Requirements for Sustainable Development
Oregon State University created the Requirements for Sustainable Development (RSD) to help accelerate progress toward OSU's ambitious carbon emissions reduction goals and provide flexibility that respects the context of infrastructure needs at OSU. The RSD is a points-based system, similar to other green building rating systems, where more sustainability related features result in more points awarded to the project. While exceptions may be made in some limited cases, following the RSD is mandatory for all OSU major and minor capital projects as of March 2019. The RSD also requires all projects meet a minimum 50% point threshold, achieving at least half of the points applicable to that project. However, projects are encouraged to reach at least 60% of applicable points and emphasize measures that reduce energy consumption and long term maintenance costs.
Background
In 2018 and 2019, the Sustainability Office and Capital Planning and Development worked with design consultants and contractors to evaluate green building rating systems that provided adequate flexibility and best acknowledged the OSU development context. Options evaluated include:
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Developing a unique standard for OSU
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Adapting a standard based on an external green building rating system (like LEED, Living Building Challenge or Green Globes)
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Applying an external rating system without adapting it.
After an in-depth peer benchmarking process, OSU elected to require option two for all projects, but also encourage projects to go one step further with option 3: full certification from an external rating system.
Resources
We have created an Excel template for the RSD with contextual notes to give design teams a starting point for which green building measures work well for the Corvallis campus. Communicating in advance which sustainability measures will and will not be emphasized saves consultant and OSU employee time by reducing analysis of possible green features. For example, the RSD will emphasize features that advance OSU’s strategic goal to reduce carbon emissions. August 2025 marks the introduction of RSD v2. This version continues to emphasize OSU context and reduced workload for consultants and OSU employees while addressing updates to other green building rating systems, such as LEED v5. The latest copy of the RSD v2 is available for download here. If you are working on an active or upcoming OSU project, please contact us for additional resources applicable to the RSD v2.
Assessment and Reporting
Certification from an external green building rating system provides valuable third-party verification. For this reason, an external rating system is preferred in some cases. Where external certification is not sought, the Sustainability Office will act as an internal verifier, collaborating with design teams, collecting information needed to ensure the Requirements for Sustainable Development are achieved and posting short narratives online to provide transparency and promote student and stakeholder engagement.