Habitat for Humanity International, a charity helping tackle global housing poverty and The Home Depot Foundation, the charity arm of the world’s largest US-based DIY firm have joined forces for the scheme.

The joint venture, called Partners in Sustainable Building, will fund and resource – over a five year period – the construction the 5000 homes.

All the properties will be built to Energy Star guidelines or to a nationally recognized green building equivalent in the country they’re constructed.

Features of the eco-homes will include up to 50% less energy use, cuts of a third in indoor water consumption, use of durable materials to lower maintenance costs over the life of the structure.

This will, the charities believe, lead to 11 tons less of carbon and greenhouse gas emissions per household a year of the equivalent of taking 250 cars off the road.

President of The Home Depot Foundation, Kelly Caffarelli, said: “We believe green building techniques are not a luxury – they aren’t exotic or expensive.

“By embracing the practical principles of green building, our partnership with Habitat for Humanity International is demonstrating these techniques can actually make homes more affordable to own, maintain and live in from day one and for the long-term.”

Home Depot Foundation has granted $120m to non-profit organisations and supported the development of more than 65,000 affordable, healthy homes. For more information click here.

Luke Walsh

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