Sustainability Success Stories from Renew America 

GREEN BUILDING

APS Environmental Showcase Home  – Phoenix, Arizona
Profiles a 2640-square-foot home that showcases the latest in resource efficiency technologies and materials, and serves as a "shopping center" of ideas for environmentally-conscious builders.

City Energy Challenge Program -- Portland, Oregon
Explains a program that aims to reduce the annual energy costs in city-owned facilities by 10 percent over five years.

City Of Austin Green Builder Program -- Austin, Texas
Profiles this community green building program, including examples of green building construction projects.

City Block-By-Block Weatherization Program -- Portland, Oregon
Profiles a program that provides free weatherization and energy-use education to needy, low-income households in order to reduce their home energy consumption.

Civano -- Tucson, Arizona
Describes an 820-acre traditional neighborhood development designed to promote economic growth while maintaining important social values and ecological harmony. Civano buildings will use the best available technology to reduce energy and water demands.

Cunningham-Pinon House -- Portland, Oregon
Discusses a home built on an urban infill lot that boasts a passive solar design, innovative active solar heating and incorporation of recycled building materials.

Elkhart Environmental Center -- Elkhart, Indiana
Profiles an environmental education center which features a newly planted forest and two constructed wetlands.

Energy Efficiency Program -- Wahoo, Nebraska
Discusses a utility program in Nebraska that provides incentives to all electricity customers to make improvements to their homes and businesses to make them more energy-efficient.

Energy Rated Homes Of Colorado -- Denver, Colorado
Details a program that combines an energy ratings system with financial incentives to encourage Colorado homeowners, builders and buyers to invest in energy-efficient buildings and appliances.

Environmental And Conservation Programs -- Seattle, Washington Explains Seattle City Light's conservation program, which provides conservation information to customers and offers financial incentives to encourage customers to install more energy-efficient products in their homes and commercial buildings, such as energy-efficient water heaters, lights, and equipment.

Good Cents Environmental Home -- Atlanta, Georgia
Discusses a program which allows home builders a system by which to rank the "environmental-friendliness" of their homes.

Harmony Sustainable Resort -- St. John. U.S. Virgin Islands Describes the world's first luxury resort to operate exclusively on sun and wind power.

Houston Habitat For Humanity -- Houston, Texas
Designs and builds energy- and resource-efficient homes for low-income individuals.

North Carolina Solar Center -- Raleigh, North Carolina
Explains this state clearinghouse for solar energy information, education and technical assistance. Its programs include the Energy-Efficient Affordable Housing Program, which offers home builders assistance with implementing energy-efficient technologies by providing design reviews, energy audits, and help in the actual construction of the home.

Pine Street Cohousing -- Amherst, Massachusetts
Profiles a Massachusetts program that brought together a group of resident-developers to design and build a small eight-home community that emphasizes resource efficiency, environmental preservation, and a deep sense of community.

Plymouth Institute/High Wind Sustainable Community --Plymouth, Wisconsin
Explains a rural education and demonstration center which evolved into a permanent community. Buildings have green design features.

Prairie Crossing Sustainable Residential Community -- Grayslake, Illinois
Profiles a 667-acre residential development dedicated to environmental preservation and community sustainability.

Project Harambee Community Energy And Water Conservation -- Atlanta, Georgia
Describes a grassroots effort in Atlanta in which free ultra-low-flush toilets, low-flow shower heads, and energy conservation information was distributed to low-income households in an effort to reduce water and energy consumption.

Recycled Building-Energy Resource Center -- Downey, California Introduces a Southern California Gas Company project in which an entire building was dismantled and the resulting 400 tons of materials were incorporated into a new building that serves as an energy resource center.

Sustainable Community Development -- Dewees Island, South Carolina
Discusses a new sustainable community which ensures minimal environmental impact and maximum economic value.

Sustainable Living Center Hostels -- Washington, DC
Describes hostels that employ off-the-shelf energy- and resource-efficient technologies to educate both travelers and the local community about sustainable living.

The Earthways Home Renovation Project -- St. Louis, Missouri Describes a renovated house that incorporates green building design elements, which serves as an environmental education and demonstration facility.

The Farm Ecovillage Project -- Summertown, Tennessee
Illustrates a communal settlement which practices sustainable living. The settlement's buildings incorporate green building features.

The Preserve Housing Development And Urban Wilderness Area -- Coral Gables, Florida
Explains a housing development in Coral Gables, Florida, that created affordable housing while simultaneously preserving an urban wilderness area.

Toilet Replacement Program -- Los Angeles, California
Presents an overview of a program that employs community-based organizations in the distribution of 100,000 free ultra-low-flush toilets annually to households in southern California.

Ultra-Low-Flush Toilet Program -- Los Angeles, California Describes a California program that employs local students to identify eligible households in low-income neighborhoods and then help install free ultra-low-flush toilets to these homes in an effort to conserve water.

Wampanoag Tribe Green Building -- Gay Head, Massachusetts Describes a multi-purpose building project that features environmentally-sound technologies, including passive solar construction, high-efficiency lighting, salvaged and recycled construction materials, and resource-efficiency plumbing and water fixtures.

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