The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the NAHB Research Center unveiled their new National Model Green Home Building Guidelines at the 2005 International Builders’ Show.
Developed by a stakeholder group of nearly 60 builders, environmentalists, government agencies and product manufacturers, the guidelines will provide a national baseline for practical green building approaches for the residential construction industry.
A new non-profit organization, the Green Building Initiative (GBI), has been created to help implement the guidelines in markets across the country.
Said Ward Hubbell, executive director of the GBI, “While we appreciate the tremendous strides made by green building pioneers, our focus is on helping the everyday builder take steps that are environmentally progressive and also builder-friendly.”
Working in concert with the NAHB and local Home Builder Associations, the GBI plans to create locally relevant green building programs — through which builders who meet certain set criteria can market their homes as “green” built. Programs are currently in development in several U.S. markets.
The GBI will also promote Green Globes — its web-based green building standard that enables designers to incorporate green features at the outset of projects.
While the common misperception remains that green building has to be expensive, focus group research conducted early this year indicates that builders consider the green building phenomenon both inevitable and good for the industry. Many builders feel that consumers would pay a little more for a home–if they knew its overall benefits.
The National Model Green Home Building Guidelines criteria include:
– Land development and site planning
– Resource efficiency
– Water conservation
– Indoor air quality
– Energy efficiency
– Operations maintenance
– Homeowner education
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