Bringing Green to the Mainstream
The two most influential groups in the home building industry and the code development and enforcement community are collaborating to bring uniformity to sustainable building practices. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) will undertake the development and publication of a residential green building standard, reinforcing their commitment to sustainable building practices and the creation of national standards for green home building.
Known as "the voice of the housing industry," the National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 235,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB has long recognized many of its members as leaders and innovators in building green homes, but their efforts were local and without any regional or national reference. Members needed clearer guidance, but wanted to maintain flexibility and be able to incorporate regional distinctions. NAHB took on this task with the publication in 2005 of the Model Green Home Building Guidelines, now a nationally recognized green building certification tool.
"NAHB members have proven that a voluntary, region-specific, flexible program can be both truly green and also allow for innovation,” said NAHB President David Pressly. “We believe in the Model Green Home Building Guidelines, we believe in the standards process, and we believe that the end result will be a better document for the home building community."
The International Code Council, a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. ICC has been promoting green building requirements through its widely adopted family of International Codes, which set minimum standards for energy efficiency and sustainable building practices for the construction industry and also recognized the need for a national set of standards for home builders and others wishing to voluntarily adopt "above-code" practices.
"I'm delighted to announce our commitment to work with the Code Council to help advance green building practices for our industry," Pressly continued. "We surveyed our members a year ago and 92 percent of them said they would move to green building because 'it's the right thing to do.' That's true of the standards process as well. It's the right thing to do."
Why the lean towards green?
Today's buildings consume more energy than any other sector of the U.S. economy, including transportation and industry. Innovative, energy-efficient building technologies will enable tomorrow's buildings to use significantly less energy – and help to meet our national goals for sustainable development, environmental protection, and energy security. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy)
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Meeting the criteria of the North American Home Builders' Association (NAHB) Model Green Home Building Guidelines certification system, The New American Home® 2007 achieved a gold rating.