Green Project Marketing - Sustainable Lumber

Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.

Source: USGBC, April 2015

National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) educates its members and the home building industry as a whole about green building practices. The Certified Green Professional (CGP) and Master Certified Green Professional (MCGP) are designations available to help home building professionals demonstrate their expertise in green building. Additionally, extensive green building educational and networking opportunities are available through such venues as the National Green Building Conference & Expo, the International Builders' Show, and other industry-sponsored events.

NAHB_logoEach year, NAHB honors excellence in green residential design, construction practices, and outstanding green advocacy efforts at the National Green Building Awards.

In 2007, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) partnered to establish a much-needed and nationally-recognizable standard definition of green building.

The resulting ICC 700 National Green Building Standard™ is the first and only residential green building rating system to undergo the full consensus process and receive approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The Standard defines green building for single- and multifamily homes, residential remodeling projects, and site development projects while still allowing for the flexibility required for regionally-appropriate best green practices.

Certification to the standard is provided by the NAHB Research Center. Copies of the Standard, a companion commentary, and other publications related to the Standard can be purchased online. A free Green Scoring Tool compatible with the standard is available on the certification side of this website.

For residential buildings, four threshold levels - Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald - allow builders to quantify and qualify green building at all levels. At the Emerald level, the highest rating for a residential green building, a building must incorporate energy savings of 60% or more.

To comply with the Standard, a builder or remodeler must incorporate a minimum number of features in the following areas: lot and site development; energy, water, and resource efficiency; indoor environmental quality; and home owner education. In order to attain a higher level of green certification by the NAHB Research Center, a home must accrue successively higher levels of minimum points in every category – the highest level of certification is dictated by the lowest category score level.

The following tables highlight the point values required in each area for green buildings:

Threshold Point Ratings for Green Buildings

Green Building Categories

Performance Point Levels (1) (2)

BRONZE

SILVER

GOLD

EMERALD

1.

Chapter 5

 Lot Design, Preparation, and Development

39

66

93

119

2.

Chapter 6

 Resource Efficiency

45

79

113

146

3.

Chapter 7

 Energy Efficiency

30

60

100

120

4.

Chapter 8

 Water Efficiency

14

26

41

60

5.

Chapter 9

 Indoor Environmental Quality

36

65

100

140

6.

Chapter 10

 Operation, Maintenance, and Building Owner Education

8

10

11

12

7.

Chapter 11

 Additional Points from any category

50

100

100

100

Total Points

222

406

558

697

(1) In addition to the threshold number of points in each category, all mandatory provisions of each category shall be implemented.

(2) For dwelling units greater than 4,000 square feet (372 square meters), the number of points in Category 7 (Additional Points from any category) shall be increased in accordance with Section 601.1. The "Total Points" shall be increased by the same number of points.

Additionally, there is a separate rating system that developers can apply to green land developments.

Threshold Point Ratings for Site Design and Development

Green Subdivision Category

Performance Point Levels

One Star

Two Stars

Three Stars

Four Stars

Chapter 4

Site Design and Development

79

104

134

175

Many of the mandatory measures found in The ICC 700 National Green Building Standard are consistent with the International Code Council's I-Codes. Additionally, the baseline for energy savings has been updated to IECC 2006. To qualify for "Bronze" in the energy efficiency chapter of the Standard, a home must be at least 15% better than the 2006 IECC.

The Green Scoring Tool allows the scoring of a project to the Standard and includes support materials such as how to verify, intent, how to implement, resources, and Green Approved Products.

As an ANSI-approved standard, the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard is subject to regular reviews and periods of public comment. Proposals for revising the Standard, which will be used as initial input in the next revision cycle, can be submitted by using the online form for submitting proposals.

For more information, please visit www.nahb.org.

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Contact Green Project Marketing

To discuss how your company and project can benefit from our services as well if there are representation opportunities, please contact Michel (Michael) Stevens, President, at (800) 260-6008 ext. 301 PST or mstevens[at]greenprojectmarketing[dot]com. Skype ID: GreenProjMktg.