Resources

Meeting Enterprise Green Communities Criteria

Enterprise Green Communities is the only national green building standard designed specifically for affordable housing projects. Currently, 27 states and Washington D.C. require that affordable housing developments receiving public funds comply with this Criteria. Our guideline is designed to help you meet the 2020 Materials Criteria, while highlighting the importance of these requirements.

Basis of Design

This guide is intended to support you and your organization to include healthier material requirements and preferences into your Basis of Design (BoD) or material guidelines. If you are looking to update technical specifications, you can use the HomeFree Paint and Flooring Specifications and the HomeFree General Spec Guidance. The specifications also include some example products that meet the healthier materials criteria.

Webinars

As a perfect complement to HomeFree’s online courses, this growing collection of webinars will kick you off in your journey to selecting safer materials in your projects. Learn why materials matter, get advice from industry practitioners on the products and strategies they use to avoid chemicals of concern, and become better acquainted with HomeFree product selection resources.

News

Take an inside look into emerging markets, trends, and healthier product recommendations. Gain valuable new perspectives from HBN experts and our partners. Be inspired to know better.

Reports & Documents

A collection of comprehensive reports, specification language, and actionable resource documents to help you specify healthier materials in your projects and broaden your understanding of the impact of your choices.

Transparency

We believe you have a right to know what’s in the materials in your buildings. Learn more about why transparency matters, concrete actions you can take to support material transparency, and key definitions and resources that can help you understand and transform the materials market to safer products.

Glossary

Asthmagen? Biobased? Endocrine disruptor? We understand that many of you may not be familiar with some of the terms used throughout the website. Visit our glossary section for a curated list of terms and definitions that provide clarification on some of the technical terms used in the field.

External Resources

There are other great organizations (many collaborating with HBN) working on healthy materials issues. The list below includes some additional resources that may be useful in your quest for healthier building products. If you are using tools and resources that did not make this list, please share them with us so that we can include them. If you have comments about these resources, please let us know!