The Interview: Laura CappsIn addition to supporting the multiple green building programs Southface Energy Institute promotes, Laura Capps has served as a lead trainer for the organization for the past seven years. For more than 30 years, Southface has promoted comfortable, energy-efficient homes, workplaces and communities throughout the Southeast. Green Homebuilder: How many residential green building programs does Southface promote? Which ones are most popular? Laura Capps: Southface supports a variety of residential green building programs in a number of capacities. We serve as a LEED for Homes, WaterSense and Home Energy Rating System (HERS) provider; a Home Performance with Energy Star sponsor; a research partner for the Department of Energy’s Building America Building Technologies program; and verifiers for Building America Builders Challenge, Enterprise Green Communities, Energy Star and the NAHB Green Building Program. Southface also supported the development of the REGREEN remodeling guidelines created by the ASID and USGBC, and we administer the Southeast’s EarthCraft family of regional green building programs. In addition, Southface supports a robust affordable housing program, providing weatherization training throughout Georgia to new employees and experienced professionals within the state’s Weatherization Assistance Program for low-income families. Our staff is also actively engaged in Georgia’s Qualified Allocation Plan process that greens affordable housing. While these initiatives differ in both their approaches and audiences, all of them address the fundamental need to create more efficient, more economical, healthier homes. GHB: How does the EarthCraft green building program differ from other third-party programs? LC: Among the increasing number of third-party verified green building programs, EarthCraft is unique in that it is specifically designed for homes and buildings in the Southeast. By addressing the factors that impact homes in this region, including high heat, humidity and temperature swings, EarthCraft provides a blueprint for more efficient, more sustainable homes in this specific region. GHB: How many builders have enrolled in the program? How many homes have been EarthCraft certified? LC: To date, more than 13,000 EarthCraft projects have been certified across six states in the Southeast. Currently, approximately 400 builders are registered with EarthCraft. GHB: What changes (if any) in green building can we expect to see in the near future? LC: While the term “green building” is often associated with new, single-family homes, this is not always the case. Particularly in recent years, we’ve seen growing interest in other types of construction, including multifamily living units and senior housing. Notably, there has also been a recent shift from new construction to renovation and retrofitting. Largely due to economic factors, consumers are less interested in purchasing new homes than in refurbishing the ones they have. As our building stock ages, homeowners are renovating and retrofitting their homes, both to gain utility savings and to improve the comfort and livability of their homes. We’ve definitely see this trend in the EarthCraft program, where last year alone, there was a 40 percent increase in the number of EarthCraft renovations. Finally, as energy codes become more stringent, many green building programs are increasing their certification standards, which also helped to advance the definition of green building in the marketplace. GHB: What is Southface doing to educate homebuilders in going green? LC: Southface maintains a huge focus on education — helping connect builders and industry stakeholders to smart solutions that enhance project quality, generate construction cost savings and conserve energy and water. We currently offer trainings on energy code compliance, green building technology, home energy ratings and various green building programs. We strongly support the industry-wide trend toward professional certifications and designations. This year, Southface has partnered with homebuilders associations from across Georgia to train more EarthCraft certified professionals, including builders, realtors and trade contractors, to enhance Georgia’s commitment to sustainable building. We also work with RESNET, BPI and other industry partners on contractor certifications. GHB: How is the current economy and recovery affecting green building? LC: The housing market will clearly take several years to recover — there’s no denying it. However, Southface is finding that developers and builders are taking advantage of the current market downturn to increase their knowledge and skills in green building. Their goals are to focus on improving project profitability and more positively impacting the local communities. Educated professionals who embrace green building from project initiation to day-to-day operations, as their way of doing business, find they can complete profitable, high-quality projects for their clients. |
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