NAHB Launches National Green Building Program

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorOrlando, Fla.—On occasion of Green Day, declared by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the organization launched its National Green Building Program, an education, verification and certification program, during a press conference at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando today.The program allows builders anywhere to build green homes. It features an online scoring tool at www.nahbgreen.org, which shows the builder how to accrue points in seven categories namely water, energy and resource efficiency, lot and site development, indoor environmental quality, and global impact and homeowner education. The program sets point requirements in each category for the bronze, silver and gold levels. “Green builders like us have wanted to see these sustainable building practices go mainstream for years, because we have always known that it’s the right thing to do,” says Green Building Subcommittee Chair Ray Tonjes, a home builder in Austin, Texas.The process involves inspection and verification of homes by local green experts after which documentation is sent to the NAHB Research Center for review. If the project qualifies, the home can receive national certification from the Research Center, Tonjes explained.Local homebuilders associations will continue to provide education, advocacy and promotional assistance to their green builders using new, expanded resources from NAHB, Jones said.