Resource Library
Success StoriesAt Sycamore Heights in Pleasanton, SummerHill Homes is currently building executive-style homes that surpass local green building requirements.
A homeowner designs a hillside house that’s green from its concrete piers to its recycled roof shakes
Success StoriesPonderosa Classics is a new master-planned community under construction near downtown Pleasanton. Every home will include the standard energy efficiency and green features listed here in “Green at a Glance.” In addition, homebuyers can make a further commitment to green living by opting for the Zero Energy Home package and other green features offered by the developer, Ponderosa Homes.
Success StoriesLaney College’s Green Built Housing Project offers students in its Carpentry Department an unparalleled opportunity to learn the ins and outs of building eco-friendly houses. In partnership with the City of Oakland and the Oakland Rotary Club, the project has already completed one house and has another under construction.
Success StoriesRead all about how we put our green building and Bay-Friendly Landscaping know-how to work when we renovated an old building in Oakland to create a healthy, energy efficient new office. The project was the first renovated building in the country to earn LEED Platinum certification, the highest rating in the LEED Green Building Rating System.
Success StoriesGrant Minix and Michael Geltz are such good recyclers that they only take out a single bag of garbage once a month. The waste-not ethic so evident inside the house has also been put to work outside it, where Minix and Geltz have built a happy, opportunistic garden from reclaimed materials.
Success StoriesGhirardelli Chocolate Company replaced cardboard boxes with a fleet of reusable totes for internal distribution of its chocolate products. Besides preventing 350 tons of soiled cardboard waste each year, this eliminates the purchasing cost for cardboard boxes as well as disposal fees, and even reduces chocolate breakage.
Success StoriesOrcon Corporation, a manufacturer of film and seam products for the aerospace and carpet industries, purchased equipment and software to switch to a paperless office system. Incoming paperwork is scanned and saved to the network, instead of making duplicate hard copies for different departments.
Success StoriesPeerless Coffee & Tea Company in Oakland purchased computerized packaging equipment to reduce expensive Mylar packaging waste, previously generated by their coffee bagging equipment. This waste prevention effort has resulted in savings of over $100,000 annually.
NewsHabitat for Humanity East Bay, a non-profit celebrating its 20th year, represents the rare organization that has successfully combined concern for social justice with environmental awareness.