Greening the White House: A Comprehensive Energy and Environmental Retrofit

The 'Greening the White House' project, initiated by the Clinton Administration in 1993, is a comprehensive energy and environmental retrofit of the White House complex and the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB). Led by an Inter-Governmental-Agency Team, the project employs a six-component strategy—audit, feasibility study, early actions, demonstration spaces, long-term initiatives, and technology transfer—to improve resource efficiency and environmental performance while respecting the historic and security requirements of the site.

• The project is structured around six core components: an audit, a Feasibility Study, early actions, demonstration spaces, long-term initiatives, and technology transfer/outreach.
• Energy and environmental audits conducted in mid-1993 identified that the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB) had an original passive cooling system involving air channels and exhaust vents in stained glass domes that had been almost entirely disabled since 1888, leading to a reliance on 782 window air conditioners, 100 package units, and 3 chillers.
• A Feasibility Study involving over 90 experts recommended an integrated design approach focusing on the building envelope's thermal performance, lighting, plug loads, and mechanical systems to potentially downsize cooling capacity and improve human comfort.
• Early actions implemented to improve efficiency include replacing single-paned glazings with double glazings in 1,700 OEOB windows and installing a 'Golden Carrot' refrigerator in the Executive Residence, which uses 25-50% of the energy of existing models and eliminates CFCs.
• The project aims to use demonstration spaces, such as the first-floor state bathrooms of the executive residence and OEOB office suites, to test and evaluate retrofits before full-scale implementation.
• Long-term goals emphasize a participatory process where facilities staff perform the retrofit work to ensure sustainable practices become ingrained and to enhance staff skills in new technologies.
• The project intends to serve as a model for other entities through technology transfer, including the development of a 'Workshop in a Box' design tool by the AIA and an interactive CD ROM for public tours.
• The comprehensive retrofit has the potential to reduce the resource consumption of the White House by 50% or more.

APA

Browning, W. D., Barnett, D. L., Ginsberg, M., & Sprunt-Crawley, A. (n.d.). Greening the White House: A Comprehensive Energy and Environmental Retrofit. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D94-09_GrnWhiteHouse.pdf

Chicago

Browning, William D., Dianna Lopez Barnett, Mark Ginsberg, and Anne Sprunt-Crawley. Greening the White House: A Comprehensive Energy and Environmental Retrofit. RMI, n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D94-09_GrnWhiteHouse.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Browning |first1=William D. |last2=Barnett |first2=Dianna Lopez |last3=Ginsberg |first3=Mark |last4=Sprunt-Crawley |first4=Anne |title=Greening the White House: A Comprehensive Energy and Environmental Retrofit |publisher=RMI |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D94-09_GrnWhiteHouse.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{browningndgreening, author = {Browning, William D. and Barnett, Dianna Lopez and Ginsberg, Mark and Sprunt-Crawley, Anne}, title = {{Greening the White House: A Comprehensive Energy and Environmental Retrofit}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D94-09_GrnWhiteHouse.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }