The Housing Reset Is Already Underway with housing policy, energy codes, and affordable housing innovation.

Judge blocks requirements from HUD and USDA enforcing 2021 IECC energy code on federally financed housing

White House executive order eliminates housing regulatory barriers

ROAD to Housing Act

HUD Green and Resilient Retrofit Program

Missouri HB2384

Link to oppose HB2384

Santa Monica’s modular, affordable homes

Vermont utility tries geothermal

LA 50L Home Coalition project with water conservation

Editors’ Product Pick: Focal heat system

Fairview Passive home

Nature-Positive Economy and Investment Report

COGNITION Hot Take: Healthy Home Data

The Impact Series with Dr. Jim White

Events

Save the Date! Green Builder Media’s 10th Annual Sustainability Symposium to be held virtually June 3–4 with Bill McKibbon of 350.org as the keynote. Subscribe to our Vantage newsletter to stay informed! Registration opens soon.

• April 7: Designing for Efficiency: Envelope Considerations in Energy Codes virtual
• April 13-16: The National Home Performance Conference Columbus, OH
• April 22: Housing 2.0 Seminar: Six Strategies for Better Homes at Lower Costs with Sam Rashkin Houston
• April 22-23: Dallas BUILD Expo 2026
• April 29-30: Solar & Energy Storage Summit Denver
• May 6: 30 Years of Energy Star for Homes: The Origin Story virtual
• May 5–6: Reuters Responsible Business USA 2026 Boston
• May 8: Seven Habits of Highly Effective Builders: Powerful Fundamentals for Better Homes at Lower Cost Denver
• May 15: Green Building United’s Sustainability Symposium Philadelphia
• May 27-28: California Green Building Conference 2026

Mike and Kate talk about Burning Man, AI and a whole lot more on the Impact Series.

The biggest stories shaping sustainable building this week: In this episode of This Week’s Sustainable Building News, Cati O’Keefe breaks down a new report on green building news, housing policy, energy codes, Editors’ Product Pick, calendar of events for the building industry, and more. 

This week’s stories include:

NAR’s report on green shift in housing on MLS

Kansas City, MO City Council walks back their own progressive energy code

Illinois: Solar on Balconies

Rising Insurance Costs

Geothermal Legislation by Sens. Hickenlooper and Daines

Austin Turns Closed School Into Affordable Housing

The Impact Series: Deirdre Irwin, Water Conservation Coordinator, St. Johns River Water Management District

Editors’ Product Pick of the Week: Solar Charging Umbrella

COGNITION Weekly Hot Take

Calendar: 

• Free Webinar: Time to Scale Offsite Construction
• Virtual Designing for Efficiency: Envelope Considerations in Energy Codes
• The National Home Performance Conference
• Dallas BUILD Expo 2026
• California Green Building Conference 2026
• Trellis Impact 2026

 For decades, businesses have optimized for short-term returns—quarterly earnings, first costs, and price per square foot. But as climate risk, resource constraints, and economic instability rise, a new question is emerging: 

Are we using the wrong metrics entirely? 

In this episode of The Valuation Metric, Sara Gutterman sits down with sustainability leader Scott Tew of Trane Technologies to explore a fundamental shift happening across industries: 

Sustainability is no longer a cost center—it’s a driver of growth, resilience, and competitive advantage. 

We break down: 

- Why sustainability has moved from “nice-to-have” to core business strategy 

- How resilience is becoming the new currency of value 

- Why companies that think long-term are outperforming 

- How AI and real-time data are transforming building performance 

- The critical shift from price per square foot → value per square foot 

This conversation will change how you think about business, buildings, and the future of the economy. 

Watch now to understand what’s really driving value in today’s market. 

In this episode of This Week in Sustainability, Cati O’Keefe breaks down the most important housing and building news shaping the industry right now.  This episode covers:

• House bill on housing policy
• Florida bill for climate and building policy
• Oregon offers a blueprint for how communities can rebuild after climate disasters
• Aeroseal’s AeroBarrier
• COGNITION data on flooring preferences
• Metropolis Magazine's four new roadblocks on the path to sustainable buildings
• The Valuation Metric with Steve Byers
• Bakrania Passive House
• Sam Rashkin’s webinar on offsite construction - April 1st at 2 PM ET
• Sam Rashkin’s webinar on next-gen solar and storage recording

Events

• BuildingEnergy Boston - March 23-24th in Boston
• Reuters’ Responsible Business USA 2026 - May 5-6th in Boston
• Solar & Energy Storage Summit - April 29-30th in Denver
• Green Building United’s Sustainability Symposium - May 15th in Philadelphia

 This isn’t a future problem. It’s already happening. 

In this episode of The Impact Series, Mike Collignon sits down with Dr. Jim White—leading climate scientist and Dean at UNC Chapel Hill—to break down what decades of research are telling us: 

Sea level rise is inevitable. And once it starts, it doesn’t simply reverse. From melting ice sheets to warming oceans and shifting global systems, the changes are already in motion—and the timeline isn’t what most people think.

In this episode: 

• Why sea level rise can accelerate faster than expected 

• The hidden role of ocean heat—and why it matters more than air temperature 

• What “tipping points” really mean for climate and society 

• How insurance markets may be the first real signal of change 

• The long-term consequences we’re passing to future generations 

And one sobering truth: We don’t live on a planet of instant fixes. This isn’t just about climate science. It’s about what happens next—and who pays the price. 

