Page History

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.

POLICY

A. Purpose

This policy identifies sustainability standards for new facilities construction at Berkeley Lab. New facilities construction presents a unique opportunity to pursue integrated, performance-driven designs to minimize energy use and other environmental impacts associated with buildings at the lowest possible cost. The purpose of this policy is to:

1. Reduce constraints on growth of Laboratory research
2. Establish a practical path to comply with federal and University of California (UC) sustainability requirements
3. Drive continuous improvement in the area of high-performance, low-cost building design that is consistent with the leadership position demonstrated by Berkeley Lab research
4. Minimize life-cycle costs within the constraints of capital budgets
5. Provide leadership and support for state climate-related policy and strategic goals for greenhouse gas emissions reduction

B. Persons Affected

This policy applies to persons involved with the management of new building construction projects undertaken by the Laboratory. Section D.14, Large Procurements, below, also applies to persons involved with the procurement of major energy-consuming equipment or systems. This policy does not apply to persons involved with renovations (major or minor), retrofits, or installation of temporary structures.

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.

D. Policy Statement

1. 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 an important feedback to future designs
2. Energy Efficiency – Whole Building Performance Targets. Building designs must meet whole-building energy performance targets based on type of use. A committee will develop specific whole-building performance targets based on guidance from the Laboratory Director's Committee Consensus Policy Recommendations – Sustainability Standards for New Construction (see Other References in the Document Information tab of this policy), along with reference to comparable facilities and other applicable data. Targets will initially be less than half of typical equivalent facilities benchmarked to average energy use at the turn of the millennium. Efficiency targets will be made more stringent over time following demonstrated practical achievement of initial targets, and recognizing efficiency-enabling technology advancements. Design teams must prepare energy models to confirm compliance with targets. Models are to be developed beginning at schematic design or Critical Decision 2 (CD-2), updated with building program and material changes at end of design and end of construction administration, and 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.
3. Energy Efficiency – Code Compliance. In addition to meeting whole-building performance targets, building designs must demonstrate energy performance 30% lower than the maximum allowed by ASHRAE 90.1-2010, before accounting for on-site energy generation. This requirement will be revisited with each new code release. Current California Title 24 may be designated as an alternate code reference for energy performance requirements by the building design and construction project manager.
4. Energy Efficiency – Mechanical Systems. 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. An example of measures to provide appropriate space temperatures during warm weather to be pursued before refrigeration cycle-based cooling include:
   
   1. Building orientation where possible
   2. Careful window and envelope design
   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. Evaporative cooling including cooling towers (waterside economizers)
5. Energy Efficiency – Lighting Systems. Lighting circuits and lighting controls must be designed to allow for separate control for any area with a distinct occupancy pattern. Exterior and interior lighting controls must be installed consistent with mandatory requirements in the 2013 nonresidential California energy building code (Title 24). These requirements involve multilevel 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.
6. Renewables. In an effort to support a 100% renewable energy goal for all new office and laboratory facilities, and after pursuing aggressive energy efficiency through the policies above, new building projects should pursue on-site renewable energy generation, direct interest in off-site renewable generation, or purchase of green power products. In keeping with federal requirements, renewable generation must be designed to generate at least 7.5% of the estimated project energy consumption from a renewable energy source. New projects must at a minimum be solar ready, i.e., designed to the maximum extent feasible to enable the installation of solar photovoltaic and heating systems even if they are installed after the building is constructed. Project-specific renewable energy goals will be defined as a Key Performance Parameter at the time the project is baselined for CD-2.
7. Green Building. Building designs for projects exceeding $5 million must achieve a minimum LEED Gold certification and where applicable meet at least the prerequisites of the Laboratories for the 21st Century (Labs21) or Environmental Performance Criteria (EPC) for Data Centers. For high-energy mission-specific facilities (HEMSFs), non-office and non-laboratory portions of the project without directly applicable LEED or EPC criteria may be excluded from the project submitted for certification, consistent with U.S. Green Building Council guidance.
8. Waste Minimization and Diversion. Building designs must comply with a zero-waste action plan that will be developed for each project by the Berkeley Lab Chief Sustainability Officer. Construction waste diversion of 90% (by weight) must be targeted and a minimum achievement of 75% (by weight) of construction waste must be diverted from the landfill.
9. Water. All new construction projects must achieve the following credits that are not currently required as prerequisites within the LEED rating system:
   
   1. Water-use reduction (WEc3) for 30–40% fixture savings
   2. Water-efficient landscaping (WEc1) designed to not require irrigation after an initial establishment period of 18 months
   3. Process water efficiency (EPC Cr 4) that requires documentation of baseline annual process water use and process wastewater generation and implementation of strategies to reduce 20% from baseline
10. Transportation. All new construction projects must:
    
    1. Achieve the alternative transportation (SSc4.2) credit within the LEED rating system for bicycle storage, showers, and changing rooms (currently voluntary within LEED and not required as a prerequisite)
    2. Be served by the Berkeley Lab shuttle system or other means to reduce vehicle parking requirements