- More than $180 billion will be spent annually in the United States to remodel existing homes – many of them less than a year old.
- Of that remodeling, almost half is related to greener, sustainable practices, products, and systems.
- 60% of our individual environmental footprint is related to our houses and the way we live in and operate them – more than our transportation footprint.
- Yet many homeowners insist they can’t find a green builder to do their project -- while many builders are overwhelmed by the dozens of building certification programs that focus on the end product rather than the process.
- It’s time to give builders and remodelers a green edge by cutting through the clutter to tip the balance that takes green building beyond option to standard building practice.
Live Green, Live Smart™ was founded to inform builders and consumers about the benefits and challenges of building greener. In December 2007 the organization’s whole house rehab, Live Green, Live Smart’s The Sustainable House™, received the US Green Building Council’s first LEED Platinum rating for a residential remodel.
Saint Paul College’s Customized Training division, a center for continuing training and education, partners with Live Green, Live Smart™ to offer Integrated Green, a training program for contractors, designers, and project managers that offers certification as a green-savvy builder.
Upon completion of the two-day Integrated Green certification builders can offer clients the information that they are Integrated Green members, offering clients confidence that their contractor is knowledgeable about green building motives, practices, and results. Based on experience with The Sustainable House™,
Live Green, Live Smart faculty cut through the clutter in sessions that fast-track building professionals in the philosophy and practical concerns related to building green. Saint Paul College offers online access to participants, and CEUs for Fall 2008.
For information and registration, visit: http://training.saintpaul.edu/GreenCertforBldrs.aspx,
www.livegreenlivesmart.org or phone Dave Baker at 651.846.1583 at Saint Paul College.