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Green Facilities

Creating green or environmentally sensitive spaces is not limited to planting trees.

Green facilities aim to emulate the natural functions and conditions of the predeveloped site and reduce human impacts to the site even after development is complete.

Techniques used to accomplish this goal range from site design and building orientation to specific materials and systems used in the facility.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Recreation and Conservation has resources available to assist communities with integrating green design and construction into their projects.

There are numerous certifications, designations, and initiatives that provide distinguished recognition to green facilities and sites, such as:

Current facilities also can be “greened” to increase energy efficiency and reduce their impact on the environment.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Saver website can help communities determine how to start saving both money and the environment with improvements to their current facilities.