The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers uses the Virginia Rainwater Harvesting Manual as a study guide for Certification for High-Performance Building Design.

"The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers advances technology to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world."

High Performance Buildings is an initiative of the US Department of Building Technologies. "A high-performance commercial building is a building with energy, economic, and environmental performance that is substantially better than standard practice. It's energy efficient, so it saves money and natural resources. It's a healthy place to live and work for its occupants and has relatively low impact on the environment. All this is achieved through a process called whole-building design."

Incorporating rainwater harvesting in high performance building design results in less demand on potable water supplies from water treatment plants for nonpotable uses, reduces stormwater runoff on site, conserves water, and reduces energy to distribute potable water through miles of piping.

RMS consulted the the Cabell Brand Center, a Virginia based non-profit organization, to develop the Virginia Rainwater Harvesting Manual. The Manual details the environmental, social and economical benefits of rainwater harvesting, an introduction to rainwater harvesting design, installation, maintenance, and references many of RMS' installed projects throughout Virginia.