Green Building Advisory Committee amended charter

1. Committee’s official designation. Green Building Advisory Committee.

2. Authority. The Green Building Advisory Committee (the Committee) is required under the authority of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), Section 494, Public Law 110-140. This committee is established in accordance with and operates under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended (5 U.S.C. 10).

3. Objectives and scope of activities. The Committee shall provide advice and expertise for use by the Federal Director of GSA’s Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings (OFHPGB) in carrying out the duties under EISA Section 494, including such recommendations relating to Federal activities carried out under section 434 through 436 as are agreed to by a majority of the members of the Committee. The objective of the Committee is to provide advice to GSA to advance federal building innovations in planning, design, and operations to reduce costs, enable agency missions, enhance human health and performance, and minimize environmental impacts.

4. Description of duties. The duties of the Committee are solely advisory in nature. The Committee shall convene and deliberate, in accordance with all applicable provisions of FACA, as amended, and EISA, and under the supervision of a Designated Federal Officer (DFO), to develop findings and recommendations for use by the Federal Director. While the specific topics of the Committee’s advice will vary according to the present needs of the federal government and the expert evaluations of Committee members, they will include topics cited in EISA sections 434-436 and 491, 492, and 494.

5. Agency or official to whom the committee reports. The Committee shall provide advice and expertise for use by the Federal Director of GSA’s Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings in carrying out the duties under EISA.

6. Support. Support for the Committee will be provided by GSA’s OFHPGB.

7. Estimated annual operating costs and staff years. The estimated annual fiscal year costs to operate the Committee are approximately $300,000. The estimated full-time equivalent staff years are 2.0.

8. Designated Federal officer. GSA will designate a permanent full-time or part-time Federal staff member of the OFHPGB to serve as the Designated Federal Officer (DFO), as well as alternate DFO(s). The DFO will schedule all meetings of the Committee and its subcommittee/task groups, prepare, approve or call the Committee and subcommittee/task group meetings, approve all meeting agendas, attend all committee and subcommittee/task group meetings, and adjourn any meeting when the DFO determines adjournment to be in the public interest, and chair meetings when directed to do so by the GSA Administrator.

9. Estimated number and frequency of meetings. The Committee will meet at least twice a year.

10. Duration. The need for the Committee is expected to be continuing.

11. Termination. The FACA requirement to set a termination date is not applicable to the Committee in accordance with the FACA Section 14 exemption provided in EISA Sec. 494(e). However, GSA will periodically assess the need for this Committee.

12. Membership and designation. The Committee will consist of Federal and non-Federal members as outlined below. All members, as well as the chair and any co-chairs or vice-chairs from among the members, as needed, will be appointed by the GSA Administrator or the Administrator’s designee.

    1. At a minimum, the following Federal agencies will be represented (Sec. 421(e)):
       1. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);
       2. Office of the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer;¹
       3. Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP);
       4. Department of Energy (DOE);
       5. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS);
       6. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD);
       7. Department of Defense (DOD);
       8. Department of Transportation (DOT);
       9. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST);
       10. Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP);
       11. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

    2. Other relevant agencies and entities may be appointed including at least 1 representative (Sec. 494 (b)(2)) from each of the following entities:

       1. State and local governmental green building programs;
       2. Independent green building associations or councils;
       3. Building experts, including architects, material suppliers, and construction contractors;
       4. Security advisors focusing on national security needs, natural disasters, and other dire emergency situations;
       5. Public transportation industry experts; and
       6. Environmental health experts, including those with experience in children’s health.
    3. The total number of non-Federal members on the committee at any time shall not exceed 15.
    4. Committee members will be designated as Regular Government Employees (RGEs), Representative members, or Special Government Employees (SGEs), as appropriate.

13. Subcommittees. GSA may establish subcommittees/task groups for any purpose consistent with this charter. All subcommittee/task group members shall be appointed by the Administrator or the Administrator’s designee. In the event a subcommittee/task group or the Committee terminates, all appointments to the subcommittee/task group shall terminate. Subcommittees/task groups may not work independently of the Committee and must report back to the Committee and must not provide advice or work products directly to the agency. The Subcommittees/task groups must present their work to the Committee for full deliberation and discussion. Subcommittees/task groups have no authority to make decisions on behalf of the Committee and may not represent their work as products of the Committee. All subcommittees/task groups are subject to all requirements of FACA, as amended, including, but not limited to, open meetings, advance public notice, minutes and recordkeeping.

14. Recordkeeping. The records of the Committee, and its subcommittees/task groups shall be handled in accordance with General Records Schedule 6.2 and other approved agency records disposition schedules. These records shall be available for public inspection and copying, subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

15. Filing date:

Digitally signed by Robin Carnahan - 5/17/2024
Robin Carnahan, GSA Administrator

Original charter date: 08/18/2011

Footnotes

¹ The office cited in the law, Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, was renamed to the Office of the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer in 2015 by Executive Order (EO) 13693. EO 13693 was revoked by EO 13834, but the office name remains in Section 6.