Jeremy Sigmon, LEED® AP BD+CDirector, Technical Policy
U.S. Green Building Council
Take a seat. Lose your stereotypes. Grab a few hush puppies and a glass of sweet tea. Here’s a few highlights you may have otherwise missed about how energy efficiency and green building is moving forward in the Southeast.
Part One: Mainstreet Green in Music City
The Nashville Ledger reports today: “when it comes to new houses, green is the new granite.” Healthy, high-performance homes in Middle Tennessee are not only in high demand, they are emerging as part of homebuyers’ minimum expectations. The Ledger cites estimates that builders are supplying approximately one third of new residential construction starts with a green building label. The Volunteer State is home to more than 1,000 homes that are participating in the LEED for Homes program, including 246 that are already certified, 199 (or 80 percent) of which are designated as affordable.
Green buildings and green homes are generally designed to create comfortable, healthy indoor environments that reduce our impact on the environment while saving energy, water and money. The City of Nashville sees a further benefit of one of the less frequently applied green building methods to reduce the strain on both Metro Nashville’s combined sewer system and also the Cumberland River.
