Karla Butterfield Recognized as Home Innovation NGBS Green Partner of Excellence
Karla Butterfield has been named a Home Innovation NGBS Green Partner of Excellence for 2016. NGBS Green, which is based on the National Green Building Standard™ (NGBS), has certified more homes than any other national green home certification program thanks in large part to its knowledgeable in-field verifiers. Being one of an elite group of Home Innovation’s green certification program partners to be recognized validates the commitment Karla has made to providing customers with increased value, professionalism, and relevance in the marketplace through third-party verification to the NGBS.
“As the home building market continues its rebound,” said Home Innovation Labs president and CEO Michael Luzier, “dedicated partners like Karla prove that participating in our rigorous third-party certification program isn’t just a passing fad – it’s a strategic business decision that is paying dividends and changing the marketplace. Others around the industry could benefit from following the lead of this year’s NGBS Green Partners of Excellence and building on the program’s success.”
As an accredited NGBS Green Verifier, Karla has provided independent verification services for more than 1,700 units that ultimately became NGBS Green Certified by Home Innovation Research Labs. NGBS Green Verifiers are trained, tested, and accredited by Home Innovation to ensure consistency and rigor for NGBS Green Certifications across the country. Karla, a Sustainability Consultant at Steven Winter Associates, Inc., works exclusively with residential buildings. Her expertise is in sustainable consulting services, program certification support, and implementation of high performance building technologies. She works with architects, developers, builders, and homeowners to develop specific sustainability strategies for both new construction and renovations. Karla is an integral part of the initial strategic planning sessions and stakeholder workshops based on program criteria; she verifies for LEED® for Homes, Passive House, Energy Star®, and National Green Building Standard programs.
To earn certification by the National Green Building Standard, a home must meet rigorous criteria in six categories – Lot & Site Development, Resource Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Homeowner Education. There are mandatory practices in each category that every NGBS Green Certified home must meet, and there are a wide range of additional optional practices in each category that a builder can select based on the applicability to buyers or renters in their market. There are also mandatory point minimums in every category in order for a home to attain the next level of certification, which is a more stringent requirement than in any other national certification program.
Since January 2009, when the (NGBS) became the first residential green building rating system to be approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Home Innovation Research Labs has certified nearly 100,000 green single-family and apartment homes, and more than 1,650 lots within green residential land developments. (For more details on current certification numbers, visit www.homeinnovation.com/ngbsgreenstats.) For more information on NGBS Green Certified homes and Home Innovation’s NGBS Green Partner builders and remodelers, visit www.NGBS.com.
About Steven Winter Associates
Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) provides research, consulting, and advisory services to improve commercial, residential, and multifamily built environments for private and public sector clients. The firm specializes in energy, sustainability, and accessibility consulting as well as certification, research & development, and compliance services. For more information, visit www.swinter.com.
ABOUT HOME INNOVATION RESEARCH LABS: Home Innovation Research Labs, located in Upper Marlboro, Md., is a full-service research, testing, and consulting firm determined to improve the quality, durability, affordability, and environmental performance of single- and multifamily homes and home building products – in short, we aim to perfect the home. Founded in 1964 as a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), our team has been integral in solving many of our client’s most difficult product and technology issues, and helping to introduce some of the most groundbreaking innovations in residential construction. Through an interdisciplinary research approach – including market research, building science analysis, laboratory testing, and standards development – we help to find a home for innovation in the residential construction industry.