Massachusetts Home Builder Associations to Adopt Statewide Green Building Program

Working in partnership with GBI, the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts and the Builders Association of Greater Boston have developed interim guidelines for Build Green Massachusetts—a unified green building program for HBAs across the state.

“There is a strong desire on the part of Massachusetts home builder associations to create a program that clarifies the different aspects of green building and offers practical advice,” said Dan Green, president of the Builders Association of Greater Boston and principal of The Green Company. “Our intent is to make it easier for members to build and certify green homes and to give them the marketing and other advantages that go along with that.”

Build Green Massachusetts will include a point system that focuses on results as opposed to mandating the specific means to achieve them, which gives building owners the flexibility to meet their energy, health and sustainability goals in a way that suits both the location of their homes and their individual needs.

Categories include:

Siting and Land Use – encourages builders to be aware of and work toward improving (or at least not disturbing) existing natural aspects of the land to be developed, and promotes environmental appreciation. 

Building Design – urges builders to have a plan for the overall building, orientation, and environmentally friendly features.

Material Quality, Durability and Sustainability – promotes the consideration of short and long term environmental impacts in material selection.

Energy Efficiency – includes sub-categories focusing on different systems that consume energy within a building, and how they can be designed and used for increased efficiency.

Water Efficiency – promotes water conservation practices indoors and out.

Indoor Air Quality – encourages builders to give consideration to the air people breathe both inside and outside their homes by minimizing toxins, particles and gases that have potentially harmful effects.

Keeping it Green – provides information on how to educate homeowners so they maintain their homes for optimal green performance, and more fully understand the benefits built into the homes they buy.