The following Green Building Guidelines offer recommendations for building green. They contain cost-effective suggestions to minimize construction-related waste, create healthier and more durable buildings, reduce operating costs for homeowners and support local manufacturer and supplier of resource-efficient building materials.

Home Remodeling
Ideal for homeowners and building professionals involved with remodeling. User-friendly suggestions for green home remodeling, including reducing construction waste, lowering utility bills, creating healthier and longer-lasting homes, and more.

New Home Construction
Ideal for building professionals involved with construction of new single-family homes; also useful for homeowners who are considering building a new home. Practical, cost-effective suggestions for minimizing construction waste, creating healthier and more durable homes, reducing homeowner’s maintenance and utility costs, and more.

Multifamily Green Building Guidelines
Ideal for architects, project managers and developers of multifamily housing. Includes more than 60 recommended design and construction practices that reduce the environmental impacts of building in Alameda County, including infill development, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, waste management, water conservation and judicious use of natural resources.

GreenPoint Checklist
A project tool to evaluate how green a home is. Available for single-family new construction, single-family remodeling, and multifamily projects. The GreenPoint Checklist is also the basis of GreenPoint Rated, a third-party home rating program offered by Build It Green. For more information about GreenPoint Rated, contact Build It Green at 510-845-0472.

The following rating systems provide third-party verification of the green features in a building:

GreenPoint Rated
Now available for residential new construction, including single-family homes, multifamily housing and mixed-use projects. GreenPoint Rated is a voluntary California home rating program that allows home buyers to compare newly built homes on a level playing field. It rewards building professionals who create green homes by providing a trustworthy consumer label. Independent, third-party GreenPoint Raters are trained and certified by Build It Green.  For more information about GreenPoint Rated, contact Build It Green at 510-845-0472.

LEED™
Ideal for building industry professionals and building owners involved with the design, construction, renovation and operation of commercial and civic buildings. The LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Rating System is a voluntary national standard that provides a framework for assessing building performance and meeting sustainability goals. LEED™ standards are currently available for new commercial construction and major renovation projects (LEED-NC), existing building operations (LEED-EB) and commerical interiors (LEED-CI) and core and shell development (LEED-CS) For more information visit the US Green Building Council’s website: www.usgbc.org/LEED.