Built Green is a non-profit, residential green building certification program of the Master Builders Association (MBA) of King and Snohomish Counties in Washington State, developed in partnership with King County, Snohomish County, and other government agencies. Built Green provides a framework by which to measure the level of ‘green’ in a home by awarding points for environmentally friendly design and building practices. The Built Green checklist focuses on seven areas of sustainable development:

• Site & Water

• Energy Efficiency

• Health & Indoor Air Quality

• Materials Efficiency

• Equity & Social Justice

• Operations, Maintenance & Homeowner Education

Built Green WA is one example of a locally run third-party certification program. Check with your local MBA to find out if there is a program near you.

Built Green WA does require membership and enrollment fees, in addition to the cost of hiring a third-party Built Green verifer.

LEED is the world's most widely used green building rating system. LEED certification provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings, which offer environmental, social and governance benefits. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement, and it is backed by an entire industry of committed organizations and individuals paving the way for market transformation. LEED programs for new construction focus on nine areas of sustainability:

• Integrative Process (IP)

• Location & Transportation (LT)

• Sustainable Sites (SS)

• Water Efficiency (WE)

• Energy & Atmosphere (EA)

• Materials & Resources (MR)

• Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

• Innovation (IN)

• Regional Priority (RP)

Visit USGBC for more details on the various programs they deliver. LEED programs do require registration and certification fees in addition to the cost of hiring a third-party Green Rater for residential programs, or a third-party consultant/LEED Administrator to guide the project team to a successful certification.

ENERGY STAR is one of the few programs that does not require membership fees, or project enrollment fees, making it one of the more accessible programs for new homes. However, there are still fees associated with hiring a third-party ENERGY STAR Verifier. ENERGY STAR certified homes and apartments are designed and built better from the ground up. The ENERGY STAR label is a symbol of trust, quality, and responsible stewardship of the environment that we all live in. ENERGY STAR homes include:

• A complete Thermal Enclosure System with comprehensive air sealing, quality-installed insulation, and high-performance windows.

• A high-efficiency Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling System.

• A comprehensive Water Management System to protect roofs, walls, and foundations from moisture damage.

• Energy-Efficient Lighting and Appliances

Visit ENERGY STAR for more details on Single-Family, Multifamily, and Manufactured Home programs.

Through 2033 Federal tax credits may be available to builders for Energy Star Certified Homes, under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. Consult your tax accountant professional. Click here for credits and deductions under the IRA of 2022.

Passive House certification requires both a Phius Certified Consultant (CPHC) during design & construction, and a Phius certified Rater during the construction phase to provide third-party verification. There are both program registration fees and consultant fees.

Phius is the only passive building certification that combines a thorough passive house design verification protocol with a stringent Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) program performed onsite by Phius Raters and Verifiers.

Phius+ requires co-requisite program certification as part of its program. The co-certifications include:

• ENERGY STAR

• EPA Indoor airPLUS

• DOE Zero Energy Ready Home.

Certification options include a performance-based pathway and a prescriptive pathway though Phius CORE certification program.

Additionally, projects may opt to certify under Phius ZERO, which is built upon the CORE program but focuses on passive conservation measures first but sets the net source energy target at ZERO, does not allow for fossil-fuel combustion on site, and provides both on-site and off-site renewable energy options to get to ZERO.

Visit Phius for more info.

Not to be confused with Passive House Institute US, Passive House Institute is an independent research institute that has played a critical role in the development of the Passive House concept. It is the only internationally recognized, performance-based energy standard in construction, including the US. For a building to be considered a Passive House, it must meet the following criteria:

• A maximum space heating energy demand of 15kWh per square meter of net living space per year or 10W per square meter peak demand. Alternatively in climates where active cooling is needed, the Space Cooling Energy Demand roughly matches the aforementioned space heating requirement.

• Renewable Primary Energy Demand used for all domestic applications must not exceed 60kWh per square meter of treated floor area per year for Passive House Classic.

• A maximum 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 pascals pressure (ACH50), as verified by on-site pressure testing.

• Thermal comfort must be met for all living areas during winter as well as summer, with not more than 10% of the hours in a given year over 25 degrees C.

Passive House buildings are planned, optimized, and verified with the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP).

Click here for more details.

BREEAM is the world’s leading science-based suite of validation and certification systems for a sustainable built environment, with a US headquarters in San Fransisco. BREEAM USA delivers 3 standards:

• In-use:

  A comprehensive and holistic environmental assessment method for existing commercial, industrial and residential assets. It provides a framework to help owners, managers and occupiers of existing assets successfully adopt sustainable solutions in a cost-effective manner and provides market recognition for their achievements.

• New Construction:

  Standard used for new developments in the US, provides a framework to encourage clients and designers to strive for the most sustainable building within the constraints of the project. Certificates can be issued at the Design Stage (noted as interim BREEAM rating based on the design) and post-construction to confirm the final BREEAM rating for the as-built performance of the building after construction is complete.

