Tidewater Builders Association hosted the first meeting of its newly created Green Building Council on February 7. Its mission council is to educate TBA members and consumers about green building and its implementation as a method to provide healthy, energy-efficient and sustainable shelter. The council will act as a reference center for information and available training opportunities to promote and advance the green building industry.

The meeting was lead by Charles J. Miller of Miller Custom Homes who will serve as Chairman of the Green Building Council.

An overview of green building practices and green certification programs was provided by Bob Congdon of EarthCraft House Virginia. EarthCraft House is a non-profit green building program that provides homebuilders with training and technical assistance to construct energy-efficient and environmentally friendly homes.

In the coming months, the council will focus on educating builders and subcontractors on green building regulations, how to implement green building practices into their construction projects and how to become certified green builders.

The next meeting of the Green Building Council has been rescheduled for 9 a.m., Thursday, March 20 at TBA. The featured speaker will be HVAC and geo-thermal specialist Ed Battelle of Virginia Service Company, who will lead the discussion on conditioned crawlspaces. To RSVP to this meeting or for information on the Green Building Council, contact Barbara York at 420-2434, ext. 215 or, [email protected].