Advancing Resilience and Efficiency in Public Infrastructure
The Miami-Dade County Office of Resilience has been administering the county’s Sustainable Buildings Program (SBP) since 2007. Over the duration of the program, the county has saved millions of dollars in energy and water utility costs. The SBP has led to well designed, efficient and resilient county facilities and capital projects that are good long-term investments in the face of worsening climate change and rising energy costs in our community where we are already experiencing climate impacts.
About the Sustainable Buildings Program The Sustainable Buildings Program was created through a county ordinance and implementing order to establish an official county policy to incorporate green building practices into the planning, budgeting, design, construction, operations, management, renovation, maintenance and decommissioning of public projects. The SBP provides consistent direction to county departments and agencies, and calls for the integration of materials and methods promoting environmental quality, economic vitality and social benefit through best practices in the design, construction and operation of the county’s built environment.
The ordinance was developed to have a positive social impact and to further equity across the community by increasing sustainability of infrastructure projects, reducing air pollution, reducing energy burden, conserving critical water resources and reducing maintenance costs over the long term.
In 2022, the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, at the urging of former Commissioner (now Mayor) Daniella Levine Cava, approved the first major update to the program strengthening it further and expanding its reach. These updates enhance the SBP in many ways, including streamlining the compliance process, officially adopting Envision as the required standard for horizontal infrastructure projects and revising the standards for projects to qualify for the program. Going forward, all projects will need to utilize the latest version of Implementing Order 8-8. Mayor Levine Cava’s leadership on this item and support of the program have been instrumental to its success.
Setting Up for Success The Office of Resilience (OOR) offers training yearround to county staff and external partners on Miami-Dade County’s requirements for the Sustainable Buildings Program. Additional training includes EnergyCap management software, ENVISION Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) and U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Associate (LEED GA) certification courses.
Dr. Patricia Gómez is the Director of Energy and Interim Chief Resilience Officer of Miami-Dade County.
