Sustainability | SC Department of Archives and History

Historic Preservation = Sustainability

Older and historic buildings comprise more than half of the existing buildings in the United States. Retention and adaptive reuse of these buildings preserves the materials, embodied energy, and human capital already expended in their construction. The reuse of historic buildings is one of the most beneficial “green” practices, and stresses the importance and value of historic preservation in the overall promotion of sustainability.

The State Historic Preservation Office believes energy and resource conservation in historic buildings can be accomplished responsibly without compromising the qualities that define their intrinsic historic character.

National Park Service - Sustainability includes resources on energy efficiency, new technologies, case studies and research, and the Illustrated Guidelines on Sustainability for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings

National Park Service - Preservation Brief 3 - Improving Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings

Sustainability and Historic Preservation: Lessons Learned (PPT-PDF) by the National Park Service, Technical Preservation Services

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation - Sustainability & Climate Resilience

National Alliance of Preservation Commissions - The Alliance Review: Weatherization, What Every Commissioner Should Know (PDF)

National Trust for Historic Preservation: Green Stories
The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse (PDF)
Saving Windows, Saving Money: Evaluating the Energy Performance of Window Retrofit and Replacement (PDF)

Whole Building Design Guide – Sustainable Historic Preservation

"What Replacement Windows Can't Replace: The Real Cost of Removing Historic Windows" (PDF)

"The New Net Zero, Achieving Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Targets Through Life Cycle Carbon Accounting"