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A while back you wrote about the REGREEN residential remodeling guidelines. Anything new to report? When will they become available?

REGREEN is here! The guidelines debuted at the ASID Interiors 08 conference last week in New Orleans.

Penny Bonda -- Interior Design, 3/17/2008 12:00:00 AM

REGREEN is here! The guidelines debuted at the ASID Interiors 08 conference last week in New Orleans. After more than a year of a very aggressive development process, ASID and USGBC—the two partners in the project—officially announced REGREEN's launch. All the resources I discussed in my column last fall are now available for your download and use at regreenprogram.org. They include a complete electronic version of the REGREEN Guidelines full of internal hyperlinks as well as others to a wealth of resources. There's also a Green Product Checklist (pdf) to help guide environmentally responsible materials selection.

"This is just the first phase of the program," said Thom Banks, ASID's deputy executive director, "Soon to follow will be instructor led and web-based learning programs . . . and electronic resources for green residential remodeling projects . . . to reach residential design professionals, contractors, suppliers and consumers for both outreach and education purposes."

The attendees at the conference welcomed REGREEN enthusiastically. "This is what I've been waiting for," said one residential interior designer, reinforcing remarks by USGBC's Senior Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs, Michelle Moore. "The number one reason people want to improve the health and comfort of their homes is because they want to do the best thing for their families. However the top reason given why people don't do more to address energy efficiency or improved indoor air quality is lack of information."

REGREEN expands the availability of knowledge about green home remodeling solutions. And by the way, while it complements LEED for Homes, it is not itself a LEED-branded rating system. There are no points to earn or certifications but the benefits are almost identical—healthier homes that cost less to operate with significantly reduced negative impact on the environment. I'll be writing more in the months to come.