholds and other changes to the state’s Sustainable Building Tax Credit program with input from USGBC national, working with members and the state agency.
Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp promoted LEED and Georgia-grown wood for state building projects in a tweet in September. This signal opens up a new chapter for USGBC, following a seven-year period during which a 2015 law was deemed to restrict state agencies from using LEED.
Rhode Island’s legislature considered amendments to its Green Buildings Act; USGBC worked with a volunteer member to provide input on this bill, as well as to submit comments to the Rhode Island Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council. These projects continue into 2022.

In addition, in several states, we worked with legislators to introduce new bills that would advance green building. For example, legislators in Michigan and New Jersey sponsored bills to establish new LEED incentives. These policies help drive green building activity, as well as helping states to meet their goals.

Beyond state legislatures, we worked with governors’ offices and agencies on various policies. As just one example, we continued our contact with the Texas State Energy Conservation Office on its forthcoming guidance related to state high-performance buildings and the anticipated identification of LEED and other options for projects.

Engaging in emerging policies

USGCB published a new brief on building performance standards and LEED, highlighting the potential ways that LEED can supplement and add value to this emerging regulatory approach, as well as the role of Arc in such standards. We offered comments to the Minnesota Department of Commerce on implementation of the ECO Act and ways that LEED and the GridOptimal pilot credit can help provide a way to verify buildings are “grid-friendly” and in line with the act’s load management objectives. We also engaged with partners and jurisdictions on beneficial electrification, helping to lead conversations among efficiency advocates and national environmental groups to create better consensus around electrification policy.

Greening affordable housing

Affordable housing continues to be a priority area for USGBC attention. Work in 2021 focused on advocacy on state qualified allocation plans (QAPs), which establish criteria for a state to implement federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).

USGBC commented on 18 states’ plans in 2021 and met with numerous state housing finance agencies. By the end of the year, 22 states had LEED included in their plans, either as a requirement (in eight states) or incentivized through selection points. Additionally, in Massachusetts, we worked to introduce a new bill to require all LIHTC-funded new housing to be green and explored the prospects for legislation in several others.

We also heavily engaged with Congress to support new funding for affordable housing in the Build Back Better Act—while also ensuring that those investments come with strong sustainability criteria—and to improve tax incentives and other policies to be more accessible to affordable housing projects.

We welcome all members to join us in this ongoing advocacy for high-quality, efficient and healthy housing.

Connecting the USGBC community with governors and legislators

Not to be deterred by the pandemic, USGBC supported volunteers with virtual and in-person Advocacy Days in states such as Arizona, Minnesota and Texas. We reached out to all 50 governors and the mayor of the District of Columbia to highlight USGBC and policy resources. We also sent letters to state legislators across the country, including congratulatory letters to newly elected officials.

Soon, we will be celebrating this year's Top 10 States for LEED, and we are working to educate elected officials in the top 10 states about USGBC and LEED, so that they can be top of mind as policies are considered.

Supporting cities

2021 saw a new batch of cities adopting or updating green building leadership policies and incentives for private sector LEED projects. USGBC supports local governments with resources and advice on green building policies. A new brief highlights how teams across the organization, from LEED for Cities to Advocacy to Technical Customer Service to LEED Coaches, support cities in their sustainability and resilience goals.

Continuing to make healthy green schools a priority

USGBC and its Center for Green Schools are working to advance green schools, school funding and climate change education. Together with additional partners, we helped provide policymakers with essential information on school facility needs and solutions. We connected them with stories from school sustainability leaders, through events such as a congressional briefing in July. We shared multiple resources with federal and state audiences. We provided critical input to the Rebuild and Reopen America’s Schools Act and provisions in the infrastructure and reconciliation bills related to school facilities, including a section in the new law providing $500 million in grants for K–12 clean energy improvements.

Staying connected in 2022

We are growing and aiming to do even more in 2022! We will be ramping up communications and commentary on policy developments at all levels of government, including a new podcast series. Look for the hashtag #Advocacy@USGBC on LinkedIn and stay informed.

Join the Advocacy Working Group for timely updates and opportunities to get involved. Whether it's a five-minute call or email to your elected representative, or jumping in to help on an Advocacy Day, we appreciate our volunteers and everything they do to further the green building mission and vision.

Contact USGBC's Advocacy and Policy team

2021 in advocacy: Green building progress and policies