The military?s efforts to build green have been predominantly accomplished through working with the U.S. Green Building Council?s LEED program, but that was recently called into question after Congress called for limited spending in its sustainability efforts in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.
As I reported on Tuesday, that banned the Department of Defense from allocating funds for LEED gold or LEED platinum certifications, unless it proved to be cost efficient and ?imposes no additional cost to the Department of Defense.?
That law seemed to be conflicting with recent sustainability efforts, after the Department of Defense made a commitment in 2010 to achieve LEED silver, or the equivalent, for new construction and major renovations of military facilities. Since 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act has been requiring federal agencies to use a green-building certifier, whether it be LEED or another rating system, such as Green Globes.
But in Hawaii, efforts to go green haven?t stalled, as my blog on Tuesday pointed out. If anything, it has meant that efforts to go green have been achieved separate from LEED, such as installing solar photovoltaic panels.
?The Navy remains committed to ensuring sustainability is designed and constructed into its projects and strives to be good stewards of the environment while lowering its total ownership costs through sound choices in green building, whether LEED certified or not,? Public Affairs Officer Denise Emsley for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii told me in an email.
Terri Kojima, Chief of Public Affairs for the Pacific Ocean Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said that the 2012 law hasn?t been a deterrent to the Army?s requirement of meeting LEED silver certification.
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