Greenbuild Underscores Equity and Affordability
More than 20,000 leaders in the green building movement met in Chicago November 7-9 for the U.S. Green Building Council’s annual Greenbuild conference. The conference was a vivid testament to the depth and diversity of the green building movement and its incredible momentum. Highlights included an opening keynote address by former President Clinton, an inspiring address from environmentalist and writer Paul Hawken and dozens of workshops and networking opportunities. Equity and affordability – green affordable homes and schools for everybody – were central themes throughout the meeting. USGBC President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi framed the issues in his powerful plenary comments:
"Green Collar jobs are the kinds of jobs that can bring prosperity to American communities that today are languishing because of flat wages, and economic stagnation. Think about disadvantaged youth, or returning servicemen and women, those whose outsourced manufacturing jobs left them economically stranded. With more than 100 million individuals employed in the building and construction industry today, just think about what we could accomplish…if we all embraced that vision.
Let’s also not forget that green affordable housing must be a part of this equation. Enterprise Community Partners is leading this effort, and we are proud to assist their efforts in every way possible. Our partnership with Enterprise has taught us how we can bring social equity into the environmental movement with a proactive agenda that’s often missing.
It’s a long-term, forward-looking approach that delivers what social activist Van Jones calls a different kind of “on ramp” to the green movement. So how can we make certain that green affordable housing is a part of our future? Einstein said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others; it is the only thing.”
Home Depot Foundation Honors Green Communities Projects
The opening session of Greenbuild featured the presentation of the Home Depot Foundation's Awards of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly, the leading national award for green affordable homes. The winner in the homeownership category was Community Housing Partners Corporation in Blacksburg, Va., for the Blacksburg Duplex development. This Green Communities development also benefited from the leadership of Fredrick P. Rose Architectural Fellow Colin Arnold, who served as the project architect. The runner up in the rental category was Homeowners Rehabilitation, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., for the Trolley Square development. The Green Communities website offers a virtual tour of this project. Enterprise congratulates the winners and all the nominees in this year’s program.
Greenbuild’s Pre-Conference Session Highlights Affordable Housing
For the third year in a row, The Home Depot Foundation, The Oak Hill Fund and the USGBC sponsored a daylong pre-conference session focused on opportunities for greening affordable housing. A tradition started during the Greenbuild conference in Atlanta, the afternoon took real projects by leading developers through an intensive review process to explore the options for meeting LEED and Green Communities standards. This year, Enterprise Home Ownership Opportunities Program in Los Angeles participated. The session found EHOP’s newest townhome development – intentionally designed to meet the Green Communities Criteria – certifiable at the LEED-H Silver level.
LEED for Homes Launched
USGBC officially announced the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes rating system at Greenbuild. Pending expected approval by the USGBC membership later this month, LEED for Homes will provide a national rating system for a broad range of housing types, including many kinds of affordable housing developments. Enterprise and USGBC have worked closely together to align the Green Communities and LEED for Homes criteria, and will partner to increase awareness and participation in these complementary programs for affordable housing developers throughout the country. USGBC also rolled out a new website on green homes: www.greenhomeguide.org.
USGBC Introduces Online Resource for Sustainable Cities
Another new online resource spearheaded by USGBC in partnership with the city of Seattle is The Green Playbook for Green Buildings and Neighborhoods, www.greenplaybook.org, a web-based resource that provides strategies, tips and tools for cities and counties to take immediate action on climate change through green building, including green affordable housing; green neighborhoods; and sustainable infrastructure. The Playbook is designed for communities that are considering making the first steps toward green as well as for those who want to take existing efforts to a new level. The Playbook details strategic actions that build support and assure steady progress. Enterprise is proud to be among more than 20 partners that helped fund, develop and launch the Playbook. Through this tool and other initiatives and partnerships, Enterprise is working with mayors and city officials nationwide to integrate green affordable housing and community development strategies into broader plans to fight climate change.
