The following is an excerpt of an article I wrote for the Bell, Rosenberg & Hughes newsletter. It’s a little dated for a blog post. But the article provides some good introductory information, so I wanted to include it here. Let me know what you think.
Green certification programs offer builders and developers an opportunity to set themselves apart from competition. With the declining cost of implementing green features into construction, builders and developers don’t need to spend green to “go green.” Some green features do add costs to the price of a home, but the opportunity to offer a home that will not have an energy bill may be a benefit for which homebuyers are willing to pay a premium. The California Green Builder program (www.cagreenbuilder.org) – created by The Building Industry Institute, the research arm of the California Building Industry Association – has been guiding builders for over two years, but two new certifications for residential homes made their debut in 2007. Build It Green (www.builditgreen.org), a professional non-profit membership organization whose mission is to promote healthy, energy- and resource-efficient buildings in California, launched the GreenPoint Rated system; and the U.S. Green Building Council (“USGBC”) formally announced the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (“LEED”) for Homes rating system during the first week in November of 2007 (www.usgbc.org). The LEED program has been helping commercial developers and builders for years, but the LEED for Homes program is the first LEED for single-family residences. These three programs offer developers, builders and buyers a scale of options for measuring environmental friendliness. The good news is picking one certification program does not preclude you from fulfilling the requirements of another.
The LEED for Homes system offers a wide range of options for builders and developers. Projects can be “Certified,” “Silver,” “Gold,” or “Platinum,” based on the level of environmental friendliness. One clear advantage is the program is building a nationwide reputation, so buyers moving to California from other states will recognize the LEED brandname. The USGBC officially launched LEED for Homes at the Greenbuild Conference in Chicago in November 2007, although the pilot program was launched in 2005 and modified in February 2007.
Admittedly, LEED for Homes is not for every builder or buyer, and the USGBC forecasts that the program will only be a deciding factor for 25% of home buyers nationwide. Attaining a LEED rating at any level adds some cost for the independent verification process. However, Californians have a high standard for home building, and a unique affinity for environmental sensitivity. Add to that the higher cost of energy in California, and one can imagine the demand for LEED rated residential homes will likely outpace national averages. In fact, of the 134 certified LEED for Homes projects built nationally under the pilot program, 55 were in California, and of the 336 units, 78 were in California. That’s 41% of the projects and 23% of the units nationwide!
Unlike the LEED program, Build It Green’s GreenPoint Rated program is a California-centric system. GreenPoint Rated is specifically designed to be compatible with developers and builders who may want to eventually strive for the more stringent LEED standards, but prefer to start with a smaller bite of the green apple. Indeed, Build It Green and the USGBC are working closely together, so their systems compliment rather than compete with each other. Significantly, GreenPoint Rated’s requirements are more generally defined, but provide points for features particularly important to California. One major criticism of the LEED program is that in creating a national sustainability standard LEED ignores regional needs. The GreenPoint Rated system answers these criticisms by exclusively tailoring their incentives for homes located in California.
The California Green Builder program is also California-centric, and has been utilized by builders and developers in California since 2005. Like the GreenPoint Rated system, the California Green Builder program offers a more general approach to achieving sustainability goals. Since the program was designed by the Building Industry Institute, the CA Green Builder program is seen as being more “builder-friendly.”
As energy bills rise, so too does the public’s awareness of “carbon footprints.” The public now recognizes green certification programs mean real dollar savings. When developers and builders construct green residences with a negligible increase in cost, attaining one of these green certifications is an easy way to generate buyer interest in a highly competitive market.
Steve Sacks
