Credit: Rachel Lee (Washington Environmental Council)

Local Examples of Ultra-Efficient Multifamily Residential Buildings

Everett, WA: Clare’s Place

Seattle, WA: 320 Queen Anne

Seattle, WA: Pax Futura

Seattle, WA: SOLIS


Helpful Tools

A Guide to Zero Energy Terminology

Easy-print Summary of HDC’s Exemplary Buildings Program

EPA’s Water Score for Multifamily Housing

Equity and Buildings: A Practice Framework for Local Government Decision Makers

Glossary of Terms Used in HDC’s Exemplary Buildings Program

New Buildings Institute’s “Getting to Zero Resource Hub”

Program FAQs


Standards & Practices

Construction Instruction’s Building Science Library

PHIUS+ Certification Overview

Washington State’s Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard (ESDS)


Domestic Hot Water

“Bringing Heat Pump Water Heaters into the Mainstream” (Advanced Water Heating Initiative (AWHI) of New Buildings Institute (nbi), Feb. 2021)


Healthy Buildings

BlueGreen Alliance Foundation’s Building Clean Initiative

Capitol Hill Housing’s Liberty Bank Building

Healthy Building Network’s HomeFree Initiative

HPN Select’s EcoGuide

International Living Future Institute’s Declare Program

“Meeting Enterprise Green Communities 2020 Criteria with HomeFree Resources (video of a Healthy Building Network webinar, 12.17.2020)

Seattle Housing Authority’s Breathe Easy Homes


Benchmarks & Regional Sustainable Building Initiatives

Brussels, Belgium: Exemplary Building Program Strategy and Success

International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge Framework for Affordable Housing

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s Passive House Challenge

Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s Passive House Incentive Program

State of Washington Department of Commerce: Ultra-Efficient Affordable Housing Demonstration

Sustainable Building Initiatives in Our Region, Including Shift Zero’s 20 by 2020 Building Challenge


Risk Management

“Redefining the ‘Risks’ of Sustainable Buildings”


Funding Opportunities

Seattle City Light Funding for Exemplary Buildings

Seattle City Light 2021 Energy Conservation Incentives: Multifamily and Commercial New Construction Projects

WA State Dept of Commerce Ultra-High Energy Efficiency (UHEE) Program