BRIEF

Policy Summary

This policy identifies sustainability standards for new construction and major renovation projects at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Definitions and applicability thresholds used throughout this policy include:

1. New construction project: A project that includes any combination of engineering, acquisition of services or materials, fabrication, erection, installation, assembly, or demolition to create a new building, structure, or other real property asset.
2. Major new construction project: A new construction project that exceeds 25,000 gross square feet or has a baselined total project cost of $50M or more.
3. Major renovation project: A project that involves the addition, expansion, improvement, or replacement of an existing real property asset with a total project cost of at least $3.6M in FY2023 ^[1]

^[1] The $3.6M major renovation cost threshold is derived from 42 USC §6834, which identified a threshold for major renovation projects of $2.5 million in 2007 dollars. This threshold is updated annually to account for inflation at www.gsa.gov/annualprospectusthreshold.

The Implementation Guide for the Berkeley Lab Sustainability Standards for New Construction and Major Renovations (Implementation Guide) includes a matrix that summarizes the applicability of policy items to project types, as defined above. New facility construction and major renovations present opportunities to pursue integrated, performance-driven designs to minimize energy consumption and other environmental impacts associated with buildings at the lowest possible cost. The purpose of this policy is to:

1. Identify minimum sustainability targets for new construction and major renovation projects.
2. Drive continuous improvement in the area of high-performance, low-cost building design.
3. Establish a practical path to comply with applicable federal and/or University of California (UC) sustainability requirements.
4. Minimize life-cycle costs within the constraints of capital budgets.
5. Demonstrate leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts.

Who Should Read This Policy

This policy applies to persons involved with the design and management of new building construction and major renovation projects undertaken by Berkeley Lab. Section D.3.f below, "Acquisition of High-Performance Computing Systems," also applies to persons involved with the acquisition of major energy-consuming equipment or systems.

To Read the Full Policy, Go To:

The POLICY tab on this wiki page

Contact Information

Chief Sustainability Officer
Operations
sbl@lbl.gov

POLICY

A. Purpose

This policy identifies sustainability standards for new construction and major renovations at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Definitions and applicability thresholds used throughout this policy include:

1. New construction project: A project that includes any combination of engineering, procurement, fabrication, erection, installation, assembly, or demolition to create a new building, structure, or other real property asset.
2. Major new construction project: A new construction project that exceeds 25,000 gross square feet or has a baselined total project cost of $50M or more.
3. Major renovation project: A project that involves the addition, expansion, improvement, or replacement of an existing real property asset with a total project cost of at least $3.6M in FY2023.^[2]

^[2] The $3.6M major renovation cost threshold is derived from 42 USC §6834, which identified a threshold for major renovation projects of $2.5 million in 2007 dollars. This threshold is updated annually to account for inflation at www.gsa.gov/annualprospectusthreshold.

The Implementation Guide for the Berkeley Lab Sustainability Standards for New Construction and Major Renovations (Implementation Guide) includes a matrix that summarizes the applicability of policy items to project types, as defined above. New facility construction and major renovations present opportunities to pursue integrated, performance-driven designs to minimize energy consumption and other environmental impacts associated with buildings at the lowest possible cost. The purpose of this policy is to:

1. Identify minimum sustainability targets for new construction and major renovation projects.
2. Drive continuous improvement in the area of high-performance, low-cost building design.
3. Establish a practical path to comply with federal and University of California (UC) sustainability requirements.
4. Minimize life-cycle costs within the constraints of capital budgets.
5. Demonstrate leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts.

B. Persons Affected

This policy applies to persons involved with the design and management of new building construction and major renovation projects undertaken by Berkeley Lab. Section D.3.f below, "Acquisition of High-Performance Computing Systems," also applies to persons involved with the acquisition of major energy-consuming equipment or systems. 

C. Exceptions

Exceptions to this policy require formal approval by the Laboratory Director. Exceptions are expected to be rare and not violate the spirit of the policy.

With respect to the definition of major new construction: Different federal directives related to sustainable major new construction reference one or both thresholds (square footage and total project cost) to define applicability. Since major new construction projects at Berkeley Lab that exceed 25,000 gross square feet are also likely to have a baselined total project cost of $50M or more, and for simplicity, this policy consistently uses either threshold to define major new construction. If a project exceeds 25,000 gross square feet but has a total project cost less than $50M, it is likely atypical. Consult the Lab’s Chief Sustainability Officer to determine whether all major new construction policy items in this policy are applicable in this circumstance.

