The Tacoma-Pierce County Built Green Program certified 479 detached and attached homes and phase 1 of the Cascadia development in 2008. “Even in a slower market, there is interest in and demand for green construction,” said program administrator Tiffany Speir of Master Builders Association of Pierce County. “We are proud to be leading the way towards a greener Pierce County community.”

The Tacoma-Pierce County Built Green program has certified more than 4,000 homes in the greater Pierce County area since being launched in 2003. This year Built Green updated the new home certification program to include new four and five star certification levels that require Energy Star certification and independent 3rd party verification. In 2009, the remodeling certification system will also be updated.

This year’s Built Green partners include Washington Department of Ecology, Puget Sound Energy, Pierce County, Northwest Energy Star, Tacoma Power and Whirlpool.

More information is available at http://www.mbapierce.com/builtgreen or http://www.builtgreenwashington.org .