Green Homes Special Series: Part Sixteen: Creating Your Green Plan

In Colorado, for example, Annette Stelmack of Louisville, sustainability consultant, sole proprietor of InSpirit and co-author of Sustainable Residential Interiors, suggests checking out the Colorado Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council which supports the USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System. In addition, the Boulder Green Building Guild provides a list of members who meet guild qualifications and Built Green Colorado provides consumers with information specifically related to builders. You also can visit the Web sites of national organizations to obtain team contacts. The U.S. Green Building Council provides a section on its site to look up members that are LEED Accredited Professionals. To become a LEED AP, members must pass a rigorous exam that demonstrates a thorough understanding of green building practices and principles and familiarity with LEED requirements, resources and processes. Assemble Your Team After you chose your key leader, together you can build your team. As you sort through contacts, ask questions such as these offered by Stelmack. 1. What type of green training and/or certification do they have? For many associations, you should be able to confirm certifications by contacting their offices or checking their Web sites. 2. What type and how many green homes/remodels have they successfully completed? Ask them for a list of green references and be sure to check out the list. 3. How would they approach the project? “Ideally, a green project team works together holistically, understanding all the parts of the whole, toward a systems integrated building process,” says Stelmack. Coordination among everyone on the team—owner, architect, designer, builder, trade, manufacturers—is vital to the success of a high-performance green project. 4. What is a green building from their perspective? Stelmack says to look for some of the following responses, to name just a few, along with specific project goals: • energy efficiency and conservation, high-performance building • indoor environmental quality • resource and materials efficiency and conservation • occupant health • water efficiency and conservation • design innovation

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