D. Policy Statement

1. General Approaches
   1. Net-Zero. Building designs for major new construction projects must meet federal net-zero building requirements. These requirements are met through policy items 2a, 2b, and 3a-e.
   2. Adaptation and Resilience.
      1. Design Criteria. All major new construction and major renovation projects shall set design criteria and incorporate design features to address climate adaptation and resilience to natural hazards. Until such time that Berkeley Lab adaptation and resilience design standards are formalized, design features shall include, where applicable:
         1. Defining a low ventilation rate mode, appropriate to the space type and controlled remotely, that would minimize bringing particulate matter from wildfire smoke into the building.
         2. Including capability for MERV 14 filtration to remove particulate matter.
         3. Designing and implementing low and minimum whole building power operating states.
         4. Meeting requirements in Section D.5, “Water Efficiency.”
      2. Separate Section. All major new construction projects must include a separate section for Climate Adaptation, Resilience, and Sustainability Requirements in Critical Decision documentation.
   3. Green Building. Building designs for major new construction projects must achieve a minimum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification and must meet Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings. High-energy mission-specific facilities (HEMSFs), non-office and non-laboratory portions of the project without directly applicable LEED criteria may be excluded from the project submitted for certification, consistent with US Green Building Council guidance. Infrastructure projects without directly applicable LEED and Guiding Principles criteria are not required to achieve green building certification. 
   4. Environmentally Preferred Products. All acquisitions, to the maximum extent practicable, must be:
      1. Energy-efficient - with applicable products certified by ENERGY STAR® or designated by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)
      2. Water-efficient - with applicable products being WaterSense® labeled or designated by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)
      3. Biobased - with applicable products designated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) BioPreferred® program
      4. Environmentally preferable - with applicable technology products registered under the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT®), and applicable products certified by US EPA Safer-Choice
      5. Non-ozone depleting - meeting rules under the US EPA Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program for acceptable and unacceptable substitutes for ozone-depleting substances, including refrigerants, and California SNAP
      6. Made with recovered materials - meeting the US EPA Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG) related to use of recycled materials
      7. Free of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) - with EPA recommendations forthcoming.                                                                                                                              Construction subcontracts and associated design specifications must reflect these acquisition requirements for new construction projects exceeding $250,000 and major renovation projects, when total project spend on applicable products identified above exceeds $100,000 in any subcontract year. Project documents, developed by the project design team, must include a list of applicable products by category, quantities purchased, the dollar expenditure for products meeting each sustainable product criteria, and the dollar expenditure for products not meeting the sustainable product criteria (deemed not practicable). Submittal review processes must verify that products to be acquired meet the specified design criteria.
         
         Sustainable acquisition requirements are practicable unless the following can be documented: (1) a product is not available meeting functional requirements, (2) the product is not available within a reasonable timeline, or (3) the price of the product is unreasonable. A price is unreasonable only when the total life-cycle costs, including measurable costs of any associated environmental impacts, are significantly higher for the sustainable product or service than for the non-sustainable product or service.
         
         The Green Procurement Compilation within SFTool acts as a comprehensive guide to applicable federal requirements by product type. SFTool (sftool.gov) is a General Services Administration online tool that provides sustainability resources including, but not limited to, federal requirements for acquisition of categorized goods and services. 
   5. Low Greenhouse Gas Concrete: Major new construction projects must include a project bid alternate in which the concrete for the project meets current GSA Low-Embodied Carbon Concrete Standards.
   6. Bird Safety: Where applicable, all projects should meet the city of Berkeley Bird Safe Building Requirements. Projects should minimize or avoid corner windows as they present high risk for bird collision. Major new construction projects with extensive glazed facades should conduct a bird safety study in alignment with the LEED V4.1 Innovation: Bird Collision Deterrence credit and address all areas that result in high threat factors with the appropriate treatment.
   7. Living Laboratory. Berkeley Lab will strive to cultivate a living laboratory in its buildings to: 
      
