Green Remodeler Certification: Should Your Contractor Business Invest?
Green remodeler certification is something that is on the minds of every remodeler right now. Is it something that is worthwhile for your business? Possibly because green remodeling is also on the minds of homeowners, too. Let’s take a look at the facts about the demand for green remodeling as well as some of the different kinds of certifications that your business can look into.
Green Remodeler Certification and the Rising Green Building Industry
These days, the green building sector is massive and growing larger all the time. Here are a few statistics that reflect this:
- In 2015, the U.S. Green Building council showed that green building jobs accounted for 2.3 million jobs in the United States and that this sector of industry was growing faster than the overall construction sector itself.
- Labor income from these jobs sits around $134.3 billion per year.
- The total number of green building jobs is expected to rise by at least another billion by 2018, totaling 3.3 billion jobs.
- The 2012 Green Home Builders and Remodelers Survey showed that eco-friendly construction made up 17% of the overall residential construction market — a number that has grown higher in the years since.
As one can see from these statistics, the demand for green construction is definitely there and growing larger all the time. And it isn’t just businesses or homebuilders that are expected to offer a variety of green services, either. Anyone in the market for a remodel is likely to check with contractors and renovators about ways to make projects greener. What this means is that green remodeler certification is not only helpful to business owners, but in more competitive markets, it may be the thing that gives one construction business an edge over others simply because these certifications tell would-be clients that the concerns of the company align with the sustainability concerns of today’s homeowner.
NAHB Green Building Certification and Other Helpful Certifications
When it comes to certifications, there are many, many organizations that offer them and not all of these organizations offer a worthwhile product, which means that builders and remodelers must be careful when it comes to choosing valid, meaningful certificates.
The National Association of Home Builders offers a great certification in the NAHB Green Building Certification program. Currently, there are more than 3,000 certificate holders in the United States and the program adheres closely with the ICC 700-2012 National Green Building Standard, which is a standard recommended by the EPA in order to increase the environmental performance of residential buildings. In order to earn this certification, builders and contractors are required to complete an in-depth series of courses that focuses on building methods, sustainable principles, employing these principles without driving consumer costs up and more.
Other noteworthy certifications include:
- The North American Board of Certified Energy Professionals PV Certification, which is essential for any contractor that wants to get into solar panel installation or other types of green energy retrofits. Contractors will complete courses focused on green energy, particularly solar installations.
- The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) Green Certified Professional is a broad-based learning program that gives remodelers insights into air quality, renewables, energy efficiency and much more. It is also the only certification designed especially for remodelers.
- LEED is one of the biggest eco-friendly standards programs out there and to that end REGREEN is a certification that builders will find valuable. This one teaches business owners all about LEED standards and specifications.
In today’s residential construction market, it isn’t so much a question of whether or not green certifications are a wise investment. Most contractors will benefit from these certifications. The key is to choose the right certificate for you company, be it certification in LEED, green building standards, energy efficiency, green remodeling, renewables or other aspects of the green construction industry.