• Refurbishment and Fit Out:

  The assessment criteria and process focus on four building structure elements from concept stage right through to a fully completed project: building envelope, core services, local services and interior design.

Click here for more details on BREEAM.

Like other ILFI certification programs, costs include membership, registration, certification fees, and third-party reviewer costs.

Regardless of the size or location of the project, the Living Building Challenge provides a framework for design, construction and the symbiotic relationship between people, our community, and nature. Petal Handbooks clarify and consolidate the rules to provide a unified reference for project teams.

The Living Building Challenge now has ten Core Imperatives that address the fundamental tenets of each Petal. All the Core Imperatives are required for Petal Certification, and together they constitute the requirements of the new Core Green Building Certification. The LBC imperatives are grouped into seven petals:

• Place

• Water

• Energy

• Health + Happiness

• Materials

• Equity

• Beauty

Click here for more info on the Living Building Challenge.

Like other ILFI certification programs, costs include membership, registration, certification fees, and third-party reviewer costs.

By addressing both operational and embodied carbon emissions, Zero Carbon Certification™ offers organizations a valuable tool to demonstrate credible climate action. Zero Carbon certified buildings are verified by a third-party after a 12-month performance period to be energy efficient, combustion free (or actively phasing out combustion), and powered by renewals.

New and Existing buildings must demonstrate a ten percent reduction in the embodied carbon of primary materials compared to an equivalent baseline. Existing buildings may count in-situ materials against the required ten percent. The embodied carbon associated with the construction and materials installed in the project must not exceed 500kg CO2e/m2.

Click here for more details.

Like other ILFI certification programs, costs include membership, registration, certification fees, and third-party reviewer costs.

Zero Energy Certification™ allows projects to demonstrate that the building is truly operating as claimed, harnessing energy from the sun, wind or earth to produce net annual energy demand. Through a third-party audit of actual performance data, Zero Energy certified projects are proven to be highly efficient buildings that rely only on clean energy, without onsite combustion of fossil fuels.

Certification is based on actual, not modeled, performance. The certification process includes 4 steps:

1. Registration (Join as a member to register)

2. Documentation - submitted via online platform.

3. Audit conducted by an independent third-party auditor.

4. Certification.

Click here for more details.

Project teams pursuing Green Globe certification must pay a registration fee as well as assessment fees. On-site inspection is not required but may be requested by the project team or deemed necessary by the Assessor, there may be additional fees.

The Green Building Initiative (GBI) is an international nonprofit organization and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Developer dedicated to reducing climate impacts by improving the built environment. Founded in 2004, the organization is the global provider of the Green Globes® and federal Guiding Principles Compliance building certification and assessment programs.

Green Globes is a science-based, three-in-one building rating system that evaluates the environmental sustainability, health & wellness, and resilience of commercial buildings and portfolios.

Supporting a wide range of new construction and existing building project types, Green Globes certification demonstrates an owner and occupant commitment to sustainability & ESG goals.

Designed to allow building owners and managers to select which sustainability features best fit their building and occupants, Green Globes certifies buildings that meet at least 35% of the 1,000 points that are deemed applicable to the project. Project earn 1 to 4 Globes:

• 35-54% of 1,000 points achieves 1 Green Globe.

• 55-69% of 1,000 points achieves 2 Green Globes.

• 70-84% of 1,000 points achieves 3 Green Globes.

• 85-100% of 1,000 points achieves 4 Green Globes.

Click here for more details.

The WELL Building Standard™ version 2 (WELL v2™) is a vehicle for buildings and organizations to deliver more thoughtful and intentional spaces that enhance human health and well-being. WELL v2 consolidates previous iterations and pilots into a single rating system that is designed to accommodate all project types and sectors. There are 10 concepts in WELL v2.

• Air

• Water

• Nourishment

• Light

• Movement

• Thermal Comfort

• Sound

• Materials

• Mind

• Community

Each concept consists of features with distinct health intents. Features are either preconditions or optimizations. All preconditions are mandatory for certification, while optimizations offer optional pathways for projects to meet certification requirements.

Click here to learn more.

Project teams targeting fitwel certification pay registration and certification fees.

Certification process uses the cloud based fitwel platform. This platform allows you to register, benchmark, and submit a single project or an entire real estate portfolio for fitwel Certification. Both new construction and existing projects may target certification for under the fitwel program, utilizing a design certification and / or a built certification, based on the project.

As a part of this rigorous review process, two independent reviewers assess each project and then confirm a numerical score without seeing the responses of the other reviewer. Developed by public health professionals, this method, known as “double-blind review,” helps ensure each review is unbiased and consistent. The review process includes;

• An initial review with comments from Fitwel.

• One response to the comments from the project team.

• A final review from Fitwel.

• A numerical score and Star Rating (as applicable) for the project.

Click here for more info.