      1. Support, strengthen, and apply research.
      2. Ensure that new knowledge is systematically generated to inform future projects or improve current operations.
      3. Collect information on how a building performs relative to initial goals as important feedback to future designs.
         These goals will be balanced against practical requirements to deliver reliable and robust solutions.
2. Energy Sources
   1. Fossil Fuel. No new construction or major renovation project shall deploy on-site fossil fuel combustion (for example, natural gas) for space heating, water heating, or cooking.
   2. Renewables. New major construction projects must be designed to maximize photovoltaic electricity generation with a minimum array size and battery capacity as required by current California Energy Code, Section 140.10. The design team should consider the impact of other design choices, such as those related to mechanical systems or plumbing vent location, to maximize the available roof space for solar generation. A version of the photovoltaic system must be designed to operate in the event of a grid failure as a bid alternate. Project-specific renewable energy goals will be defined at the time the project is baselined for Critical Decision 2 (CD-2).
3. Energy Efficiency 
   1. Whole-Building Performance Targets. Building designs for major new construction projects must meet whole-building energy performance targets.
      1. By default, targets will be set at 35-50% of benchmark energy consumption values provided by Berkeley Lab that represent typical  energy consumption by building type for equivalent facilities circa 2000. Targets may be based on more applicable benchmarks if available. Targets will be finalized during conceptual design.
      2. Energy performance targets will be made more stringent over time (from project to project) following demonstrated practical achievement of initial targets, and recognizing efficiency-enabling technology advancements.
      3. Design teams must prepare as-operated energy models to confirm compliance with targets. Models are to be developed beginning at schematic design or CD-2, updated with building program and material changes at end of design and end of building commissioning. Energy models represent the best estimate of as-operated building energy use and peak demands, before accounting for on-site energy generation. Targets are intended to be verifiable in actual operation.
      4. Additional guidance on setting and implementing whole-building performance targets is provided in the Implementation Guide.
         
