Report Confirms the Holistic Benefits of Green Design
In “Incremental Cost, Measurable Savings: Enterprise Green
Communities Criteria,” Enterprise Community Partners discloses its findings
from an evaluation of 27 affordable housing developments that meet the
Enterprise Green Community Criteria. The report highlights the incremental cost
of building to meet these criteria and outlines the long term-benefits of green
building methods.
The Enterprise Green Communities Criteria exceed energy and water
conservation measures to encompass requirements that advance the quality of
life, such as:
Building on sites near public transit and
community amenities
Using healthier construction materials
Ensuring better indoor air quality
Enterprise investigated the cost of implementing measures
to meet these criteria and whether or not such implementation was
cost-effective.
The report concludes that the estimated lifetime savings
of incorporating the Enterprise Green Community Criteria into affordable housing
substantially exceed the initial costs. In addition, integration of these
criteria increases the quality of life of residents of these developments.
The
study asserts that the integration of design,
location, site improvements, water conservation, energy efficiency, materials
that benefit the environment, healthy living standards, and operations and
maintenance of affordable housing leads to widespread health, economic, and
environmental benefits.