Guild plans green home listings on Web site

BOULDER – The Boulder Green Building Guild is revamping its Web site to educate consumers on the definition of a green home and plans on listing green homes in the area – a move that could appeal to Realtors and buyers.

“I think we really want to make that an educational page in general. The Realtors have really been our connection to consumers,´ said Kim Master, the guild’s executive director. “We want to not only benefit our Realtor members to get their homes listed, but we also get a lot of calls from buyers every day looking for homes that are green, homes that have good indoor-air quality, so I think this is a way to connect to (home buyers).”

Master said the guild is in the very beginning stages and has yet to decide how the homes will be listed. The guild will use the existing Green Points Program as the base criteria, she said, but is not sure how “above and beyond” these homes are going to be.

The Green Points Program is the set of requirements building projects in Boulder need to comply with in order to be built or when building additions larger than 500 square feet. The program is designed to make new and revised real estate more environmentally friendly.

Michelle Krezek, manager of special projects for the Boulder Land Use Department, said the changes to the Web site would be an excellent service. She said it wouldn’t be the first time she has seen it. “I think for some people, when they are looking to buy a home, a green home is a selling point. These listings will probably help the process,” Krezek said. “I have seen this kind of thing through my research, so it is definitely something that is not out of the norm.”

Krezek logs onto the guild’s Web site to find names of people in the green industry and for dates of upcoming educational programs.

The Web site, www.bgbg.org, has a listing of its members and a comprehensive list of all of the guild’s upcoming events. It also displays news in the green industry and welcomes new members.

The Web site will go through more changes in the upcoming months, Master said.

“We’ve only had one meeting, so it’s in the very beginning stages,” Master said. “We just revamped our Web site so more stuff is going to be integrated into two or three of our future Web site revisions, but definitely in the next coming months.”

She also said the guild might charge when, and if, the online list of green homes comes out. Because it is still in the early stages she was not able to give any cost estimates, but members of the guild likely will get a discount.

“I think we might actually charge for this, so it might not be free,” Master said. “For our members we will obviously give a discount, but I think we can use this as a money-generating feature.”

Along with the changes to the Web site, the guild will be adding more events to its calendar as it continues to grow. It will try and have more full-time employees. Master works part time.

Elizabeth Vasatka, environmental coordinator for the city of Boulder’s Office of Environmental Affairs and a founding member of the guild, mentioned that having a full-time executive director should be the next step.

“Our next big goal would be to figure out how we could support a full-time executive director. I think that would be the next big bump in our processes,” Vasatka said. She praised Master and attributed the guild’s growth to her hard work. The guild was formed in 2004 with 10 members. It grew to 170 members by fall 2006 and now has 200.

“I think the momentum has really increased over the last year due to a more formal board of directors and getting more traction in the marketplace,” Vasatka said. “Kim Master has done a fantastic job of keeping us organized and keeping us on track. We have very ambitious people on our committees as well, and everyone is helping to take the next step forward.”

Kristin Shewfelt, program development officer for E Star Colorado, said the guild’s growth is helping the green community in the area and serves as a beacon of leadership and information. “It’s just such a wonderful wealth of talent at the BGBG. They have a very talented membership for professionals in the industry,” Shewfelt said.

“I think they are really providing a lot of leadership in the community in respect to green building. They have a very strong membership base.”

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