   2. Energy Code and Standard Compliance. In addition to meeting whole-building performance targets and California Energy Code (Title 24, Part 6 and reporting requirements in Title 24, Part 1), building designs for major new construction projects must demonstrate energy performance 30% lower than the maximum allowed by the ASHRAE Standard 90.1, before accounting for on-site energy generation. 10 CFR 433 provides additional details and identifies the version of ASHRAE Standard 90.1 to be applied.
   3. Passive Design Strategies. For all new construction and major renovation projects, refrigeration cycle-based cooling is to be deployed in office and other low cooling load spaces only after all other options are proven to be inadequate. The following mechanical design strategies shall be considered, as applicable, for all new construction and major renovation projects. 
      1. Building orientation
      2. Window and envelope design that limit peak solar loads, including limiting window-to-wall ratios in individual spaces and limiting exterior glazing.
      3. Shading and thermal mass.
      4. Reductions in internal thermal loads from lighting and equipment.
      5. High-performance glazing.
      6. High R-value for insulation.
      7. Pre-cooling with nighttime outside air.
      8. Occupant-controlled or automated natural ventilation.
      9. Low-energy means to improve personal comfort (such as ceiling fans).
      10. Maximizing daylight while controlling glare.
   4. Mechanical Design Strategies. For all new construction projects and major renovations, refrigeration cycle-based cooling may be employed in office and other low-heat-load spaces built in the mild Berkeley climate only after all other options are proven to be inadequate. In addition, the following mechanical design strategies shall be considered, as applicable, for all new construction and major renovation projects.
      1. Documenting design assumptions. Include the most likely maximum (MLM) loads, design loads, and lowest partial load conditions assumed for the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing in a basis of design document. For all equipment and subsystems, provide the applied margins of safety between the MLM and the design conditions to demonstrate that they represent an appropriate balance between extra capacity and the available budget.
      2. Cascading airflow that is transferred from office to laboratory spaces or to laboratory equipment areas. Note that exhaust air from laboratory spaces must exit the building without passing through non-laboratory areas.
      3. Capturing waste heat, such as heat recovery coils in the exhaust air stream.
      4. Utilizing waterside economizing - avoiding chiller use during full waterside economizing hours. Also consider air-cooled heat exchangers (dry-coolers) as an alternative heat rejection method instead of cooling towers.
   5. Lighting Systems. The following lighting design strategies shall be applied, as applicable, for all new construction and major renovation projects.
      1. Exterior and interior lighting controls must be installed consistent with mandatory requirements in the nonresidential California Energy ode (Title 24 Part 6) effective as of Critical Decision-2 (CD-2) approval. These requirements involve multi-level lighting controls, demand-response controls, automatic daylighting controls, occupant-sensing controls, security and egress lighting, secondary interior spaces, exterior luminaires, exterior building facade and ornamental hardscape lighting, and glare control.
      2. New LED fixtures must allow the replacement of the LED module and drivers while retaining the future housing.
      3. To simplify maintenance, if projects specify fixtures with replaceable LED lamps, the lighting design should try to reduce the variety of lamps used on the project.
      4. To avoid excessive 24-7 lighting, emergency lighting fixtures must be capable of being dimmed during unoccupied hours to meet the California Building Code requirement of maintaining at least 1 footcandle at the walking surface and at least 10 footcandles at exit stairways. The lighting control system must be integrated to the building fire alarm such that dimmed lighting fixtures are restored to full power upon activation of the fire alarm.
      5. To simplify energy efficient operation, lighting circuits and lighting controls must be designed to allow for separate control for any area with a distinct occupancy pattern. Lighting control areas should be aligned with mechanical control areas.
      6. Daylighting (with glare control) should also be considered as a primary source of illumination to reduce lighting energy use. See the Implementation Guide for guidance on targets for the design of daylighting and glare management.
      7. Unless Berkeley Lab provides alternative direction, interior lighting circuits shall be controlled using lighting control systems already in use at the Lab, rather than new lighting control systems. See the Implementation Guide for information about preferred lighting control systems.
      8. Project commissioning must include task-tuning of LED fixtures at the workplane to meet IESNA recommendations for individual spaces or alternate levels clearly marked on project drawings.
      9. Exterior light fixtures must limit light pollution by meeting a backlight, uplight, and glare (BUG) rating of 1 or lower.
      10. Exterior lighting circuits shall be integrated into the sitewide exterior lighting control system where feasible, in accordance with the Implementation Guide. 
   6. Acquisition of High-Performance Computing Systems. Solicitations for high-performance computing systems at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing (NERSC) facility must consider a life-cycle cost that includes estimated energy cost over the useful life of the equipment as an evaluation criterion.
4. Waste Minimization and Diversion. In support of zero waste (>90% diversion): 
   1. Minimization. Waste materials generated from renovation and construction projects are to be diverted from the landfill to the maximum extent feasible. Subcontracts for renovation and new construction must incorporate Waste Reduction program requirements.
   2. Diversion. For major new construction projects:
      1. The building basis of design must identify the nature and quantity of waste streams anticipated in the operating facility and be designed to divert at least 90% of this waste from the landfill.
      2. A minimum of 80% (by weight) of unregulated waste from the building construction and demolition project must be diverted from the landfill. Construction waste diversion is covered in Master Specification 017419 (see Section H, Implementing Documents). Note that excavated soils are not covered by this policy item. The Lab will provide a point of contact to coordinate with the subcontractor in advance of the construction start regarding compliance with the specification, which defines a construction waste diversion plan and reporting requirements. Materials should be source-separated if possible. If construction and demolition materials are commingled and sent to a mixed-recovery facility, that facility must have third-party verification of facility-average recycling rates as described in LEED V4 credit MRpc87.
   3. Minimizing Use of Batteries: Distributed use of batteries should be avoided where feasible. Equipment in restrooms (such as faucets, toilets, and soap dispensers) shall not use batteries for automation, except in cases where equipment is designated as accessible and a manual or non-battery-operated option is not available. Batteries used for emergency lighting are an exception.
   4. Bottle Fillers. Commercial water coolers installed as part of renovation and new construction projects shall include integrated water bottle fillers. This is intended to discourage the use of delivered water services. 
5. Water Efficiency. For all construction and major renovation projects:
   1. Laboratory Equipment. Water consuming laboratory equipment, including small (in-room) mechanical equipment to support laboratory equipment, shall follow standard practices to avoid future leaks when installing new water-consuming laboratory equipment. See the Implementation Guide for laboratory water guidance.
   2. Mechanical Heat Rejection Design. Designs should consider air-cooled heat exchangers (dry coolers) to minimize water consumption.
   3. Building Plumbing Fixtures. For major construction where LEED certification applies, (see Section D.1.c), projects must achieve the LEED credits for water use reduction from fixtures 30–40% below baseline. For all new construction and major renovation projects, plumbing fixtures must meet the flow specifications listed in the Plumbing Fixture Flow Requirements.
   4. Landscaping and Outdoor Water Use.
      1. Outdoor Water Use Reduction. Ongoing, automated irrigation watering at Berkeley Lab is prohibited. Three limited exceptions are provided:
         1. The Lab may do automated drip irrigation watering for a period up to 18 months to establish new landscaping.
         2. The Lab may designate very limited portions of some sites (for example, less than a quarter of the landscaped area) in which drought-tolerant landscaping receives drip irrigation that is controlled to provide the minimum amount of water needed to sustain plantings for limited periods of extreme drought.
         3. The Lab may do occasional watering by hand as necessary to prevent loss of landscaping.
      2. Plant Selection. New plant selection shall not include invasive species; shall focus on native, drought-tolerant, and climate appropriate selections; and shall conform to the Lab’s Vegetation Management Guide.
6. Transportation. Building designs for major new construction projects must:
   1. Achieve the Bicycle Facilities LEED credit (generally related to bicycle storage and showers).
   2. Maximize the installation of Level 2 electrical vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), with a minimum of at least two parking spaces associated with the project.
   3. Be served by the Berkeley Lab shuttle system or other means to reduce vehicle parking requirements.
7. Measurement, Reporting, and Reviews
   1. Metering and Metrics. Interval metering is necessary to adequately manage facility energy and water consumption in operations. All new construction and major renovation projects must meet the following.
      1. Interval metering is required for:
         1. Each energy commodity at the building level (electricity, natural gas, delivered chilled water, delivered hot water, and delivered steam).
         2. Inputs and outputs (energy and thermal flows) to major energy-using systems (cooling plants, heating plants, and water-heating systems) sufficient to calculate operational efficiencies.
         3. Electricity end-use branch metering as required per the nonresidential California energy building code (Title 24 Part 6) shall be included to separately monitor mechanical systems, lighting, plug loads, elevators, water systems, renewable energy, and process loads such as high-performance computing systems, data centers, server rooms, commercial kitchens, high-energy mission-specific facilities (HEMSFs), or other significant atypical electricity loads. Electricity metering for office and laboratory spaces should be separated wherever practical.
         4. Whole-building water consumption, cooling tower makeup, and blowdown. Wherever practical, provide submetering for hot and cold water systems as well as industrial and domestic systems.
      2. Meters must be integrated into an electronic information system that will allow ongoing monitoring of metered data.
      3. To document metering and metrics, project drawings and specifications must include (1) a schedule of meters (points list) that includes all metering points across all commodities, (2) a key indicating the specification section that applies to each meter in the schedule of meters, (3) an integration diagram indicating integration paths between meters and information systems, and (4) a schedule of performance metrics, including formulas using meters from the schedule of meters, units, and applicable design targets. Example metering drawings are linked in the Implementation Guide.
      4. Meter schedules in project drawings must include columns for design minimum and maximum flow rates as well as meter minimum and maximum flow rates to ensure that meter selections, including substitutions, are appropriate for all expected flow ranges. This includes all disciplines and meter types (electricity, natural gas, water, and BTU meters).
   2. Reporting. For major new construction projects, the Chief Sustainability Officer will make as-operated performance in comparison to whole-building performance targets and metering points identified in Section D.7, "Metering and Metrics," of this policy publically available. All underlying data will be made transparent and available.
   3. Peer Reviews. For major new construction projects, external peer reviews, managed by the project manager, are required for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing designs if requested by the Chief Sustainability Officer and needed to confirm compliance with this policy.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

