Approved Classes
Approved Classes
Did you know that the Sustainability Foundation is able to provide state approved continuing education classes for your company and employees?
If you are interested in hosting a class for your company, please contact Brenda Nunes at brenda.nunes@sustainabilityfoundation.com.
This school is approved under chapter 18.85 RCW; inquiries regarding this or any other real estate school may be made to: Washington State Department of Licensing, Real Estate Program, P.O. Box 9015, Olympia, WA 98507-9015
Approved Class Offerings
Selling Green Homes: How to turn Green Features into Assets that Sell Homes
Prerequisite: NONE
Clock Hours: 3
Green Homes are becoming the hottest new trend in homebuilding today, but what does that mean to a realtor and how can you capitalize on it? As a result of this workshop, attendees will be able to identify the green features in the homes they are selling and be able to explain the benefits of these features to their clients. Attendees will leave with many ideas on how to capitalize and promote these benefits for a quick sale at maximum price. This workshop will use the Built Green Home at Suncadia and other demonstration projects as case studies providing a detailed overview of green features including site development, resource utilization (energy, water and waste reduction), comfort (light and indoor air quality) and aesthetic benefits of green features. Participants will have an opportunity to translate these features into assets that sell.
This workshop also spends time reviewing the current popular green building programs in Washington State including Energy Star, Built Green and LEED for homes and explains the advantages and characteristics of them.
Green Materials
Prerequisite: NONE
Clock Hours: 3
What makes a material green? How can I tell if a product is contributing to the sustainability of a building project? This class will introduce sustainable concepts to assist in green material and product selection. It will be augmented with samples of products of students to see up close and case studies. By the end of the class students will have an understanding of how material selections fit into sustainable building practices. They will develop an understanding of what to look for and how to evaluate resource, water and water efficiency and how indoor air quality can be impacted by material selection. A simple evaluation tool will be provided to help assess products.
Green Remodeling for all Shades of Green
Prerequisite: NONE
Clock Hours: 4
Green? What does it mean to your clients? Some clients are interested in green for short term financial gains, others for the long term investment; some equate green with social and environmental good, others look at energy savings and some are interested for health reasons. How do you determine what type of green your client is interested in and what remodeling options might be most appropriate for them? This class will provide students with an overview of green remodeling opportunities that are present in existing housing stock and the benefits that can be gained from green remodeling. They will review green remodeling products and systems that may provide indoor environmental quality improvements; energy, resource, and water efficiencies; and outside environmental protection. Students will learn the different profiles of green clients and how remodeling choices will vary depending on their profiles. They will participate in some hands-on exercises using “Shades of Green” analysis and eco-charrette techniques to help illustrate and differentiate appropriate options for remodeling including construction issues, orientation, weatherization, water saving basics, resource basics, space planning, integrated design, HVAC and renewable energy applications.
Sustainable Sites for Real Estate Professionals
Prerequisite: NONE
Clock Hours: 4
What is all of the hype about sustainable sites? As real estate professionals you hear about it but what is it and why is it becoming part of development standards in Washington State? Why are jurisdictions providing incentives and sometimes regulations to encourage it? How does it align with LEED, Built Green, and other certification programs? Hear the strategies, successes and lessons learned from local experts who will present case studies and tours of projects that have been built using sustainable site concepts. The class begins with an overview of the case for sustainable site development and how this knowledge will help real estate agents do their jobs better. Students learn the driving factors for the popularity in sustainable site development including finite resources, growing population, National and State legislation, certification programs, public awareness, and green jobs.
An overview of popular voluntary certification programs including LEED and Built Green will be provided. Students will be introduced to the main components of Sustainable Sites (SS), as practiced in LEED and Built Green Programs, and are shown practical examples of strategies used to meet the objectives. Once students have an understanding of fundamentals of sustainable sites they will have the opportunity to hear lessons learned and see how the concepts are addressed in Washington State development projects by industry experts who worked on these projects. They will gain hands-on exposure by seeing case studies of sustainable site projects or having guided tours of sustainable sites. By the end of the session real estate professionals should have a broad understanding of sustainable site development and be able to advise clients of what issues they need to address when developing or redeveloping in Washington.
Instructors:
Brenda Nunes, LEED AP, is the developer of the award-winning Built GreenR Home at Suncadia and has spoken to numerous organizations about this project. She is an active member of the Master Builders of King and Snohomish County (MBAKS) Built GreenR Executive Committee, and MBA University Board of Governors. She is assisting Central Washington Home Builders Association in the development of its Built GreenR Program. In 2007, she was awarded an MBAKS Built GreenR Pioneer Award for her contributions to Green Building.
She is the past president of the Greater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce and chair of 2007 and 2008 Sustainable September, a month-long promotion of sustainable businesses on the Eastside. She was the 2006 Chair of the East King County Chamber of Commerce Legislative Coalition and has co-authored papers on growth management and the environment. She is a past president of the Society for Marketing Professional Services, and a member of the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties. She has a BA in Communications from Marquette University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Seattle University, and has taken numerous real estate, development and investment classes.
Robin Rogers, LEED AP, advises and educates in sustainable design and building practices for residential and commercial projects. She was a member of the national committee that developed national model green home building guidelines and is a member of the national committee developing a national standard for commercial green buildings. As the Sustainability Advisor for a national architecture, engineering and planning firm, she was also the primary sustainable building consultant to King County’s Green Tools program. She was the first director of Seattle’s Built Green environmental building program and has helped launch Built Green programs in Central Washington, Thurston County and Whatcom County, and coordinated Built Green Washington. Robin has been a consultant and LEED technical reviewer on many commercial projects. She continues to remodel her own home using environmentally-friendly techniques and materials. Robin has a Master of Architecture degree from Virginia Tech.