Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity
The 2011 National Green Building Award for the Affordable Project of the Year went to Habitat for Humanity Bay-Waveland Area. This award is given by the National Association of Home Builders. Thanks to Habitat’s hard work on a house constructed in 2010, which received NAHB’s Emerald certification — its highest green building standard, the group has received this award with great honor.
“While building our houses to meet green certification standards is the right thing to do for our environment, it also has a direct impact on our homeowners,” says Wendy McDonald, executive director of Habitat Bay-Waveland. “The energy efficiency of these homes means they will have much lower electricity and water bills each month, which makes their homes more affordable.”
The award was presented during the 2011 National Green Building Conference and Expo in Salt Lake City. The ceremony recognized builders from around the U.S. for their excellence in green building and advocacy during the previous year.
“These award winners are pushing the envelope of what we can achieve with energy and resource efficiency,” says Bob Jones, former chairman of NAHB.
The home features materials such as Bluwood, Galvalume roofing, open-cell spray foam insulation, fly ash concrete and Energy Star appliances.
In 2009, Habitat Bay-Waveland made a commitment to build all its new houses to the green certification standards of the National Association of Home Builders Research Center and the U.S. Green Building Council. To date, the Habitat affiliate has 57 houses that are either certified or in the process of being certified.
“We congratulate Habitat Bay-Waveland for receiving this national recognition that highlights their commitment to building homes and improving their community,” says Larry Gluth, senior vice-president of U.S. and Canada for Habitat for Humanity International. “We also thank NAHB for recognizing this effort to build affordable housing that is sustainable for low-income families.”
For more information, visit Habitat for Humanity.
