RDI's Green Building Awards and Recent Activities

October 2008 - Four of RDI's Wisdom Way Solar Village homes were included in the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's (NESEA's) Green Buildings Open House and Solar Tour. The tour is a national event sponsored by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES).

May 2008 - Anne Perkins, RDI’s Director of Home Ownership Programs, was asked to sit on Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s Zero Net Energy Buildings Task Force.

February 2008 - Anne Perkins was in Orlando, Florida at the International Builder’s Show to join with the U.S. Department of Energy in announcing a new national energy-saving initiative. Called the Builders Challenge, this voluntary initiative challenges builders to build homes that use 30% less energy than a typical new home built to code. Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman honored Ms. Perkins as a “Pioneering Builder.”

October 2007 - RDI's Near Zero Net Energy home in Colrain, Massachusetts received LEED® for Homes Gold.

May 2007 - RDI received the Energy Innovator reward from the U. S. Department of Energy's office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.

March 2007 - RDI was the first builder in New England and first in the nation to attain LEED® for Homes silver certification by The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

July/August 2006 – The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) awarded HAP, Inc. and RDI $2,000,000 to work with area non-profit developers interested in adding renewable energy systems and high performance designs to their projects. The Home Depot Foundation awarded HAP, Inc. and RDI an additional $50,000 to complement the $2,000,000 MTC grant.

November 2005 - The Award of Excellence for Affordable Housing Built Responsibly was presented to the RDI Home Ownership Program by the Home Depot Foundation at the U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild International Conference & Expo 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia. This was the first year for this award.

October 2005 - The LEED® for Homes Affordable Housing Working Group asked RDI to be a member.

September 2005 - A Green Building/Healthy Homes Grant from the Housing Assistance Council and the Home Depot Foundation was awarded to the RDI Home Ownership Program. This grant allowed RDI to expand the use of sustainable building materials, to recycle more construction waste, and to increase the sustainability of land use.