EarthCraft

What EarthCraft does

EarthCraft is a regional green building certification program, founded in 1999 and operated as a partnership between the Southface Institute and the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association from Atlanta, Georgia. It serves as a blueprint for energy, water, and resource-efficient buildings throughout the U.S. Southeast, certifying projects against building-science standards tailored to hot-humid climate conditions.

The program offers a portfolio of six certification tracks covering single-family homes (EarthCraft House), low- and mid-rise multifamily (EarthCraft Multifamily), renovations, master-planned communities (EarthCraft Communities), small-scale commercial (EarthCraft Light Commercial), and historic structures (EarthCraft Sustainable Preservation). Certification relies on HERS-based energy modeling, COMcheck verification for commercial projects, proprietary scoring worksheets, and third-party field verification by trained Technical Advisors. EarthCraft has certified more than 50,000 homes and buildings across eight Southeast states over its history, with EarthCraft Multifamily recognized by Fannie Mae for Green Mortgage financing and required by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for affordable housing projects seeking state funding.

EarthCraft generates revenue through tiered project registration fees (e.g., $150 flat for single-family, up to $5,000 for Communities, plus per-unit and per-square-foot pricing for multifamily, commercial, and renovation projects), $275 per-person builder training delivered through Southface Institute, and recurring Technical Advisor membership fees. Go-to-market is sales-led via a regional network of certified builders, Technical Advisors, HVAC contractors, and trained real estate professionals, supported by annual awards, case studies, and industry partnerships. A separate regional partner, Viridiant (formerly EarthCraft Virginia), administers the program in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C.

Name

EarthCraft

Legal name

EarthCraft

Website

https://earthcraft.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

EarthCraft is a Southeast U.S. green building certification program, founded in 1999 and operated by Southface Institute and the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, offering six certification tracks across residential, multifamily, commercial, community, renovation, and historic buildings to builders, developers, and property owners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Green Building Certification Services

akta.pro primary industry

Green Building & Energy-Efficient Construction (LEED, Weatherization) (EDAOAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Residential Green / High-Performance Home Construction (Net-Zero, Passive House) (IMAFABAH)

Keywords

• Green building certification
• Sustainable construction standards
• Energy efficiency programs
• High-performance building certification
• Residential green building

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Builder Training Fees: EarthCraft Builder Training course fees at $275 per person, with group training available upon request
2. Project Registration Fees: Tiered project registration fees based on project type (House, Multifamily, Light Commercial, Communities, Renovation, Sustainable Preservation). Fees range from $150 flat for single family to $5,000 flat for Communities to per-unit fees for multifamily
3. Technical Advisor Membership: Annual membership fees for Technical Advisors to maintain qualification and good standing with the program

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

EarthCraft is a regional green building certification program that provides a blueprint for energy, water, and resource-efficient construction across the Southeast United States. It certifies single-family homes, multifamily buildings, light commercial spaces, renovations, historic preservation projects, and master-planned communities through third-party verification by trained Technical Advisors using building science standards tailored to the hot-humid Southeast climate. The program also offers professional training for builders, HVAC contractors, real estate professionals, and Technical Advisors.

Product overview

EarthCraft is a green building certification program that serves as a regional standard for energy, water, and resource efficient buildings throughout the Southeast. The program offers a portfolio of certification products under a unified brand: EarthCraft House (single-family homes), EarthCraft Multifamily (multifamily buildings), EarthCraft Renovation (existing structure improvements), EarthCraft Communities (holistic community planning), EarthCraft Light Commercial (small-scale commercial buildings), and EarthCraft Sustainable Preservation (historic buildings). Supporting the certification programs, EarthCraft offers professional training services including Builder Training, Technical Advisor Qualification, Real Estate Professional Training, and HVAC Contractor Training. The program was developed by Southface and the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association in 1999 and has certified over 50,000 homes and buildings across eight Southeast states. Certification involves third-party verification and diagnostic testing, with projects achieving various performance levels and badges based on energy efficiency, health, environment, and comfort criteria.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EarthCraft House: Green building certification program for single-family detached homes, townhomes and duplexes
• EarthCraft Multifamily
• EarthCraft Communities
• EarthCraft Renovation
• EarthCraft Sustainable Preservation
• EarthCraft Light Commercial

