Certifications & Strategy Documents
Below are key documents, strategies, and green certification programs for affordable multifamily properties.
Key Policies, Documents & Resources
Local Resources
State of Michigan Resources
Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA)
Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC)
List of Utility Electric Rate Books
List of Utility Natural Gas Rate Books
National Resources
National Housing Trust
Energy Efficiency For All (EEFA)
Building Energy Networks
Detroit 2030 District
The Detroit 2030 District is a private - public community in Detroit which aims to assist building owners & managers in reducing energy, water and operating expenses in commercial buildings, as well as emissions from transportation and other sustainable initiatives!
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U.S. Green Building Council - Detroit Region
Homepage - USGBC Detroit Region
USGBC Detroit Region works to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life in Michigan.
Michigan Battle of the Buildings
Homepage - MI Battle of the Buildings
The Michigan Battle of the Buildings is an awards and recognition program for energy use reduction open to all Michigan area commercial, industrial & multi-family buildings.
Enterprise Technical Assistance Providers Database
Technical Assistance Providers Database
The Technical Assistance Providers Database is a national listing of qualified experts in topics related to the design, development and construction of energy efficient, environmentally friendly and safe affordable housing.
Green Certifications
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
LEED for Homes is available for building design and construction projects for single family homes and multifamily projects up to eight stories.
Addresses design and construction activities for both new buildings and major renovations of existing buildings.Teams using LEED v4 may also use this option for multifamily residential projects that have nine or more stories.
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Qualifies for the following funding sources:
-MSHDA Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)
Enterprise Community Partners
The Green Communities Criteria is the leading U.S. standard for the design, construction and operation of healthy, energy efficient and environmentally responsible affordable housing. Since its first release in 2004, the Criteria has played a leading role in advancing the widespread adoption of healthy design and building practices across the affordable housing field and has served as the blueprint for the development and preservation of tens of thousands of affordable homes throughout the country.
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Qualifies for the following funding sources:
-MSHDA Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)
-Fannie Mae loans secured by a multifamily property
-Freddie Mac Multifamily Green Advantage
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
To be certified as ENERGY STAR, a building must meet strict energy performance standards set by EPA.
Multifamily buildings permitted prior to 01-01-2021 are permitted to participate in any of the following programs, as long as the project meets the Eligibility Requirements defined within that program: the ENERGY STAR Certified Homes program, the ENERGY STAR Multifamily High Rise program, or the ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction Program.
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Qualifies for the following funding sources:
Passive House Institute US (PHIUS)
The PHIUS+ Certification Program is the leading passive building certification program in North America. It is the only passive building certification that combines a thorough passive house design verification protocol with a stringent Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) program performed onsite by highly skilled and specialized PHIUS+ Raters and Verifiers.
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Qualifies for the following funding sources:
Southface
EarthCraft Multifamily – the first multifamily-specific green building program in the nation – provides certification standards for new multifamily construction, and renovation of affordable and market-rate multifamily projects.
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Qualifies for the following funding sources:
Build It Green
The GreenPoint Rated New Home Single Family (NHSF) and New Home Multifamily (NHMF) certification systems are standards for a residential green building rating system and were originally modeled after Build It Green's New Construction Green Building Guidelines. A major objective of the NHSF and NHMF systems is to educate homeowners about the benefits of green construction.
GreenPoint Rated Existing Home is for homes of all vintages and can be used to rate homes and residential buildings with existing green features, or to rate a home or building undergoing work. Multifamily buildings are any residential buildings of two units or more that share the same meters, water, or heating and cooling systems. A multifamily building can receive one of two labels: the elements label or the whole building label.
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Qualifies for the following funding sources:
Green Building Initiative
Green Globes Multifamily for Existing Buildings (Green Globes MF EB) provides a certification option that meets the needs of owners and project teams with multifamily projects.
Green Globes Multifamily for New Construction (Green Globes MF NC) provides a certification option that meets the needs of owners and project teams with multifamily projects.
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Qualifies for the following funding sources:
Home Innovation Research Labs
The National Green Building Standard™ (NGBS) provides practices for the renovation and remodeling of green single-family homes and multifamily buildings.
The National Green Building Standard™ (NGBS) provides practices for the design, construction, and certification of green multifamily residential buildings, including: high- and low-rise apartment buildings, high- and low-rise condominiums, and residential units in mixed-use buildings.
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Qualifies for the following funding sources:
-MSHDA Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)
International Living Future Institute
Zero energy is recognized worldwide as one of the highest aspirations in energy performance in the built environment. The International Living Future Institute’s (ILFI) Zero Energy Building (ZEB) Certification™ was created to allow projects to demonstrate zero energy performance, building an advanced cohort of projects with the integrity of third-party performance certification.
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Qualifies for the following funding sources:
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
In cooperation with members of Michigan's development community, the Authority has developedthe criteria with which all projects should be able to comply. These criteria draw on the Enterprise Green Communities Criteria and USGBC LEED rating systems, with slight modifications due to input from the development community in particular instances.
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Qualifies for the following funding sources:
GreenHome Institute
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GreenHome Institute is a nonprofit organization that empowers professionals and homeowners to make healthier and more sustainable choices in the places we live.
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Building Materials & Energy Resources
International Living Future Institute
The nutrition label for products. Find healthy products for your next project. Declare is a transparency platform and product database that is changing the materials marketplace.
The Red List contains the worst in class materials prevalent in the building industry. The commonly-used chemicals on the Red List are: Polluting the environment; Bio-accumulating up the food chain until they reach toxic concentrations; Harming construction and factory workers.
Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute
The Cradle to Cradle Certified™ mark provides consumers, regulators, employees, and industry peers with a clear, visible, and tangible validation of a manufacturer’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and to their communities.
Building Clean
Building Clean is a free tool to help everyone from building professionals to consumers find energy and water efficient housing products that are healthy and made locally. The database includes more than 4,500 U.S. facilities manufacturing building products in nine market sectors, which are searchable by categories such as product sector, state, material, CSI code, zip code radius, and others. In addition to manufacturing location, the website can also be used to search for products with third-party health certifications and chemical transparency labels.
National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL)
This tool visualizes U.S. rooftop solar technical potential and other dimensions of low-income energy use in the residential sector.
Estimates the energy production and cost of energy of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) energy systems throughout the world.