Global Green USA Tours Progress of First Green Home at Holy Cross Project with Lead Funding Partner, The Home Depot Foundation, and Design Competition Chair Brad Pitt

Dozens of Green Products and Systems including Solar Panels, Natural Soy Based Insulation and Sustainable Wood Showcased
Final Multi-Family Affordable Housing and Community Center Designs Unveiled

New Orleans, August 21, 2007 – Global Green USA celebrated a milestone before the 2nd Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by touring progress of their first affordable green home under construction. The Holy Cross project is one of the first new home construction projects to be built in the Lower 9th Ward. The home, whose solar panels will generate enough electricity to power the home, is expected to be LEED Platinum certified. It is being built with green products and energy efficient systems that will ultimately be included in the completed project of five single family homes, an 18 multi-unit apartment complex and a community center/Sustainable Design and Climate Action Institute. Brad Pitt (initial sponsor and chair of the sustainable design competition jury), Global Green USA® and The Home Depot® Foundation -- the project’s lead funding partner -- toured the home with local community leaders and unveiled the final design for the project.

“What happened two years ago was a man made disaster, and this building offers a man made solution. This home proves we can build more thoughtfully, affordably and provide a better quality of life for the families within,” said Brad Pitt.

Pam Dashiell, Past President of the Holy Cross Project and a member of the design jury that chose the architects for the development, praised the real progress in getting the house constructed: “We’re so excited to see the progress of the initial construction that will serve as a model for the green rebuilding of the Lower 9th and all of New Orleans.” It’s wonderful to see actual building happening here, especially as we approach the second anniversary of the storm Katrina.”

Board Cutting

Dashiell joined Brad Pitt, Kelly Caffarelli, President of The Home Depot Foundation, Architects Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen along with Global Green President Matt Petersen for the official “board cutting” ceremony prior to touring the first home that will be completed later this fall. The first home will initially serve as a visitor’s center showcasing dozens of green products and systems that can be replicated throughout New Orleans to help save money, improve health and reduce climate emissions.

“While many of the smart design solutions will be invisible when the home is completed, the green materials we are showing today save homeowners money on their utility bills, improve the health of the residents -- by protecting against mold and poor indoor air quality -- and reduce environmental impact,” said Matt Petersen, president and CEO of Global Green USA. “If 50,000 homes were rebuilt to just half the standards used in this home, residents would save up to $56 million and reduce global warming pollution by 550,000 tons each year.”

Green Products

Displays of green products were arranged by five basic categories including: water conservation, energy conservation, natural resource conservation, indoor air quality and durability. Some of the eco-friendly features visible on the home tour include:

Solar Energy - Evergreen Solar® ES-190 solar panels will be installed on every roof of the project. When completed, the solar panels will cover nearly 100% of the electricity needs of the house, creating a ‘net zero energy home.

FSC Wood and Bluwood® - The framing wood is entirely Forest Stewardship Council certified, and is 'blue' because of the use of a proprietary 'Bluwood' nontoxic borate treatment that protects against mold, fungus and reduces the need to use toxic pesticides to frequently spray homes for termites.

Soy-Based Foam Insulation - This green product is made locally in New Orleans and is an agricultural-based product that requires fewer natural resources to manufacture. Spray Foam insulators are sprayed into wall spaces, expanding to fill every inch, preventing air leaks and increasing efficiency.

Wheat Board - Agricultural Fiber Board (particle board) is comparable to plywood and is used in millwork, furniture and flooring. Wheat board is an agricultural by-product otherwise sent to a landfill or incinerator, and is glued with toxic-free resins.
“We believe the Holy Cross project will serve as a model for how entire neighborhoods can be reshaped and strengthened through smart, green community design. The Home Depot Foundation is committed to the families of the Lower 9th Ward and this community for the long term,” said Kelly Caffarelli, president of The Home Depot Foundation, the lead funding partner for the project.

Designs Unveiled

The final design for the project’s apartment complex and community center was unveiled at the event. Renderings of the final designs along with a Yahoo! designed virtual home tour with information about all green products used are available at www.globalgreen.org.

Later today, Global Green USA and The Home Depot Foundation will gather over 100 invited local and national leaders in green building, community development, and affordable housing for its "New Orleans Compact" Roundtable. Participants will refine the vision for Global Green's Sustainable Design and Climate Action institute. The roundtable will also help establish principles and specific actions needed to ensure lessons learned in the response to the rebuilding of New Orleans are retained, shared, and applied to other communities in need in the future.

Carbon offsets for the construction of the project originated from renewable energy credits generated by a Texas wind farm, and were generously donated by Think Energy, a member of the project team.

About the Holy Cross Project

The Holy Cross neighborhood project, based on a winning design by Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen of Workshop/APD, was selected from among 125 concepts submitted through the “Sustainable Design for New Orleans” competition. The full project design can be viewed at www.globalgreen.org <http://www.globalgreen.org/> . The privately funded mixed-use residential development will feature an 18 unit multi-family building, five single-family homes and a community center with essential services for working families, such as daycare and retail space.

About Global Green USA

Global Green USA, the American affiliate of President Gorbachev’s Green Cross International, was founded by Diane Meyer Simon in 1993. Its field office and green building resource center opened in early 2006, and serves as a focal point of green building expertise for New Orleans residents and leads its “Healthy Homes, Smart Neighborhoods” initiative whose Honorary National Task Force includes: Julian Bond, Gen. Wesley Clark, Leonardo DiCaprio, Morgan Freeman, Lee Hamilton, Pat Mitchell and David Orr. Global Green USA has been a national leader in green building for affordable housing, schools and communities for more than a decade and has influenced more than $20 billion dollars in green construction.

About The Home Depot Foundation

The Home Depot Foundation is dedicated to improving the health of local communities by supporting the development of affordable, healthy homes for working families and by the strategic planting and preservation of trees in parks, in schoolyards and along city streets. Since its creation in 2002, The Home Depot Foundation has granted nearly $30 million to non-profit organizations, supported the development of more than 40,000 affordable, healthy homes and planted and preserved more than one million community trees. In 2007, The Home Depot Foundation committed to significantly increase its financial support in these two areas by awarding $100 million in grants over the next 10 years, which will result in the development of 100,000 affordable, healthy homes for working families and the planting and preservation of more than 3 million community trees. For more information, visit www.homedepotfoundation.org.

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For more information, contact:

Global Green USA

Sam Boykin
212.584.5000
sboykin@fenton.com

Jeanne Nathan
504.218.4807
nathan@creativeindustryusa.com

Ruben Aronin
310.612.5663
raronin@globalgreen.org

Home Depot Foundation

Mandy Hunsicker, Manning Selvage & Lee
404-870-6815 (work) 404-558-8636 (mobile)
mandy.hunsicker@mslpr.com