Editor’s Note: March/April 2021
Dear Readers in Online and Print,
Welcome to the very special Eco-SourceBook issue of Green Home Builder, meant to be kept on your desk for a full calendar year to reference. This past year has been defined by many trials and tribulations. They forced the nation to learn hard lessons and rethink exactly what health means, in every facet. With people spending almost all their time at home, the want for more space led many to make an investment in a new home; however, it wasn’t enough for a home to simply be structurally-sound or aesthetically-pleasing, home buyers wanted homes that also promoted health. Green home builders have been promoting the tenets of healthy houses for some time and home buyers are paying attention to that now more than ever.
For this issue, we are showcasing eco-friendly and sustainable products that can be used in your next green home building project. With the incorporation of any number of these products, achieving green building certifications like NGBS, LEED or Zero Energy Ready Home is within reach. Hopefully, this issue becomes a staple reference for your company for the rest of the year.
As green construction and products become more ubiquitous, it’s important to start thinking beyond just making things eco-friendly and sustainable. In this issue, Jessie Buckmaster, the sustainability manager at Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company and a board member of the USGBC, argues that we need to rethink how products are made to incorporate less materials overall and fewer engineered, non-organic materials.
In order to meet the demand for green homes, the green building industry also needs to ensure that its workforce is healthy. USGBC CEO Mahesh Ramanujam sat down with us to discuss how COVID affected the green building industry and what the USGBC did to help homebuilders achieve healthier homes while keeping everyone involved as safe as possible. Without a healthy workforce, new green home constructions would not be able to operate.
As the vaccine roll-outs continue and the nation reaches a heightened level of national health, the fervor to ensure the health of oneself and one’s household, which was ignited by the pandemic, will continue. From as high as the Oval Office to as small as a single homeowner, the call for environmentally friendly and sustainable living is louder than ever. This can prove to be an exciting time for the green building industry.
As always, if there is a project you would like the team to hear more about, please feel free to reach out to me at alexa@builder.media. I hope you enjoy the issue!
Sincerely,
Alexa Moreno Perdomo
Assistant Editor
