Green Building Grows

(Continued from prevTous pagel conducted surveys and compiled the new report. "The data indicates that builders will reach the tipping point by early next year, where more builders will be producing green homes compared to those not."

According to the survey results. the leading reason (cited by 92Vo) that builders are considering green is because "it's the right thing to do," said Bernstein. Other prominent influences include lowering lifecycle costs, such as energy efficiencies and productivity increases, 87 Vo; staying ahead of the competition or expanding business with customers who are inter- ested in green building,82%, and limiting exposure to liability on such issues as rvater leaks and mold. 787c. There are obstacles to total acceptance, however. Lack of interest by consumers. along rvith consumer reluctance to pay the additional costs for a green home, rvere perceived as barriers by 827c and 79% of the builders surveyed. Suggested solutions included educating the marketplace on green building concepts. citedby 79%. and revising codes. ordinances and regulations, cited by 72%. Only 39Vc of those surveyed believed green building is perceived as a fad that won't last.

"With more builders creating -ereen homes, and more consumers buvins them." said Bemstein. "the rest of the industry rvill follorv and increasingly begin to incorporate green features or practices into their homes and home building products."

One leader in the green building movement is the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). a private coalition of more than 6.0O0 private companies. nonprofits. and government agencies that rvas founded in 1993 to encourage buildings that are sustainable. environmentally responsible. and healthy places to live and rvork. The group's 60 local chapters offer educational programs that define and encourage green building practices.

In 2000. the group debuted its internationally recognized green building ratin_e system-Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design lLgpptlwhich is a consensus-based. common standard of measurement for rvhat constitutes a green building. The four progressive levels of certification are certifled. silver. gold and platinum.

Currently. there are LEED projects in all 50 states and in l2 countries around the rvorld. In the United States alone. 450 buildings have been LEED certified and more than 3.600 are rvaiting for approval. "lt's actually going faster than rve anticipated." said Taryn Holorvka. communications manager for the council.

In order to serve the residential construction industry. a pilot pro-sram named LEED-Homes rvas launched in November 2005. In the first six months. more than 80 builders across the country registered to participate. Included are both single- and multifamily homes ranging from affordable housing to luxury custom homes. The test program rvill determine if LEED is a practical and effective tool to encourage and recognize green building practices in the residential market.

"We strongly feel that an alignment rvith a nationally recognized label like USGBC's rvill offer the nation's leading builders a strong marketing platform." said Kristin Shervfelt. committee vice-chair of LEED Homes. " Not only can the builders differentiate themselves further in the marketplace. it's a rvay to prepare their operations for the next generation ofhousing."

To date. trvo residential structures have been certified under the new program: a three-bedroom. 1.644-sq. ft. home in Oklahoma City. Ok.. and a lar-eer home in Freeport. Me.. that earned enough points for a silver rat-

As interest in green homes has increased, so has pressure to change the LEED ratings for the lumber used to build them. "Wood has been an issue for a very long time now," said Holowka.

While wood and wood-related issues are just one small aspect of LEED's integrated approach to green building practice, they had grown to dominate the green building agenda in some state and local forums and were becoming a distraction from the broader goals of the green building movement.

Under consideration is changing the materials and resources credit from a rapidly renewable credit to a biobased credit that would recognize wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and Canadian Standards Association.

"As leaders of the green building movement, we need to face issues head on and swiftly reach a conclusion that fosters a sustainable materials economy and keeps the market moving," said board chairman Kevin Hydes.

Improvements such as this are an important part of what USGBC does, according to Holowka. "LEED is always being tweaked and adapted," she said. "It's a very evolutionary process. As new information, research, and techniques become available, we make changes and improvements."

Another improvement is online certification, which was launched late last year. The site works so well that it recently won the 21st Century Achievement Award from Computerworld magazine. "The LEED documentation and certification process used to be very cumbersome," said Joe Diianni, director of technology, USGBC. "Projects were required to submit binders of paperwork and documentation."

Simplifying the application process and putting it online, he said, encourages more projects to seek LEED certification, saves paper, and improves the council's own processes for handling and reviewing submissions.

Changes like this should encourage the acceptance of green building. "Building and construction is a huge industry that is slow to change, but it really is changing," said Holowka. "Green building is a whole new way of thinking, but it's really a simple design strategy."

Peter L. Pfeiffer, whose architectural firm in Austin, Tx., creates only green commercial and residential buildings, agrees. "I just call it good, sound building," he said. "It's high performance building as opposed to building shoddily."

"Homeowners have to be educated, because in many cases, it's a better way to build and live," said Peter Caradonna, an architect who is president of the Long Island, N.Y., chapter of the USGBC. "The benefits are long term; it's healthier and cleaner, and we leave a better world behind for our children."