Watch the full conversation. Then decide how urgent this really is. 

In this episode of This Week in Sustainability, Cati O’Keefe breaks down how the intersection of energy volatility, AI expansion, and building/code policy is creating new pressures—and perhaps opportunities—for sustainable housing.

Iran War

Temporary construction towns built to support AI data centers

Utilities across North America push back on aggressive building electrification timelines

How Utilities Profit from Electric Demand

Colorado introduced 18 energy bills

New York Republicans try to slow or roll back parts of the state’s aggressive clean energy transition

Arizona to expand energy development and grid capacity

New Mexico considers bills focused on grid modernization, community solar expansion, and clean electricity

NABH Celebrates court decision that vacated the federal mandate tying HUD financing to the 2021 IECC

NAHB’s Housing Market Index survey

CARB Regulations

Colorado Strategic Growth

Michigan Housing Policy

Insulation Institute's warning on reflective insulation products testing

Editors’ Product Pick of the Week: Dowel Laminated Timber

Multifamily and EV Adoption

The Impact Series with Bill Lazar

COGNITION Weekly Hot Take

EVENTS:

• Reimagine Buildings: Multifamily (Virtual) — March 12
• Exploring Steel Framing in High-Performance Home Design (AIBD) — March 17
• Green Builder Media Healthy Homes Webinar (Virtual) — March 18
• Solar & Energy Storage Summit — April 29–30, Denver
• DOE Better Buildings & Better Plants Summit — May 11–13, Crystal City, Va.

The system is broken. And everyone knows it. In this episode of The Valuation Metric, Sarah Gutterman sits down with Steve Byers (Energy Logic) to expose a hard truth: The housing market rewards the wrong things. 

Builders who invest in energy efficiency, resilience, and healthier homes? They’re often forced to cut those features just to compete. Why? Because everything still comes down to one outdated metric: price per square foot. And it’s distorting everything. 

In this episode: 

• Why high-performance homes are getting stripped down 

• The real reason affordability keeps getting worse 

• What buyers aren’t being told (but should be asking)

• The hidden costs that never show up in the purchase price 

• The metric that could change everything—if the industry lets it 

This podcast is about how we define value—and who pays the price when we get it wrong. Watch the full conversation. 

In this episode of This Week in Sustainability, Cati O’Keefe breaks down the most important housing and building news shaping the industry right now.  This episode covers: 

• Baldwin Village by Thrive Living built over a Costco. https://www.grocerydive.com/news/more-than-a-store-costco-apartments-residential-development/811639/
• Mayor Mamdani Addresses Affordable Housing with President Trump. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/nyc-mayor-zohran-mamdani-meeting-trump-washington-rcna260831
• Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro tackles affordable housing. https://www.pa.gov/governor/newsroom/2026-press-releases/governor-shapiro-unveils-pennsylvania-s-first-ever-housing-actio
• Sustainability Superhero Announced: Allan Merrill, CEO of Beazer Homes. https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/blog/mission-possible
• Download our January-February issue and read about all the winners of the Green Home of the Year Awards. https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/january-february-2026-18th-annual-green-home-of-the-year-awards
• Massachusetts adopts Specialized Stretch Code. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.mass.gov/doc/building-energy-code-adoption-by-municipality/download
• Colorado advanced statewide building performance standards for large commercial and multifamily buildings. https://cdphe.colorado.gov/press-release/colorado-establishes-new-standards-for-large-buildings-to-use-less-energy-reduce
• California aims to require insurers to factor wildfire mitigation into underwriting. https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2025/release079-2025.cfm
• Home Innovation Research Labs certifies 750,000 homes. https://www.nahb.org/blog/2026/03/top-10-ngbs-states-2025
• Generational Marketing 2026 webinar. youtube.com/watch?v=zZjRkxvgf5U&feature=youtu.be
• The Impact Series Podcast featuring Nathan Good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRH4aKbd3us&t=2659s
• Fixing the appraisal process to value durability and sustainability. https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/blog/the-problem-with-appraisals
• AI trends in building systems. https://mashable.com/article/how-ai-changing-smart-home
• IAPMO’s March4Water 2026 Program. https://www.uniformcodes.org/march4water
• Reclaiming Affordability: Watch the videos and learn more about Value Per Square Foot. https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/value-per-square-foot
• Events: 
  • DesignColumbus https://designcolumbus.org/
  • RESNET Conference https://www.resnet.us/2026-conference/
  • The Living Future Conference https://living-future.org/events/lf26/

The Gulf Coast Green Building Conference https://architecturehouston.org/gulf-coast-green/

 Everyone’s talking about affordability. Almost no one is defining it correctly. 

In this episode of The Impact Series, Mike Collignon sits down with Bill Lazar—affordable housing leader with nearly four decades of experience—to break down what’s really driving the housing crisis. 

Spoiler: it’s not just supply and demand. From corporate investors buying up single-family homes to broken valuation systems that ignore operating costs, the system is pushing working families further out—while calling it “normal.”

In this episode: 

• Why “affordable housing” doesn’t mean what you think it does 

• How investors are reshaping entire housing markets 

• The real reason builders aren’t building starter homes anymore 

• Why energy efficiency and lower utility bills actually matter more than price 

• The policies, financing gaps, and incentives missing from the system 

And one uncomfortable truth: Builders will build anything—but only if the system allows them to survive. This isn’t just a housing problem. It’s a system problem. Watch the full conversation. Then rethink what affordability really means.