We enjoyed visiting with so many NGBS Green Partners and sharing insights from our work at the International Builders Show (IBS) in Las Vegas!

Cindy speaks about the HUD Green MIP requirements within the IBS Multifamily Central.

Multifamily Portfolio Carbon Emissions Calculator & Webinar

February 17th at 1PM ET | Register here

Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF) has published a new resource — the SAHF Multifamily Portfolio Carbon Emissions Calculator — to equip portfolio owners to calculate their annual greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 equivalent. The tool will be particularly useful to multifamily portfolio owners that are considering goal setting for carbon emissions reductions, especially if the portfolio contains properties that have only some or no energy-related utility data. Join SAHF to learn more about this new tool and its uses.

Atlantic Builders Convention

March 28-30 | Atlantic City, NJ

Register now open for the Northeast's largest building industry tradeshow, the Atlantic Builders Convention (ABC), March 28-30, at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. ABC attracts a diverse audience of building industry professionals including developers, remodelers, consultants and more. Connect with thousands of your peers, take advantage of a dozen seminars offering continuing education credits and attend some of the year’s most exciting networking and awards programs. Attendee Registration – Exhibit Spaces – Discounted Room Rates – Virtual Marketplace.

Protecting the First Side of the Home with Effective Foundation Vapor Barriers Webinar (co-hosted with Stego)

April 6th, 3:00-4:00PM

This webinar will provide an in-depth look at the cause and effects of below-slab moisture and vapor concerns in homes and considerations for incorporating effective, durable protection. With a science-based, educational approach, the presentation will provide a tailored look at the natural movement of water vapor, soil-gas (like radon) and subterranean termites into the first side of a home and the importance of taking the ground permanently out of play regardless of a home's location or foundation type. Even more, the presentation will walk through the material innovations and evolving residential industry standards and guidelines that influence the selection and installation of foundation vapor control systems. This includes new requirements for the vapor retarder beneath concrete floors in the 2021 International Residential Code (IRC). There will be a particular focus on the role that effective vapor protection has on the long-term performance of homes, including energy efficiency, human health, durability, and reduced ownership costs/impacts – and the value it offers to homebuilding professionals and their customers.

AIA CE: 1 LU/HSW Credit (Course #: RESIDENTIALVB1)

ICC CE: 0.1 CEU (Course #: 32560)

Register here.

In January, the NGBS Green Team met to celebrate the beginning of 2023 — the 15th year of the NGBS Green program — and 400,000 certified homes! 

Calling all industry professionals! Earn your NGBS Green PRO professional designation to validate your expertise in green design, construction, and building certification.

Congratulations to Adam DeMay, Field Operations Manager with Jay Hall & Associates! Adam is the latest individual to earn the NGBS Green PRO designation!

Successfully earning the NGBS Green PRO designation demonstrates advanced understanding of the National Green Building Standard ICC-700 and the NGBS Green certification program.

Training for the designation – consisting of four self-paced modules, each with its own mastery check – is live and available 24/7 at the NGBS Green Pro Training site. Completion of a single NGBS Green PRO module earns 1LU Elective from AIA or 0.1 CEU credit from ICC; completion of the entire course earns 4LU Elective from AIA or 0.4 CEU credit from ICC.

Learn more and get started today – download the Overview document and discuss the benefits of this professional development opportunity with your supervisor and colleagues.

NGBS Green PRO Discounts Available!

Student Discount. You Asked; We Delivered

Are you a student interested in green building? Utilize our discount code for a 50% savings off the NGBS Green PRO training: NGBSStudents50. Register with your ".edu" email address.

NGBS Green PRO Directory

All NGBS Green PROs are now featured on our website. See the directory. 

On January 27^TH, the Maryland Department of Labor proposed to adopt the Maryland Building Performance Standards with amendments that deem the Silver Rating of the ICC/ASHRAE 700-2015 National Green Building Standard as an equivalent to the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code. The following links provide actual language:

09 MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF LABOR - DIVISION OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY

.....Model Performance Code

.....Maryland Building Performance Standards

.....International Green Construction Code

This proposal will provide builders and developers greater flexibility for code compliance. In addition, builders and developers that seek NGBS Green for code compliance can also use the green certification to be eligible for preferred financing and marketing purposes.

Home Innovation will submit a letter in support that also asks for clarifications. Please contact Michelle if you would like to read Home Innovation’s draft comments.

