Austin, Texas - The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) along with the NAHB Research Center unveiled the names of the 59 key industry players that will be instrumental in the development of voluntary Model Green Home Building Guidelines were announced during the 2004 National Green Building Conference. Development of the guidelines, which was initially announced at the 2004 International Builders Show in Las Vegas, marks the first effort to provide a nationally recognized baseline for determining minimum thresholds for resource-efficient, cost-effective home building.

"Home builders nationwide have been building 'green' for more than 30 years, but never before have those practices evolved into a single, written set of criteria for what actually is green building. Through NAHB's leadership, the guidelines will ensure that all builders are following the same path to building green," said Ray Tonjes, NAHB Green Building Subcommittee chair and homebuilder from Austin, Texas. "Through their participation, each of these industry leaders has signaled their commitment to ensuring that all builders have the necessary tools and guidance to create resource-efficient, environmentally sensitive homes."

These green building industry leaders have accepted the NAHB Research Center's invitation to participate in a stakeholders group consisting of large and small home builders, manufacturers, architects, environmentalists, government agencies, suppliers and other groups with significant expertise in green building issues.

"The NAHB Research Center welcomes the opportunity to facilitate the guidelines development process, gather valuable input from the stakeholder group members, and to deliver a valuable and practical set of green building guidelines for the home building industry," said Michael Luzier, NAHB Research Center president.

The group will convene in small groups to cover all aspects of green building, including lot planning and design, resource efficiency, water and energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and homeowner education.

"The stakeholders' participation is invaluable and will help ensure that the final guidelines are comprehensive and worthwhile for the entire home building industry," said Tonjes. "Once the guidelines are finished later this year, we expect their impact on the home building industry will be significant."

The full list of the 59 stakeholders is available at www.nahb.org.