Business/Organization Certification

single buildings

Participation in the Program
Recognition of Your Building’s Emission Reductions

This is how to get started in the program. There is no charge for Introductory Level Participation, however charitable contributions are encouraged and help support our work.

For your building to participate in this program at the introductory level, you need to complete these steps:

Support the principle that organizations, building owners and others should be recognized and rewarded for the emission reductions resulting from their energy efficiency, renewable energy and other emission reduction actions
Report the energy use, energy savings, renewable energy use and emissions offsets for your buildings – so we can calculate your resulting emission reductions
Retire at least 10% of these resulting emission reduction
Ask your suppliers to participate in the Cleaner and Greener Program
Complete application materials and submit to the Cleaner and Greener Program*

Completion of these actions means:

Your building will be recognized as participating in the Cleaner and Greener Program.
Your building meets the requirements of Energy and Atmosphere credit 5.4 of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED^® for Existing Buildings Rating System.
You can maintain your building’s introductory Level participation by updating your filing annually.
You have created the foundation for applying for Cleaner and Greener Certification of your building (see below).

Note: Introductory Level participation does not give your building authorization to use the Cleaner and Greener Certification Seal for your building.

*Applications submitted to the USGBC or CRI as part of a certification application will not be received. Application materials MUST be submitted directly to the Cleaner and Greener Program as per the instructions on the bottom of the application.

List of Cleaner and Greener Certified Single Buildings

Download the Participation Application Package:

Short Application Form for Buildings covered by ENERGY STAR®. To find out if your building type is applicable, visit the ENERGY STAR website and use their Portfolio Manager to obtain a score for your building.

Not-So-Short Application Form for buildings without an ENERGY STAR score.

Single Building Certification
Certification of Your Building’s Overall Reduced Emissions Footprint

Once you have completed the requirements of introductory level participant AND you are reducing or offsetting your building’s emission to at least 10% below the baseline for your building, you may apply for certification.

For your building to become Certified, you must:

Complete the requirements for introductory level participation.
Document reductions of building emissions through energy use reductions or offsets to at least 10% below baseline emissions (This 10% reduction is the minimum for certification).
Request a certification review.
Pay the certification review fee of $300.

Completion of these actions and application approval means:

Your building will be certified for the percent reduction of emissions as determined in the certification review
You will be authorized to use a Cleaner and Greener Certification Seal
You can maintain your building’s certification by updating your certification application and refiling annually

Single Building Certification Application Form This form can be submitted along with or after the Participation Application Form (above).

Notes:

(a) For ISF 140 Carpet Standard users: Completing Introductory Level Participation steps 1 and 2 equals the “Level 2” participation referenced in the ISF 140 standard.

(b) For Users of the USGBC’s LEED-EB® rating system: Completing all requirements of participation satisfies the requirements of EA Credit 5.4.