Builders Want Voluntary Green Building Certification Program, According to New Survey.

WASHINGTON -- The vast majority of residential builders and developers - 90 percent - are interested in participating in a voluntary green building certification program, according to the results of a survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

"As confirmed in this survey, voluntary, market-driven programs are the best way to encourage the growth of green building," said NAHB President Brian Catalde, a builder from Southern California. "More than 100,000 homes have already been built and certified by voluntary, builder-supported programs across the country."

NAHB will launch its National Green Building Program on Feb. 14 at the 2008 International Builders' Show. The NAHB National Green Building program will link dozens of successful state and local voluntary green building programs with a national online scoring tool for builders and verifiers. It also will provide a registry of green homes and green builders as well as extensive educational resources.

Almost 80 percent of the builders and developers surveyed identified the NAHB National Green Building Program as the one that they would most trust over other national programs such as the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED-H rating system.

"NAHB is proud to be considered the most trusted national program by so many home builders and developers," Catalde said. "We are committed to taking green building into the mainstream in a manner that keeps it affordable, which is key to its market success."

Survey questions also focused on green land development practices. More than 80 percent of respondents listed leaving as many trees as possible as the most important consideration when developing land for new home construction. Other practices builders say are most important include minimizing site disruption (69 percent), making greater use of recycled materials in home building (59 percent) and preserving open space by building on smaller lots (54 percent).

ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 235,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. Known as "the voice of the housing industry," NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct 80 percent of the more than 1.36 million new housing units projected for 2007.