Sustainability at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center (MMAC) has been receiving a lot of attention. Part of the reason for that interest has been the Center’s leadership in the Sustainable Federal Building program. The program began in 2006 with Federal agencies under the Memorandum of Understanding for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings (HPSB). Revisions through various Executive Orders over time set targets for agencies to "certify" at least 15% of their buildings as sustainable in accordance with a set of Guiding Principles, and to make annual progress toward 100% compliance.

So, what does it take to certify a building as sustainable? Buildings are measured against the Guiding Principles. The most recent revision to the Guiding Principles issued in 2020 includes twelve core requirements which must all be met and 18 non-core requirements of which 50% must be met in order for the building to be "Certified Sustainable."

Some of the requirements are global in nature like having an energy conservation policy and a waste diversion/recycling program, while others are specific to the building like benchmarking (tracking energy usage) and meeting certain energy efficiency requirements, like having an Energy Star score of 75 or higher.

The Aeronautical Center certified its first buildings as sustainable in 2013 and has been adding buildings to the list ever since, working toward 100% compliance. On June 23, the 229-SFB Screening Facility Building was certified sustainable continuing the Aeronautical Center’s leadership position in the FAA under this program. In fact, of the 24 buildings that the FAA has certified as sustainable, 16 of them are located here at the Center.

The Aeronautical Center is committed to continuing its efforts in sustainability, to conserve our precious natural resources and in order to keep our operating costs as low as possible. This will benefit the future of our mission for ourselves and for our families. If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the MMAC Energy Program, please contact the MMAC Energy Manager at (405) 954-9610.