F. Definitions/Acronyms

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

See Section D.14, "Reporting," of this policy.

H. Implementing Documents

Implementation Guide for the Berkeley Lab Sustainability Standards for New Construction and Major Renovation
Master Specification 017419 Construction Waste Management available at Construction Guidelines: Master Specifications Management

I. Contact Information

Chief Sustainability Officer
Operations
sbl@lbl.gov

J. Revision History

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Source Requirements Documents

• Federal sustainability requirements contained in EPACT 2005, EISA 2007, and EO 14057
• DOE Order 436.1, Departmental Sustainability
• DOE Order 413.3B Chg 7 (LtdChg), Program and Project Management for the Acquisition of Capital Assets
• Contract 31, Clause I.133, DEAR 970.5223-7, Sustainable Acquisition Program (OCT 2010) (prev. I.140)
• Contract 31, Clause I.114, DEAR 952.223-78, Sustainable Acquisition Program (OCT 2010) (prev. I.138)
• UC Sustainable Practices Policy available at http://sustainability.universityofcalifornia.edu/policy.html

Other References

• Laboratory Director's Committee Consensus Policy Recommendations — Sustainability Standards for New Construction, February 2013.
• Berkeley Lab Vegetation Management Guide
• California Invasive Plant Council Inventory of Invasive Species
• Plumbing Fixture Flow Requirements