Enterprise’s vision through Green Communities is to fundamentally transform the way we think about, design and build affordable homes.
Green Communities is the first national green building program developed for affordable housing. We focus on the use of environmentally sustainable materials, reduction of negative environmental impacts and increased energy efficiency. And we emphasize designs and materials that safeguard the health of residents and locations that provide easy access to services and public transportation.
Green Communities is designed to help developers, investors, builders and residents make the transition to a greener future for affordable housing. Created in consultation with some of the nation’s leading environmental, public health and green building experts, we offer grants, loans, tax-credit equity, training and technical assistance to give developers and builders the resources they need to bring green projects to life.
Groundbreaking CriteriaGreen Communities homes are built according to the Green Communities Criteria, the first national framework for healthy, efficient, environmentally smart affordable homes. The Criteria were developed by Enterprise in partnership with:
- Natural Resources Defense Council
- American Institute of Architects
- American Planning Association
- National Center for Healthy Housing
- Southface Energy Institute
- Global Green USA
- Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
- Experts associated with the US Green Building Council
In 2004, Enterprise set out to prove that it was possible to bring the
health, economic and environmental benefits of green building to
low-income communities nationwide. Conventional wisdom said it could
not be done. But through action, research and wide-ranging partnerships,
we exceeded our own ambitious goals to change how America thinks
about, designs, preserves and locates affordable housing.
In just five years, the Enterprise Green Communities initiative invested $700 million to build and preserve nearly 16,000 green affordable
homes – while transforming local, state and national policies. These policies validate a national commitment
to healthier, greener affordable homes in the halls of the U.S. Congress– and in legislative chambers and communities across the United States.
Enterprise will continue to lead and build on this important momentum with the next generation of Enterprise Green Communities – for every generation. The next exciting juncture of our award-winning initiative will deliver new tools, services and products that put into practice the findings on the cost-effectiveness of meeting the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria.
