home green home

"GOOD CONSTRUCTION, INCLUDING AESTHETICS AND PERFORMANCE, IS IMPORTANT AT ALL PRICE POINTS."

- Pam Sessions, Co-founder, Hedgewood Properties

At approximately 1,000 square feet, a Habitat for Humanity home is significantly smaller than the houses typically constructed by Atlanta-area builder Hedgewood Properties. However, when Hedgewood co-founders Pam Sessions and Don Donnelly accepted the opportunity to sponsor construction of a Habitat home at the 2002 International Builders’ Show, they saw it as a chance to prove that green building practices can be used effectively in any house, regardless of price or size.

“Good construction, including aesthetics and performance, is important at all price points,” Sessions says. “What better place to demonstrate this than on a Habitat for Humanity home?”

Founded in 1985, Hedgewood Properties has built and sold more than 2,500 custom homes. The company prides itself on creating sustainable communities. As part of its broader outlook, Hedgewood partnered with the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association in the early 1990s to develop the EarthCraft House program — the construction foundation for all Hedgewood properties.

A voluntary program, EarthCraft focuses on four key building components: energy efficiency, water conservation, indoor environmental quality and materials efficiency. To obtain the EarthCraft label, a home must earn a base number of points dependent on the features included in the home. For example, to lower utility bills while maintaining comfort, a home must have a minimum of 12-SEER cooling, along with sealed ductwork at 5% maximum leakage and filtered fresh-air intake. The house also must have moisture control and carbon monoxide prevention measures. High-efficiency appliances with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star rating are used, and homes are built in a way to maximize material use and thus reduce waste.

“Our goal is to improve comfort and health of the occupants and reduce operating costs for the homeowner while still protecting our natural resources,” Sessions says.

This was the first time Hedgewood Properties has joined forces as a company to build a Habitat home, although many employees have volunteered to build on their own time.

“We always try to do something as a company,” Sessions says. “We’ve renovated a children’s shelter before, and we’ve adopted a stream. We also make a donation every Christmas to Habitat in the names of all our homeowners who closed during the year.”

Hedgewood provided a large show of support from building and nonbuilding staff during construction of the Habitat home. Sessions volunteered her time and recruited volunteers from the subcontractors with whom the company works, as well as manufacturers and distributors.

“We’ll invite as many people as we work with throughout the year,” Sessions says. “It’s a celebration for all of us.”