Sustainable Building Certification Consulting

Southface excels at certification management, partnering with design and construction teams to pursue the most effective building certification programs.  No matter the complexity, Southface’s credentialed professionals will take your project through the program of your choice, with decades of expertise to help you reach your sustainability goals.

BIT Building

BIT Building offers an easy, flexible pathway to achieve better performance —and earn green building certification—for existing buildings no matter the age or performance level. BIT’s online platform helps those who own, lease, and operate buildings across the globe to simultaneously optimize their operations, reduce costs, and achieve sustainability goals.

EarthCraft

EarthCraft is the South’s premiere green building certificate program for a variety of building and development types, including small commercial buildings (less than 80k sq ft), single and multifamily housing, communities and historical preservation. EarthCraft certified projects are designed with specific consideration of the Southeast’s climate, as well as indoor air quality, durability, resiliency and reduced energy and water requirements.

The EarthCraft program is unique in that it includes independent, third-party review and on-site verification by trained building science that the building can achieve high-performance standards.

Enterprise Green Communities

Enterprise Green Communities is a national program that assists builders in constructing and rehabilitating affordable homes, making them more energy-efficient, healthy and environmentally safe. Enterprise Green Communities offers grants, loans, tax-credit equity and technical assistance to new construction and rehabilitation projects that meet the Green Communities criteria.

Southface has been selected as a member of the Enterprise Green Communities Technical Assistance Provider Network in the following areas:

  • Inegrative Deisgn Process/Design Process
  • Data Analysis/Portfolio Benchmarking
  • Energy Modeling
  • Renewable Energy & Stormwater Management
  • Audits, Inspections and Performance Testing
  • Training
  • Green Operations and Maintenance

Fitwel

The Fitwel suite of programs were developed to support the vision of building health for everyone. The programs focus is on the connection between design, behavioral choices and health. Fitwel programs include residential, commercial site and community project types. These programs equip practitioners with an evidence-based platform to assess project impacts at scale.

LEED

The internationally recognized Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™ (LEED®)  administered by the U.S. Green Building Council® (USGBC) is a certification program and green building rating system that focuses on the environmental impact of a building, saving building owners’ costs while managing the project’s overall carbon footprint. With a focus on project location, building system and materials selection, operations, maintenance and the indoor environment, LEED is a long-respected certification program for the commercial building industry.

National Green Building Standard

The National Green Building Standard (NGBS) is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited, third-party certified, residential building rating system that provides a flexible way to verify green construction methods in single-family, multifamily, renovation and land development projects. NGBS’s stringent third-party verified certification program ensures homes are built in compliance with the program’s three primary attributes: healthy homes, lower operating costs and sustainable lifestyle.

WELL

The WELL Building Standard is a third-party certified building rating tool for buildings and organizations to deliver more thoughtful and intentional spaces that enhance human health and well-being. Grounded in medical research, WELL is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact indoor health, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind. WELL works at any scale, from a single interior space to an entire building or organization. Our team is uniquely positioned with the expertise to help your organization achieve WELL.

Green Globes

Green Globes is an online assessment protocol for green building design, operation and management. It is interactive, flexible and affordable, and provides market recognition of a building’s environmental attributes through third-party verification. It can be used for a wide range of commercial, institutional and multi-residential building types including offices, school, hospitals, hotels, academic and industrial facilities, warehouses, laboratories, sports facilities and multi-residential buildings.

Georgia Peach

The Georgia Peach certification optimizes energy and water performance and increases the demand for locally produced materials and furnishings. It a rating system that recognizes and rates state buildings for energy efficiency and sustainable construction standards. Our team can help your building meet your desired certification level.

Living Building Challenge

Developed by the International Living Futures Institute (ILFI), The Living Building Challenge™ (LBC) is a rigorous green building certification program and design framework that defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment. LBC is committed to creating spaces that, like a flower, give more than they take. The program is comprised of seven performance categories called Petals that include Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty. The LBC can be used for almost every conceivable building project of any scale and any location, from new buildings to existing structures.

Energy Star Qualified Label

The Energy Star Qualified Label (ESQL) was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and is a nationally recognized mark of energy efficiency. ESQL homes and buildings are independently verified to meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the EPA. These structures save money on utility bills by providing efficiency improvements to walls, windows, ducts, lighting, appliances and more, providing a more comfortable living environment with better indoor air quality and helping protect the environment.

Resources

Case Study

Chatsworth Boys and Girls Club

The Chatsworth project supports the Boys and Girls Club commitment to providing vibrant, healthy spaces for children to play and learn in an environmentally responsible building.

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Case Study

Atlanta International School

Atlanta International School Early Learning Center (AIS-ELC) is a 17,231 square foot, two-story pre-school that was certified in the EarthCraft Light Commercial (ECLC) green building certification program. The school partnered with Southface to analyze building design and performance through the …

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Case Study

Greenstone on Fifth

Greenstone on Fifth Community Building at Blue Ridge Apartments in Charlottesville, Virginia is a 3,531 square foot, two-story commercial building that was certified in the EarthCraft Light Commercial (ECLC) green building program in 2014.

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