Green Building Myths

We’ve all heard the arguments over sustainable building and renewable energy. Let’s take a look at three of them.

Sustainable building is too expensive.
There is nothing inherently expensive about sustainable building. At its simplest, sustainable building uses common sense design principles such as considering the sun and prevailing winds when deciding where to build or using design principles that provide shading or natural ventilation.

Green houses look funny.
Some of them do, but most green houses look like every other house on the block. If you want to build a dome or an underground house, go right ahead. However, many of green building concepts being “discovered” today have actually been around for a long time. Deep wrap around porches, dog trot style homes, and two story houses with windows at the top of the stairway are timeless designs in the south that embody “modern principles” such as shading, natural ventilation, and “chimney effects.” Northern homes have used enclosed entries for years. The “airlock” concept is nothing new. The only difference between many green homes and other homes is size of the utility bill!

Solar power, wind power, and rainwater collection is too expensive.
Yes. Those things do cost money. However, green building is not about finding ways for people to become miniature utility companies. In fact, before you even consider producing electricity or harvesting rainwater, you should figure out how to avoid wasting the electricity and water you already use. With that said, alternative power sources are becoming less expensive, and electricity from coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear sources is becoming more expensive. Rain has been a water source for hundreds of years, and in some places as aquifers are pumped down, rain is more reliable than a well.

Green is good business!

The green movement has grown tremendously, and it has become mainstream. This is a trend you need to understand. If you have been reading the business pages over the last several years, you have probably seen a lot of terms such as green building, renewable energy, and sustainability. Not too long ago, conventional wisdom said that going green cost too much. It turns out that conventional wisdom was wrong.

Green is good business!
Who knew? It turns out that it makes sense to conserve energy. Energy costs are high and going higher. It makes sense to conserve raw materials. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle are not just buzzwords. They are tools to reduce costs. They reduce the cost of hauling away garbage and of storing garbage in land fills. Green also means using renewable resources and local sourcing. These practices can reduce costs too.

Customers like it too. As more people become aware of what it means to be green, they are demanding that the companies they do business with become green. In fact, green has gone from a niche market to mainstream. Customers may even be willing to pay more for green products.

Green has gone mainstream.
If you have any doubt, do some quick research on major corporations that have announced green initiatives. Among the companies that are going green are CSC, BP, GE, Marriott, Verizon, Wal-Mart, and more. Local governments across the country are announcing green initiatives.

What does this mean for your business?
The growing green movement is an opportunity for you. You should think about doing two things.

1. Understand what it means to be green.
2. Figure out how to satisfy your customers' desire to be green.

Understand what it means to be green.
Understanding what it means to be green is both easier and more difficult than you might imagine. There is a lot of really bad information floating around. Get your information from a variety of reputable sources.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, and be assured that you know more than you realize. You will learn that a lot of things that have to do with being green are pretty simple.

Figure out how to satisfy your customers' desire to be green.
This could be as simple as letting your customers know about  your green practices. However, depending on the type of business you have, you may also want to evaluate your product mix. Leaning what your customers want may be a challenge, but you can begin by looking at approaches used by other businesses. In addition, if your customers know you are thinking about going green, some of them will be happy to tell you what they want. Ask them.
 
Remember that conventional wisdom that going green cost too much? It turns out that not going green might cost you even more.