State Bulb of Texas
Listen to the Radio PSA
Today's Air Quality...
Green Buildings
Did you know that all phases of buildings—building design, construction, materials and operation—consume more energy than any other part of the economy?
That’s why green buildings are so important! Green buildings save energy and water while lowering greenhouse gas emissions and waste output.
As of summer 2008, the City has now completed 12 green facilities since its Green Building Program was adopted in 2003 and will complete another 13 green facilities by 2010. Of our current green buildings, we are also proud to have completed the certification process on several, boasting 4 LEED Silver and 3 LEED Gold certified buildings. In addition, the City continues to upgrade its many existing buildings with various green features.
The City of Dallas is committed to building green and hopes you’ll build green too.
City-Owned Buildings
Green Building Program: City-owned Buildings (Adobe PDF, briefing presented to the Dallas City Council on October 17, 2007)
Privately-Owned Buildings
Green Building Ordinance (Approved by City Council April 9, 2008, Adobe PDF)
Summary of Ordinance Requirements: Privately-owned Buildings (Adobe PDF)
Just For Builders
Residential Green Building Checklist (Adobe PDF)
Commercial Green Building Checklist (less than 50,000 square feet, Adobe PDF)
Changes are being proposed to International Codes
to enhance sustainability.
View Proposal
Visit our Permit Center
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and LEED Certification*
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit composed of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.
The core purpose of the USGBC is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
The first step to LEED certification is to Register your project. A project is a viable candidate for LEED certification if it can meet all prerequisites and achieve the minimum number of points to earn the Certified level of LEED project certification. To earn certification, a building project must meet certain prerequisites and performance benchmarks ("credits") within each category. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification depending on the number of credits they achieve. This comprehensive approach is the reason LEED-certified buildings have reduced operating costs, healthier and more productive occupants, and conserve our natural resources.
*information obtained from U.S. Green Building Council website.
