Publication date: November 12, 2007
Source: BUILDER Magazine
By Rich Binsacca
...awareness and demand...performance of new housing to achieve a smaller
environmental footprint.
More important, the proliferation of green building programs and independent
certification, both geographically and vertically (in terms of what's required to
achieve basic and higher levels of certification), provides builders with an
increasingly broader menu of choices to customize their approach to green building
according to their circumstances - namely the value that their prospective buyers
place on that effort and investment.
It's unlikely, at least in the short term, that many (if any) municipalities will mandate
any of the current and upcoming residential green building standards as a condition
of the building code or permit approvals process, thus forcing home builders into a
box. More plausible are voluntary programs and performance-based standards (if
not independent certification) that offer tax credits, faster approvals, or other
financial incentives to both builders and home buyers for "going green."
That scenario ensures that builders can tailor an approach to building and
marketing their homes according to what their buyers want and are willing to pay.
Those just dipping their toes into the concept might choose to follow the Energy
Star model, which not only utilizes readily available and affordable products and
protocols to reduce a home's energy use well beyond code minimum, but carries a
significant amount of brand awareness among consumers that can only aid the
builder's sales efforts. Energy Star recently added an indoor air quality component
to further its reach.
The next step up are local and regional green building programs - more than one
hundred and growing rapidly nationwide, and often affiliated with local building
industry association chapters - that offer some level of third-party certification for
builders to leverage in their marketing and sales efforts.
Many of these programs, in fact, cite Energy Star-qualified products, such as
windows and major appliances, as their baseline specifications for achieving
certification, allowing builders to maintain some level of that brand's equity among
buyers; such programs have also done an excellent job of building awareness and
value along local home buyers, aiding the efforts of participating builders to recoup
their investments in achieving certification.
The higher levels include the forthcoming National Green Building Standards and
LEED for Homes rating system, especially as high-concept builders strive to earn
the extra points offered in those programs to achieve the highest levels of green
building and housing performance.
Though not yet a high priority among homeowners (many of whom, according to a
2006 McGraw-Hill/NAHB survey, valued lower utility costs and financial incentives as
greater purchasing motives), third-party certification at any level and from any
program is fast becoming a necessary badge of green building, especially for those
without a long track record of building and marketing high-performance housing.
The good news is that builders have many more choices that enable them to
balance costs and value to earn that badge and reap the myriad benefits of green
building.
Source: BUILDER Magazine
By Rich Binsacca
...awareness and demand...performance of new housing to achieve a smaller
environmental footprint.
More important, the proliferation of green building programs and independent
certification, both geographically and vertically (in terms of what's required to
achieve basic and higher levels of certification), provides builders with an
increasingly broader menu of choices to customize their approach to green building
according to their circumstances - namely the value that their prospective buyers
place on that effort and investment.
It's unlikely, at least in the short term, that many (if any) municipalities will mandate
any of the current and upcoming residential green building standards as a condition
of the building code or permit approvals process, thus forcing home builders into a
box. More plausible are voluntary programs and performance-based standards (if
not independent certification) that offer tax credits, faster approvals, or other
financial incentives to both builders and home buyers for "going green."
That scenario ensures that builders can tailor an approach to building and
marketing their homes according to what their buyers want and are willing to pay.
Those just dipping their toes into the concept might choose to follow the Energy
Star model, which not only utilizes readily available and affordable products and
protocols to reduce a home's energy use well beyond code minimum, but carries a
significant amount of brand awareness among consumers that can only aid the
builder's sales efforts. Energy Star recently added an indoor air quality component
to further its reach.
The next step up are local and regional green building programs - more than one
hundred and growing rapidly nationwide, and often affiliated with local building
industry association chapters - that offer some level of third-party certification for
builders to leverage in their marketing and sales efforts.
Many of these programs, in fact, cite Energy Star-qualified products, such as
windows and major appliances, as their baseline specifications for achieving
certification, allowing builders to maintain some level of that brand's equity among
buyers; such programs have also done an excellent job of building awareness and
value along local home buyers, aiding the efforts of participating builders to recoup
their investments in achieving certification.
The higher levels include the forthcoming National Green Building Standards and
LEED for Homes rating system, especially as high-concept builders strive to earn
the extra points offered in those programs to achieve the highest levels of green
building and housing performance.
Though not yet a high priority among homeowners (many of whom, according to a
2006 McGraw-Hill/NAHB survey, valued lower utility costs and financial incentives as
greater purchasing motives), third-party certification at any level and from any
program is fast becoming a necessary badge of green building, especially for those
without a long track record of building and marketing high-performance housing.
The good news is that builders have many more choices that enable them to
balance costs and value to earn that badge and reap the myriad benefits of green
building.
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