About the Preservation Green Lab

Launched in March of 2009, the Seattle-based Preservation Green Lab advances research that explores the value that older buildings bring to their communities, and pioneers policy solutions that make it easier to reuse and green older and historic buildings. The Green Lab seeks to minimize carbon impacts from the built environment through direct emissions reductions from building retrofits and reuse, and to conserve character-rich and human-scale communities that attract people to more sustainable, urban living patterns. Learn More

Outcome Based Energy Codes

A new, Outcome-Based Energy Code framework provides regulatory flexibility and enables innovation in greening older buildings. Learn More

NEW! Valuing Building Reuse

New research explores the environmental value of reusing buildings rather than demolishing them to replace with new construction. Learn More

District Energy & Eco-Districts

District Energy Solutions can make it easier and more affordable to transition older neighborhoods to cleaner sources of energy. Learn More

Deep Energy Retrofits

A new, web-based tool – being developed in partnership with the New Buildings Institute – will provide customized guidance for retrofits of smaller commercial structures to achieve energy savings of 50 percent or greater. Learn More

Sustainability

Through our Sustainability Program, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is focusing the nation's attention on the importance of reusing existing buildings and reinvesting in older and historic communities as critical elements in combating climate change. Learn More