Products and services

• EarthCraft House A residential green building certification program designed for single-family detached homes, townhomes, and duplexes in the Southeast. Provides third-party field verification and diagnostic testing, with homes projected to save 30% on energy bills. Certification is verified through EarthCraft House v2.1 worksheet with optional badges for Performance, Health, Environment, and Comfort.
• EarthCraft Multifamily Green building certification for low-rise and mid-rise multifamily projects including new construction and renovation, addressing environmental performance, indoor air quality, building durability, comfort, and affordability. Recognized by Fannie Mae for Green Mortgage Loans and required by Georgia DCA for affordable housing funding.
• EarthCraft Light Commercial Green building certification for resource-responsible design and construction of small-scale commercial buildings up to 50,000 sq ft (with buildings up to 80,000 sq ft considered). Covers site planning, energy and water efficiency, building durability, and occupant health. Includes ECLC FitOut for interior fit-outs and ECLC Ready for property owners.
• EarthCraft Renovation Certification program for renovations or additions to existing homes, multifamily residences, and light commercial buildings to improve efficiency and maximize performance. Assists in identifying and addressing problems such as uncomfortable rooms, high energy bills, poor indoor air quality, and combustion safety issues.
• EarthCraft Communities Holistic community certification system for sustainably planned and constructed developments. Addresses low-impact development, site selection, land disturbance, water quality and quantity management, energy, transportation infrastructure, community design, and green space preservation. All buildings within an EarthCraft Community must be certified under EarthCraft House, Multifamily, or Light Commercial programs.
• EarthCraft Sustainable Preservation Green building certification program specifically for historic buildings, developed jointly with The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. Evaluates inherent sustainability features and provides guidance on energy and water-efficient upgrades. Designed for historic buildings of 50,000 sq ft or less in the Southeastern US.
• EarthCraft Builder Training A one-day training course that instructs builders on how the EarthCraft program works for single family and multifamily projects. Covers program requirements for design, construction, and program reporting. Includes an open book exam for certification. Pricing is $275 per person with group training available upon request.
• EarthCraft Technical Advisor Qualification Professional qualification program for individuals seeking to become EarthCraft Technical Advisors. Prerequisites include HERS Rater certification, passing RESNET National Rater test, and completing EarthCraft Builder Training. Annual membership fees required to maintain qualification and good standing with the program.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% energy efficiency improvement vs standard construction
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Southface InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed EarthCraft program in 1999; administers the certification program through its staff and facilities; provides training courses through its education department; headquartered at same location as EarthCraft office.
• Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (GAHBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed EarthCraft program in 1999 alongside Southface; represents builder members who construct EarthCraft-certified buildings; provides marketing support through its member network.
• Viridiant (formerly EarthCraft Virginia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdministers EarthCraft program in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. area; operates as regional partner organization with increased focus on different aspects of sustainability.
• The Georgia Trust for Historic PreservationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developed EarthCraft Sustainable Preservation program - the nation's first green building certification program for historic buildings; Rhodes Hall was the first pilot project; provides preservation expertise and technical guidance.
• Atlanta Regional CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in launching EarthCraft Communities program in 2005 for sustainably planned and constructed community certification.
• Urban Land Institute Atlanta District CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in launching EarthCraft Communities program in 2005 for community certification development.
• U.S. Department of EnergyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Southface and EarthCraft to develop Light Commercial Deep Energy Prescriptive Path targeting 25% energy reduction over ASHRAE 90.1-2007.

Scale indicators6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• International Living Future Institute: Operates the Living Building Challenge and Zero Energy certification programs, the most ambitious performance-based certifications for buildings. Sits at the high-performance end of the same market EarthCraft's DOE Zero Energy Ready homes target.
• International WELL Building Institute (IWBI): Operates the WELL building standard focused on occupant health and indoor air quality—a domain EarthCraft highlights (ventilation, low-VOC materials). WELL is an emerging adjacent competitor as ESG/health certifications become more layered on top of energy certifications.

Regional players

• Build It Green: California-based nonprofit operating GreenPoint Rated, a regional green home certification comparable in structure and mission to EarthCraft House. Demonstrates the regional-certification model can sustain scale in a defined geography but is structurally limited outside its home region.
• Viridiant: Formerly EarthCraft Virginia, Viridiant is the regional partner that administers EarthCraft certification in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. It is the closest structural analog to EarthCraft as a separately operated regional certification partner organization.

Direct peers

• NAHB National Green Building Standard: ICC/ASHRAE 700 National Green Building Standard overseen by NAHB provides a national home certification framework for builders, overlapping directly with EarthCraft House. It is the ANSI-accredited standard behind many regional green programs and competes for the same single-family and multifamily builder audience.
• ENERGY STAR (Residential & Multifamily): DOE-backed certification program for energy-efficient new homes, multifamily, and commercial buildings. EarthCraft homes routinely achieve ENERGY STAR alongside their certification, and ENERGY STAR serves as a complementary or substitute pathway for builders pursuing performance validation in the Southeast.
• Passive House Institute US (PHIUS): Operates a performance-based passive building certification for homes and multifamily across the US. PHIUS competes with EarthCraft's high-performance tier and DOE Zero Energy Ready pathway, particularly for builders targeting the most aggressive energy savings specifications.
• Green Building Initiative (GBI): Operates Green Globes, an alternative green building certification for commercial and multifamily properties that competes directly with EarthCraft Multifamily and Light Commercial programs for third-party verified sustainability labeling and is recognized by Fannie Mae among other agencies.
• U.S. Green Building Council (LEED): Operates LEED, the most widely adopted national/international green building certification across residential, multifamily, commercial, and communities. LEED v4/v4.1 covers the same project categories as EarthCraft (Homes, Multifamily, Communities, Commercial), competing for the same builder/developer customers on recognition, financing eligibility, and ESG reporting.
• Enterprise Community Partners (Green Communities): Operates the Green Communities certification for affordable housing, a direct competitor to EarthCraft Multifamily in the affordable housing segment. EarthCraft's Georgia DCA mandate and Fannie Mae recognition are the primary differentiators in this overlapping affordable-housing certification market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EarthCraftSE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earth-craft

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EarthCraft