At its meeting last night, the Grand Rapids City Commission passed a resolution establishing a Sustainability Policy for City Buildings that sets standards for constructing, renovating, and managing City-owned buildings. The new policy requires that all city building construction projects (both new construction and renovation) examine the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) principles during the preliminary design phase of the project and conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis to determine what principles should be used in the final project design. The policy further stipulates that all new building construction and renovation projects over 10,000 square feet and $1,000,000 in costs are required to obtain LEED certification. In addition, the policy recommends that the city buildings make use of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)
Energy Star and Green Lights programs, in addition to undertaking measures to promote water conservation, reduce energy use, make use of sustainable procurement practices for materials and supplies, and to promote alternative fuels.

The City of Grand Rapids and many builders in the area have begun undertaking sustainable construction measures. In 2004, the Water Department’s administration building became the first LEED certified building in the state of Michigan while the Grand Rapids area is home to 11% of LEED certified buildings in the country. Moreover, the LEED certification is not being adopted in isolation, but rather as part of a policy that is attempting to address climate change on the local level by reducing energy use.