Green building incorporates environmental considerations and resource efficiency into every step of the home-building and land-development process to minimize environmental impact. That means the home’s overall impact on the environment is taken into account during its design, construction and operation. As a plus, building a green home can also include lower operating costs, reduced maintenance needs and lifestyle and health improvements.

What are my options for green-building certification?

Consult green-building rating systems. There are several green rating systems for residential construction, but the following are considered reputable standard-makers for Hawaii homeowners.

“Hawaii BuiltGreen is a self-certification rating system,” says Karen Iwamoto, of BIA-HAWAII. “[It was] developed in 2000 with the collaboration of many organizations, including BIA-HAWAII and the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.” To download a self-certification checklist and more, visit www.biahawaii.org.

The U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for homes rating system and the National Association of Home Builders—the latter of which BIA-HAWAII became affiliated with in 2009 by adopting its Guidelines and Standard—are nationally accepted benchmarks for green building. For more information, check out www.usgbc.org/leed and www.nahbgreen.org.

The bottom line:

More consumers are demanding green products and practices, says Iwamoto. “The choice of which rating system to use [is ultimately up] to the individual homeowner.” ­­