Architect and urban planner Sam Rashkin made the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star for Homes program, which he has managed since its launch in 1995, one of the most widely cited standards in the residential construction industry.

That accomplishment not only is Rashkin’s alone, it is one of the key reasons he was chosen to receive the third annual Hanley Award for Vision and Leadership in Sustainable Housing, a $50,000 prize that will be presented to him in May during the 2012 American Institute of Architects National Convention, in Washington, D.C.

A graduate of Syracuse University, where he received a Bachelor of Architecture, and New York University, where he earned a master’s degree in urban planning, Rashkin also has served on the national steering committees for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes certification program, the National Association of Home Builders’ green building guidelines, and the EPA’s WaterSense labeling program.

Previous recipients of the award — which is sponsored by the Hanley Foundation, Hanley Wood, and Builder and EcoHome magazines — include Ed Mazria, founder of Architecture 2030, and Alex Wilson, founder and executive editor of BuildingGreen Inc., which is publisher of Environmental Building News.

“Sam has done more than anyone to dramatically improve the energy performance of new homes,” Wilson, who served as a judge for this year’s award, said in a recent EBN post. “His perseverance and tenacity in generating builder support for Energy Star Homes has been phenomenal. No one is more deserving of this award than Sam.”