Green Building > Certification and Regulations > Washington State Law

Washington State Law

During the 2005 legislative session, Washington State passed the country's first law requiring that all new buildings and renovation projects that receive state funding be built to one of three green building standards (Chapter 39.35D RCW High-performance Public Buildings).

Projects that receive funds from the capital budget must achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver standard. All K-12 schools that receive funding from the Office of the Superintendant of Public Instruction must be built either to the Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol (WSSP) or LEED Silver standard. Finally, projects that receive funding from the Department of Commerce Housing Trust Fund must comply with the Evergreen Standard for Affordable Housing.

State-Mandated Green Building Certification Programs

Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard for Affordable Housing
The Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard (ESDS) was created by the Housing Trust Fund (HTF) at the Department of Commerce using outside experts and stakeholder review. ESDS is based on Green Communities^TM which was developed by Enterprise Community Partners, a national non-profit, to support the development of green affordable housing. The Evergreen Standard sets a minimum level of sustainable performance for HTF projects designed to meet the requirements of RCW 39.35D.080

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®)
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is a third-party certification program offering checklists and performance standards for commercial construction, existing buildings, residential construction, and neighborhood development.

The Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol
The Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol is a tool that allows designers to plan a high-performance school while considering the regional, district, and site-specific possibilities and constraints for each project.