Green Building Front and Center at NAHB’s Annual Show

Orlando, Fla.–Green building will be a focus at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. this week, according to Newsday.Sponsored by the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Home Builders, the annual conference will include about two dozen green building seminars. Feb. 14 is the show’s “Green Day,” and will mark the launch of NAHB’s new…

Orlando, Fla.–Green building will be a focus at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla. this week, according to Newsday.Sponsored by the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Home Builders, the annual conference will include about two dozen green building seminars. Feb. 14 is the show’s “Green Day,” and will mark the launch of NAHB’s new National Green Building program and its green building certification program.The popularity of green building inspired NAHB to increase the show’s focus on sustainability, according to Calli Schmidt, NAHB director of environmental communications.”It’s the top question I get from reporters and our members,” Schmidt told Newsday. “What’s the deal with the green building program, the green building standard, the green building designation? What are the guidelines? It’s on everyone’s minds.”In addition to completing a two-day training and education session and an NAHB University of Housing management course, remodelers and builders must have two years of green building experience and have worked on at least one green home within a two-year period to quality for the certification.The more green-friendly a builder is, the better chance of that builder getting business, says Emily English, NAHB’s green building program manager.”It’s going to come to the point where you’ll have to be certified green to get permits, get access to water rights and to acquire land,” English said.The show will also feature tours of a green house, called the New American Home, the first residence built and certified by the National Green Building Program. The for-sale, 6,725-square-foot, plantation-style home was built off-site to display new technology and products. The asking price is estimated at $5 million.

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