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First Home Builder Signs Up to Participate in
Southern Nevada Green Building Partnership

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resources. We believe the home building industry is already playing a vital role in that effort,” Porter said. “We have members who have continually shown their dedication to the principles of green building as evidenced by their commitment to the Energy Star and Water Smart Homes programs. (Energy Star is a voluntary, energy conservation program of the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the home building industry; Water Smart Homes was established by the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and the Southern Nevada Water Authority as a water-conservation program for the home building industry.)

“Our partnership with the Green Building Initiative has allowed us to create a strategic plan to develop a green building program that will benefit our members and their homebuyers,” Porter said.

The local program guidelines were developed by the 18-member Green Building Committee of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and the Green Building Initiative. The committee, which included home builders, energy consultants, energy-related companies, local governments, and utility companies, worked on the establishment of a green building partnership for about a year, and it was unveiled in June 2005. The partnership’s green building guidelines were released in October 2006. The 10-page program requirements were customized to meet the special conditions of the Southern Nevada environment.

The interest in green building has increased significantly in recent years.

The National Association of Home Builders reported on June 2 that a new survey revealed that more than 97,000 new homes have been built and certified by voluntary, builder-supported green building programs throughout the country since the mid-1990s. That’s up more than 50 percent compared with the 61,000 green homes counted by the National Association of Home Builders in the previous survey of 2004.

The national association specifically recognized the Southern Nevada Green Building Partnership program in that report, stating “the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association’s program is a great example of the beauty of these (NAHB Model) guidelines. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to green home building. Programs must be flexible, dynamic and market based. The Nevada program, based on the NAHB Model Guidelines, is adjusted to reflect the desert climate and water scarcity. It has been recognized as the official and voluntary residential green building program for the city of Las Vegas (in October 2006)”