Maine Passive House works to improve the built environment, inspire new ways of doing business, and uplift the communities we serve.

HOW WE BUILD:

Maine Passive House builds passive, low-carbon, buildings with a mind for craft, comfort, and beauty. In order to achieve this level of performance, we:

  • Use the guiding principles of Passive House design to ensure every building we construct uses considerably less energy than another code-built house of the same size. 

  • Prioritize occupant comfort in the home with the use of an ERV, triple-paned windows, air-tight assemblies, and minimal thermal bridging.

  • Examine the embodied carbon life cycle of the materials we build with throughout the design process. We are committed to find products that emit less carbon in production, application, and disposal and can be sourced locally.

  • Consider the toxicity of products before using them in a home. We eliminate products from our tool belt that have high VOCs and off-gassing to ensure the occupants' health is not affected by our buildings.

  • Reduce waste and improve efficiency at every stage of the building process. We start with design and continue through to material ordering, site management, and the longevity of our buildings’ impact on their surrounding environment.

  • Execute highly skilled, detailed, and beautiful craft. We value the artistic expression of architecture, design, and woodworking.

  • Teach best practices for building structurally sound, high performance buildings made to withstand the changes in our environment over time. 

HOW WE DO BUSINESS:

We seek to reimagine the role business can have in society through the continued evaluation and integration of practices that are responsible to the communities and environments we impact. In this spirit, Maine Passive House strives to:

  • Cultivate positive and lasting relationships with our clients, architects, and sub-contractors. MPH takes a cooperative and integrated approach to building; we know that when all participants of the design and build process work together from the beginning, we achieve a better product. 

  • Reduce the environmental harm of our operations in any way we can. Although destruction is inherent in construction, MPH makes it a priority to assess, identify and find alternative solutions to harmful build practices. We know that our operations affect shared resources in our local and global communities and therefore our responsibilities extend beyond the bounds of each jobsite. 

  • Proactively increase the accessibility and inclusiveness of the trades to diverse and traditionally excluded communities. We know that the best ideas are heard when all voices have access to the conversation.

  • Foster a cooperative working environment that supports the personal and professional goals of our employees. The well-being of each of our members is vital to the success of the whole team. 

  • Build meaningful relationships and extend opportunities to the communities we operate in and affect. We seek to make the benefits of passive house design available to an ever-widening population. 

HOW WE SERVE OUR COMMUNITY:

There are many individuals, organizations, and communities whose work contributes to the success of MPH. We understand the value of our extended communities and seek to be a good neighbor, colleague, and partner in these relationships. With this intention, Maine Passive House:

  • Commits to transparent operations. We share our successes and failures in building and business with our colleagues. We know that cooperative relationships enable progress and drive innovation in the industry.

  • Is an active member of an extensive and expanding network of sustainable building professionals. We participate in conferences, webinars, podcasts, networking events, and business development teams.

  • Hosts building science and carpentry workshops for our local community. We hope to increase access to the industry, share our best practices, and empower participants to take on build projects of their own. 

  • Supports our employees ability to donate their time and skills to local building efforts, advocacy and social justice efforts. We set aside paid volunteer time for each of our employees. 

  • Prioritizes purchasing from local manufacturers and investing in small companies to support the local job market and economy.

  • Facilitates the transfer of skills and traditional craft to the younger generation. We support our local trade school and high school students by offering internships and entry-level positions in carpentry.