The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) points out on its
TipSheet that while the housing market is down, you might not expect people to be grabbing the opportunity to renovate or build "green homes." But they are.
According to the TipSheet, the U.S. Green Building
Council just released its long-awaited final LEED (Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design) rating system for new home construction and its REGREEN guidelines for residential remodeling projects.
SEJ writes:
Despite
the economic downturn, many homebuilders and building owners are
aggressively touting their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) compliance or certification. LEED is
complex, so if you're covering a LEED building or project it's
important to verify claims with U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC,) which maintains a searchable LEED projects directory. This directory is also a great way to find green projects or homebuilders in your region.
There's more:USGBC is also working on a new green rating and certification system for neighborhoods, LEED-ND, which will integrate an urban planning and growth management
perspective rather than just looking at each home separately. LEED-ND
is expected to be finalized in 2009.
And you can check out the building codes in your area with these links from SEJ:
Before you start plowing through voluminous, detail-laden documents, check the Building Codes Assistance Project. All but five states currently have adopted some kind of residential energy efficiency standard (map).
In a handful of states, implementation of those codes depends on
voluntary adoption by local jurisdictions. Generally, local
jurisdictions are free to adopt stricter standards than what the state
requires.
Story ideas:
About 400 builders representing
10,000 homes across the U.S. participated in the LEED for Homes pilot
program. View more than 200 certified homes by state, builder, rating
or project type:
LEED for Homes Certified Projects By State [PDF]
LEED for Homes Certified Projects By Builder [PDF]
LEED for Homes Certified Projects By Rating [PDF]
LEED for Homes Certified Projects By Project Type [PDF]
The National Association of Homebuilders' Green Building Program will officially launch February 14 at the 2008 NAHB
International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla. Also
at the Orlando show, NAHB will debut its Certified Green Professionals
program to certify builders and remodelers as authentically “green.”
According to FineHomebuilding.com, a national green-building standard is on the way:
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has teamed with the
International Code Council (ICC) to craft a national green-building
standard (NGBS) that is understandable and enforceable, and has the
potential to affect a majority of homes that are being built. The key
issue is how.
While some in the green-building movement are afraid that the standard
will amount to a “race to the bottom,” others believe it’s a good
start.
The second draft of this standard is open for public comment through February 4.
I wrote that piece for SEJ Tipsheet. Glad you found...
