The NGBS Top 3 Green Policy Updates – August 2025
The National Green Building Standard (NGBS) highlights three policy updates closely followed through the month of August. As a recognized third-party certification, the NGBS Green certification is used to certify thousands of homes. The Qualified Allocation Plans (QAPs), the uncertainty behind ENERGY STAR and the wait behind HUD/USDA updates are the three most important policy developments.
As several states have released drafts of their QAPs, August has begun “QAP season” with some states having open public comment periods. This will allow input to be heard by those operating in the markets with open public comment periods.
The ENERGY STAR program has been targeted by the current administration, but its funding appears safe for now. Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have passed spending bills for FY26 opting to maintain ENERGY STAR funding. This follows up a development from earlier when the future of ENERGY STAR was even more uncertain, which can be read here. Nevertheless, Congress can still change that before FY26 starts in October so nothing is guaranteed.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have two program rulings awaiting updates. The HUD Green Mortgage Insurance Premium and the HUD/USDA Energy Code Adoption rule could potentially impact NGBS Green. Since many NGBS Green certifications utilize the Green Mortgage Insurance Premium, changes could hurt the program. The same goes for HUD/USDA Energy Code Adoption rule as NGBS Green certification is an alternative to federally-supported code compliance.
