Building Green

The California Green Builder Program

Today’s California new homes are the best-built and best-designed ever. But, did you know that they also are more environmentally friendly than ever?

All new homes built in California are more energy-efficient than typical homes built anywhere else in the country. They save homeowners money on their utility bills and help improve our air quality as well.

But a growing number of California homebuilders are doing even more. They’re participating in the most successful green building program of its type in the state – the California Green Builder (CGB) program. These builders go above and beyond what’s required in a cost-effective voluntary program that produces real results.

Consider:

  • More than 1,800 CGB homes have been completed, and another 3,600 are under construction or in the planning stage. That’s more than any other green builder program in the state.
  • Each CGB home prevents 1,000 pounds of greenhouse gases from being released into our atmosphere every year. 
  • CGB homes are 15 to 20 percent more energy efficient than even the state’s toughest-in-the-nation standards.
  • They save at least 20,000 gallons of water a year compared to typical homes.
  • CGB builders divert at least half of their construction waste from landfills.
  • And the wood used in CGB homes is harvested from sustainable forest operations. 

While some standards developed by environmental groups can add more than $20,000 to the price of a new home – a major problem in a state that has the highest home prices in the nation (and the next-to-lowest homeownership rate) – CGB standards generally add less than $6,000 in costs. And because many cities and counties will waive or reduce fees and other costs, CGB homes often cost about the same as other new homes in the area.

In fact, a growing number of cities and counties specifically allow the use of CGB to satisfy their local green building requirements.

To learn more about this exciting new program, including the location of more than 30 CGB new-home communities now under way around the state, visit www.cagreenbuilder.org.  

Read the latest news articles on the program here.