Welcome to HomeFree
A national initiative supporting affordable housing leaders who are improving human health by using less toxic building materials.
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Do you know what’s in your recycled material?
Using products that contain recycled content can be a great way to reduce environmental impacts and support a circular economy by keeping still-useful materials out of landfills and avoiding the impacts of manufacturing virgin materials. Unfortunately, some recycled materials contain toxic chemicals that come along for the ride when incorporated...
Read MoreHBN Adds Staff to Expand Materials Research
HBN is thrilled to welcome Cassidy Clarity as our new Materials Researcher! Cassidy will work with our research team to better understand what chemicals are used in the manufacturing of building materials and the impacts these chemicals have on human health and the environment.
Read MoreEmbodied Carbon and Environmental Justice in the Biden Age
The Biden Administration has an opportunity to advance embodied carbon initiatives in a manner consistent with environmental justice principles. Central to this is a simple philosophy: It’s not “green” if it is not green and healthy for all.
Read MoreNew HomeFree Resources to Help You Achieve 2020 Enterprise Green Communities Criteria
Enterprise Community Partners recently announced that the new 2020 Green Communities Criteria are now in effect. HBN has created a resource to help you achieve the updated healthier materials requirements.
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DonateFeatured User
Ruchi Shah
Senior Sustainability Manager, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation
Ruchi is a Senior Sustainability Manager at Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC), one of the largest multifamily affordable housing developers in San Francisco. She leads sustainability in the built-environment initiatives for a portfolio of over 50 buildings (circa 3.5 Million Sq. ft and 5000 units). Under her leadership, TNDC has reduced portfolio-wide energy and water usage by over 20 % as part of the National Better Buildings Challenge and announced the planning of a portfolio-wide carbon and waste reduction strategy in 2019.
Ruchi has over 8 years of experience in sustainability across real estate and consulting sectors, helping companies reduce operating costs and manage climate risks. Ruchi is a LEED Green Associate, a Fitwel Ambassador, and holds a Master’s in Sustainability from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), and a Bachelor’s in Biotechnology from Mumbai, India.
As a HomeFree Champion, Ruchi leads demonstration projects to identify healthier flooring, insulation, and air-sealant solutions that meet cost and performance criteria for affordable housing projects. With support from the HBN research team, Ruchi developed a practical materials guidance resource that will help her design team and architects specify healthier materials across TNDC’s low-income multifamily project portfolio. Together, TNDC and HomeFree are exploring opportunities for making this resource available to the HomeFree user community.