Green Construction
Designing more sustainably
The U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings are a testament to leadership in sustainable design. Green construction practices can significantly reduce the amount of waste that enters landfills, encourage renewable energy use and consumption, and enable water reduction technologies, among other benefits. In addition, LEED buildings emphasize healthy practices such as low-VOC materials, which enhance indoor air quality for occupants. Achieving LEED Gold certification for 100% of new municipal buildings (New Construction), Operations & Maintenance (O&M),and increasing the percentage of residential and non-residential buildings that achieve green construction certifications will bring substantial environmental and economic benefits to the City of Santa Monica and its residents.
How are we doing?
The City is working to increase the number of LEED-certified buildings in Santa Monica. LEED-certified building ratings range from Platinum, the highest level of achievement, to Gold, Silver, Bronze, and finally Certified, the most basic level. LEED for New Construction addresses design and construction activities for both new buildings and major renovations of existing commercial buildings (USGBC).
In 2017, the City adopted an internal Sustainable Building Administrative Instruction that set the target for all new municipal construction to be LEED Gold or higher.
As part of the City’s commitment to leadership in green building, the City is seeking Living Building Challenge certification for the new City Hall East, which completed in 2020. The Living Building Challenge is the most rigorous green building standard available, requiring net-zero energy and water performance, among other ambitious requirements.
City LEED Projects
The City owns and operates 31 facilities over 5,000 square feet. As of 2021, 11 have received LEED Gold certification or higher. This does not include completed projects with pending applications or incomplete projects. Currently, 35 percent of municipal buildings are LEED Gold or higher.