The mission of the Sustainability Council of Ventura County is to increase sustainability consciousness.

One current project supported by the Council has been to assist in the greening of homes constructed by Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County.

In January 2003, Habitat Ventura formed a green team to promote energy-efficient, environmentally friendly construction and to encourage good stewardship of natural resources by raising awareness of the environmental impacts of house construction. Kent Bullard, a Council Board Member, has served as a volunteer on the green team to provide input into the process of promoting green construction practices.

One outcome of the green team's work was the decision that existing green building guidelines or programs did not meet the needs of Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County. Kent Bullard decided to develop and write these Green Building Guidelines to address the specific needs for this local Habitat affiliate. The guidelines were designed to provide best management practices while addressing local building practices, codes and conditions. However, the guidelines are also readily adaptable for use by other Habitat affiliates, housing development organizations or agencies. To facilitate their free exchange and utilization, the Guidelines specifically were not copyrighted.

The intent of the guidelines is to serve a working tool for project developers. Therefore, the guidelines will be continually updated to reflect changes in technology, product development and construction codes. It is also important for others to review the guidelines and make suggestions for constructive change. The guideline author can be reached at kentbullard@yahoo.com

The Habitat Green Team is proud their work is having tangible effect on the next homes being constructed by Habitat of Ventura County. In November 2003 groundbreaking for two homes in Oxnard occurred. These two homes will incorporate many sustainable features to include energy star appliances, energy efficient lighting, tankless water heaters and each will also be provided with 2.5 kW grid tied photovoltaic systems.

The Green Building Guidelines are avaliable in a variety of formats which can allow for the modification to meet your needs.
HTML Format - http://www.sustainabilitycouncil.org/greenguidelines.html
Word Format - http://www.sustainabilitycouncil.org/greenguidelinesword.doc
PDF Format - http://www.habitatventura.org/Green%20Guidelines.PDF