Green building concept gets further boost

It has come to the knowledge that a $30 million green building program, formed under the auspices of Home Depot Foundation and Habitat for Humanity, is going to hit the national scenario soon and contrives to build 5,000 efficient homes within the period of next five years.

Let’s delve into the two prime organizations before we advance further. Home Depot Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization, established in 2002, in order to advance the community building goals of The Home Depot by means of providing additional resources to assist nonprofit organizations.

Habitat For Humanity International (HFHI) (referred also as Habitat for Humanity), on the other hand, is an international, ecumenical Christian, non-governmental, non-profit organization devoted to building “simple, decent, and affordable” housing. Homes are built using volunteer labor and are sold at no profit. In locations outside the United States, Habitat for Humanity charges interest to protect against inflation and this policy has been continuing since 1986.

It is to be noted that both of them did initiate a pilot project last year through 30 affiliates and this led to 260 sustainable homes. The success (some homes were even certified to LEED Platinum) did bolster their confidence and now they are determined to implement projects more vigorously.

As far as latest information is concerned, during the end of August, more than 120 Habitat for Humanity affiliates will take part in the national rollout across 45 states. They will receive grants depending on certifications that structures attain– $3,000 for Energy Star guidelines and up to $5,000 for other nationally recognized standards.

Habitat hopes that almost 1,500 homes will be built between the August start and the end of 2010. Some of the certifications were the National Association of Home Builders standard, LEED, EarthCraft and Enterprise Green Communities.

Speaking on this, Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford stated, “Our mission is to provide decent, simple affordable housing to families and we’re committed to being able to provide affordable home ownership. By keeping houses highly energy efficient and by building small energy efficient homes lowers the total cost of ownership– we are deeply committed to keeping not only the upfront expenditures, but also monthly costs affordable.”