The National Green Building Standard is a voluntary program designed to assess the design, construction, and renovation of residential buildings about their impact on the environment and sustainable design. It has four different certification levels for homes – Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald – and have few minimum requirement to allow the developer flexibility so they can find the best green building practices to suit their project.

The National Green Building Program began in 2005 by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) as the National Green Building Guidelines. It aimed to assist NAHB’s 800 affiliates in developing homeowner programs in their local areas. When the NAHB decided to create their standards for green building, they developed the National Green Building Program to set higher standards for sustainable building.

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Other Sources

“ICC 700 National Green Building Standard.” NAHB. https://www.nahb.org/en/research/nahb-priorities/green-building-remodeling-and-development/icc-700-national-green-building-standard.aspx. Accessed August 11, 2016.

“National Green Building Standard.” Green Building Advisor. http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/ngbs. Accessed August 11, 2016.