Are there green building guidelines available for someone building or renovating a home?
That’s a timely question. Although green building has gained popularity, there has been a lack of widely accepted guidelines for home builders. What we’ve seen are local efforts, created to address specific local needs or adapted from commercial construction. But that’s about to change. The U.S. National Association of Home Builders is developing green building guidelines exclusively for residential builders. One goal is to eliminate confusion. For example, some programs focus on environmental impact while others include social factors, such as whether a project provides local employment. Even more important is the fact that some programs fail to consider the impact of a building material over its entire life cycle—which I believe is crucial. Through consultation with environmentalists, industries, builders and others, the new guideline is expected to be comprehensive but user-friendly. In the meantime, the following principles can serve as a guide to green building: 1. Use renewable m
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