In April 2008, the City of Dallas enacted a Green Building Program (see Ordinance No. 27131), which required all new buildings to meet enhanced energy efficiency standards. The program was implemented through two phases. Phase 1 became effective October 1, 2009, and Phase 2 became effective October 1, 2013 (as amended by Ordinance No. 28813).

Notably, Dallas became the first U.S. city to adopt the 2012 International Green Construction Code (with amendments, hereafter Dallas Green Construction Code) as mandatory for new commercial construction.

Residential Buildings

During Phase 1, new residential buildings (single family and duplex homes) were required to meet the minimum energy provisions required by the Dallas Energy Conservation Code. Compliance could be demonstrated either through modeling through Energy Systems Laboratory approved software or COMcheck or installing systems that had been certified by an accredited energy efficiency program and approved by the Energy Systems Laboratory (e.g., ENERGY STAR Program certification).

In Phase 2, all new buildings must meet one of the following criteria:

1. comply with the International Code Council 700 National Green Building Standard,
2. meet the performance requirements of ENERGY STAR for Homes to achieve a HERS rating of 75,
3. achieve energy efficiency 15% above the requirements of the Dallas Energy Conservation Code,
4. be U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certifiable under the LEED for homes standard,
5. be Green Built Texas-certifiable, or
6. meet an equivalent green building certification level as determined by the building official.

Buildings do not need to obtain formal certification. Proposed projects using the Green Built Texas standards must meet the energy use requirements by showing that energy consumption meets either the minimum requirements found in the Dallas Energy Conservation Code or a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index Score of 85.

Multifamily development may use LEED NC, LEED for Homes, Green Built Texas, or an equivalent green building standard.

Commercial Buildings

During Phase 1, buildings that have less than 50,000 square feet of flooring were required to meet minimum energy consumption required by the Dallas Energy Conservation Code. In addition, any roof that has a slope of 2:12 inches or less were required to qualify as an Energy Star Cool Roof.

Buildings that are larger than 50,000 square feet must submit a LEED scorecard demonstrating that they have incorporated a number of LEED credits. The type of project determines the number of points that must be obtained.

For Phase 2, commercial buildings of any size must meet one of the following criteria:

1. Comply with the Dallas Green Construction Code,
2. Be LEED certifiable,
3. Be Green Built Texas-certifiable, or
4. Be certifiable under an equivalent green building standard.

Buildings do not need to obtain formal certification.

Expedited Permitting for Green Buildings

For expedited plan review under Phase 2, a project must comply with the minimum standards for the 2012 International Green Construction Code or ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2011 or be eligible to obtain a LEED silver or higher certification (or an equivalent certification under another approved green building standard).