Interested parties can submit comments until February 27, 2023 to the attention of:

.....Mischelle F Vanreusel

.....Acting Deputy Commissioner

.....Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry

.....10946 Golden West Drive, Suite 160

.....Hunt Valley, MD 21031

Or call 410-767-2225 or email to dli.regulations+BC@maryland.gov.

Fannie Mae released their updated Form 4250 and reference documents at the end of 2022, and it is currently in effect. Fannie Mae recognized various NGBS Green certification options across their multiple financing tiers. Certification to the 2015 or 2020 NGBS is required; Fannie Mae no longer accepts 2012 NGBS compliance for Green Building Certification Financing.

If you have a project that received a 2012 NGBS extension, we will honor the extension. However, if you are seeking Fannie Mae financing, we recommend speaking with your Verifier about the possibility of converting to the 2015 NGBS.

Feel free to contact us with any questions.

VERSATEX Cellular PVC Trimboards are strong, durable, lightweight, and easy to install. The trimboards are certified as prefinished (601.7) and termite-resistant materials (602.1.6).

All vinyl scrap generated during the VERSATEX process is recycled back into the finished product and helps save the environment, since it is a replacement for wood trim; thus, helping to prevent deforestation.

Project Name: Jacaranda Place, Building 1

Location: Port Charlotte, FL

Architect: Architectonics Studio, Inc.

Developer: Blue Sky Communities

Building Size: 3 Stories, 44 units

Certification Level: Bronze

Verifier: Christian Karras, E3 Building Sciences

Green Features: The apartments within Jacaranda Place pushed our NGBS Certification Activity counter over the 400,000^TH certified home milestone! Jacaranda Place earned NGBS Green certification at the Bronze level. The housing community, which was constructed with financing from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, is designed to provide permanent support housing to persons with disabling conditions and their families and homeless households. Jacaranda Place is located on an infill lot with pedestrian access to nearby parks, restaurants, community centers, and shopping. All units feature universal design elements so that they are accessible by both residents and visitors with varying abilities. The building was constructed to be 1% more efficient than the 2015 IECC. Water efficient appliances and fixtures are included throughout the building.

ESG — Environmental, Social, and Governance — metrics can improve a company's ability to access capital from funders committed to sustainable investing. NGBS Green certification is one important validation of a company's commitment to sustainable business operations. Our new ESG webpage is a one-stop-shop for ESG-related resources, including the NGBS-GRESB crosswalk. This tool shows the GRESB indicators that are fulfilled by NGBS Green Certification and how it can contribute toward a higher GRESB score and ranking.

To help streamline your clients' ESG reporting efforts, we embedded NGBS-GRESB checklists into the 2020 NGBS Green Scoring Tools (New Construction, Remodeling and Single-Family Certified Path). These new tabs identify the GRESB indicators that are fulfilled by a project's unique green features and performance. The NGBS-GRESB tabs are easy to use, as they are auto-populated from inputs on the Design and Verification tabs. These new scoring tools can be downloaded on our website.

Note: GRESB tabs will be added to the 2020 NGBS Land Development tool soon!

Recently, we've been posting case studies on some unique and exemplary NGBS Green Certified projects. If you haven't checked them out yet, be sure to visit our Resources page – there are several there already and we're adding more each month. While on the page, be sure to check out the wide range of guidance documents, comparisons, and other helpful resources we've created for our NGBS Green Partners, including:

• NGBS Green Certification Quick Start Guide
• Quick Start Guide: Your NGBS Green Portal Powered by AXIS
• NGBS Green vs. HERS
• Comparison ENERGY STAR Version 3.0 and 2015 National Green Building Standard
• 2020 NGBS Green Commercial Certification Options
• 2020 NGBS Green Certified Checklist
• Which Version is Best for You? Selecting the Best NGBS Option
• NGBS Green Compliance Guidance for Tropical Zone
• Streamlined NGBS Green Certification for Single-Family Homes

And you can also find LOTS of great resources by visiting the following pages – #BookmarkWorthy:

• NGBS Green Resources
• NGBS Advocacy
• NGBS Equivalency & Comparisons
• NGBS ESG Resources

If you know of a program that may be of interest to our NGBS Green program partners, please let us know.

Join these upcoming events:

• SAHF Carbon Calculator Webinar | February 17, 2023 1:00PM EST | Virtual
• 2023 Pennsylvania Housing Research Center Housing Conference | March 1-2, 2023 | State College, PA
• Atlantic Builders Convention | March 28-30, 2023 | Atlantic City, NJ
• Effective Vapor Barriers Webinar | April 6, 2023 | Virtual