We are often asked about Green Certification? What it is? How to acquire it,? What does it mean? Etc. Now I personally could not cover this subject anywhere near as good as our very own Tim Smith. Tim has been with 15 lightyears from the beginning and is our Chief Building scientist.  Luckily, Tim lives for this stuff and is always looking for an opportunity to tell people about it.  So I’m taking advantage of this by asking him the questions we have received lately.  

The Questions

What is Green Certification? 

There are several organizations that we provide green certifications through (NGBS, FGBC LEED, Enterprise Green Communities, Energy Star, RESENT HERS Ratings).  Each has their own specific project requirements. Each also requires the verifiers to earn program certifications in order to provide and perform the work on a green project. While we provide certification with many programs, for this report, I am going to focus on 2, FGBC & NGBS:
Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC)- local green building program to Florida. We certify both Multi-family & Single Family Homes under this program. The program focuses on Energy Efficiency, Water Conservation, Site Selection, Material Selection, Health & Indoor Air Quality and Disaster Mitigation. Each section has associated points based on project specifications that can be achieved and the project is awarded points based on meeting the selected points within each category. The project can achieve anywhere between 100-240 points (100 is a minimum point required) Based on the points, the project can earn a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification. 
National Gren Building Coalition (NGBS)- very similar to FGBC but widely used on a national level. While single-family homes are available, we have focused on multi-family projects with NGBS.  There are points associated with project specifications based on Site & Lot, Energy, Water, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Green Project Education. Points in each category are required to meet a minimum certification from 231 pts to 611 pts. Levels of certification range from Bronze, Silver, Gold, & Emerald.  

What do you do to certify a company? 

So we don't certify company but project, whether those are single-family homes, multifamily homes, or and development projects. Depending on the program, requirements, we work with architects, developers, general contractors and project owners to develop a plan of certification that includes specific specifications that meet the project goals, owners' requirements and green certification requirements. After those specifications have been decided, we work throughout the construction of the project to verify that the project is built to the project goals. 

How difficult is it to get a quote?  call, meeting, then what? 

It really depends on the project. We review plans and project specifications. We look at the location and size of the project (# units, # buildings, etc). We can submit a quote based on project goals, project size and location. If accepted, a project meeting to decide final specifications, project mission statement, and layout everyone's responsibilities. Then the project starts. We start performing inspections based on the different requirements of each program. 

Could you tell me a business 15 lightyears has certified green?  

We perform Green Certifications for a lot of projects for a lot of developers, such as Atlantic Housing, Vestcor Development, Integra Land Company on the multi-family side, just to name a few. For single-family builders, we work with Florida Green Construction, Meritage Homes, John Cannon Homes, Hardwick Construction and several other custom builders. 

Why would someone want to become Green Certified? 

There are many reasons why. Some are for marketing the ability to promote a healthy and sustainably built home. However, most, especially multifamily are required to have a green certification due to requirements from HUD and/or Florida Housing Finance Corporation.

What does a company do after certification? How do they market the green certification? 

As part of the certification, the final wrap up in an education/ training session with the project owner and if applicable, project management teams and maintenance engineers. Training on the green components and mechanical systems is important to ensure that the systems are operated and maintained after certification.  Usually, the green certifications are marketed on project websites and onsite signage. For multifamily projects, they usually have a "Green" addendum that is the project specifications for the tenants, so they know some of the community's green attributes. 

What do you think is the most important part of this process? 

There are 3 highly important parts to any green certification,. 1. Design- you have to know your goals and specify your projects accordingly. 2. Verify- you have to ensure the project specifications are being completed accurately. 3. Post project education- after the project it is imperative to train the staff and educate the occupants on the projects systems. If the project is not maintained as a green project, then all design and work that goes into the project is for nothing!

How long have you been doing it? 

15 lightyears has been providing green certification since 2012. I became certified with FGBC, Energy Star & RESNET in 2013. Lisa, become certified in 2012 with FGBC. Lisa and I became certified with LEED in 2013, Lisa became certified with NGBS in 2014. I became certified in NGBS in 2020.  Other certifications for me include IndoorAirplus, Florida Water Star, Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Homes, and Enterprise Green Communities since 2015-2018

How are you certified to do this?

 Lots of courses, lots of studying, lots of exams. Each program requires different levels of education and have different exams. 

How much? How much for what? 

To become certified to offer these certifications for projects.... In most programs, the education course are the main costs. Can between $300-$3000 per program. 

To register a project for a green certification really depends on the program and size of the project. 

FGBC- single family homes between $750-$1200/ home. Multifamily from $20-40k, larger projects can more

NGBS- multifamily project, again on project size, but usually between $16k-30k

Wrap Up

Hopefully this has answered your questions, however, if it has not, please do not hesitate to reach out to us by either emailing us, or drop us a message and of course call at 855-438-1515. Otherwise, Tim will keep talking to us about this 🤣😂. We offer a variety of third party green building certifications throughout the sunshine state designed to help builders and multifamily developers stand out from the competition.