After attending the EEBA conference last week, a gathering of leading progressive builders, developers, architects, energy raters, manufacturers, and other related professionals, I feel surprisingly heartened.
In presentation after presentation, panel after panel, participants expressed their deep commitment to sustainability, despite illogical rollbacks of environmental protections, political headwinds, and a stalled housing market. Builders like Beazer Homes and Sekisui House are not retreating from strategic plans set in place years ago. Rather, they’re doubling down.
The general consensus: Yes, market conditions are tough, but sustainability is actually helping to reduce costs, increase profitability, boost competitive advantage, and meet buyer demands.
Scoop from the Street
One example, Doug Tarry from Doug Tarry Homes, a large Canadian homebuilder, spoke extensively about how his company continues to bolster its sustainability offerings, even in a down market, and they’re one of the only builders in Canada that is exceeding its projected numbers.
Even more impressive than his profit: his motivation. Why does Doug do it? Not for the business advantage nor the profit (even though that’s a welcome outcome,) but in order to deliver the highest quality experience possible to homebuyers. “It’s simple,” Tarry says. “We do it for our customers, because that’s what they want.”
Tim O’Brien from Tim O’Brien homes, a volume builder in Wisconsin, spoke in his authentically pragmatic manner about the fact that sustainability keeps his company ahead of his competitors by attracting the type of customers that value full cost of ownership (including reduced operating costs, higher resale value, and enhanced comfort and wellbeing.)
He purchases carbon offsets from the COGNITION Carbon Offset Marketplace to deliver zero carbon homes—the only builder in the entire state of Wisconsin to do so.
Gene Myers from Thrive Homes was clear that his market, the Front Range in Colorado, has taken a deep hit since the halcyon days of the pandemic, and that in order to maintain its leadership position, Thrive relies on substantial incentives (in the $20,000 range) provided by Xcel, the local utility, for all-electric homes.
He asserts that, while federal incentives are being eliminated, state, municipal, and utility incentives are filling the void, providing high performance builders the financial benefits they need in order to make the numbers pencil out.
Joel Abney, Senior Vice President of Operations for Sekisui House—one of the largest and most respected builders in the world—emphasized that sustainability is inextricably integrated into the company’s business model. Specifically, its SHAWOOD brand blends performance and resiliency with a distinctly Japanese design ethos, rooted in harmony, simplicity, and the deep connection between the natural and built environment, a powerful fusion that is resonating with a growing number of homebuyers.
Headwinds and Tailwinds Collide
Even though 2025 has been a tough year with high interest rates, stifling inflation, vacillating tariffs, persistent labor shortages, and the chilling effect of the One Big Beautiful Bill, the fear of market uncertainty seems to be more paralyzing than the reality of the market.
Builders are finding solace in the fact that housing fundamentals remain strong, and the combination of lower mortgage rates (projected to drop to around 6.2% by the end of 2026), pent-up demand for homes (expected to fuel a 8% sales increase), and easing inventory constraints (as the lock-in effect begins to unwind) are forecasted to drive market growth next year.
No doubt, the sunsetting of the 45L new home efficiency tax credit, 25C homeowner credit for efficiency upgrades, 25D residential solar and battery storage credit, and EV purchase and charging station credit will thwart some momentum, but it certainly won’t stop progress. A truth that was particularly evident last week, when builder after builder emphasized that incentives were never supposed to prop up sustainability forever, reinforcing that their high performance electrified, resilient homes are outperforming their conventional comps in most markets.
Flashpoint Topics
Another vibrant thread of conversation during the EEBA conference was the surging transition to a net zero carbon built environment. From the impending RESNET standard 1550 that will streamline the measurement of embodied carbon for single and multifamily homes, to emerging zero carbon codes in states from coast to coast (with California and Massachusetts on the leading edge), to mounting consumer demand, builders, manufacturers, and other related professionals alike noted the coming sea change.
Additionally, several of the builders were clear that they’re playing the long-game: they are watching the inevitable increase in energy costs because of the skyrocketing demand for artificial intelligence and the corresponding explosion of data centers, which is driving up energy use to unprecedented levels.
They foresee solar + storage, smart panels, and demand-side energy management systems as an essential strategy for protecting homeowners against exponentially increasing monthly utility bills as well as grid outages that result from an aging infrastructure that can’t handle surging demand.
These builders are increasingly turning their attention to Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), which are aggregated networks of distributed energy resources (DERs) like rooftop solar, battery storage, smart thermostats, and load flexibility designed to buffer peak loads and reduce reliance on expensive central generation. VPPs offer a compelling opportunity for homebuilders and homeowners with respect to:
The bottom line: The builders that are leading with performance, electrification, resiliency, wellness, and innovation are earning stronger margins, selling homes faster, and generating greater brand loyalty. They recognize that greenwashing waves, political headwinds, and incentives come and go, but sustainability is now a core part of their business model. It’s not a marketing perk, it’s a market imperative.
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Publisher’s Note: Green Builder's 20th Anniversary celebration is sponsored by: Carrier, Trex, and Mohawk.