Green building initiatives are benefiting the environment and the consumer's bottom-line. MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports.
The Greening Affordable Housing conference being held by the Bay Waveland’s Habitat for Humanity is an attempt to shed light on the long lasting benefits of building green. Bay St. Louis and Waveland were devastated by Hurricane Katrina and as a result there is still a rash of rebuilding projects ongoing in the area.
While the conference is addressing the environmental impacts that building green can have, it is also emphasizing the cost saving benefits.
“The world is going green, it is certainly beyond a fad.”
Kim Vermeer is a green building consultant,
“I would really say you cannot afford not to be green. Being green really does deliver on lower energy costs, lower water costs, healthier and more comfortable environments, and an investment in those pays back over and over again.”
Mississippi has lagged behind the rest of the nation in green building efforts and initiatives but Wendy McDonald, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Bay-Waveland area says times are changing,
“People are going to expect their homes to be built to greener standards, with the new government that we have in place now that is supporting sustainable building and green jobs, I think this is going to be the expectation of the buyers, of remodelers of homes, and new house construction.”
Green products gaining popularity include new roofing materials, air filtration systems, and energy efficient windows.
