Some of Sustainabuild's faithful followers may have noticed a recent absent from my quasi-obsessive postings on the state of Green here, there, and everywhere. (For those of you that haven't noticed, you need to visit more!) I was fortunate to have spent the better part of last week in Washington DC attending the SMPS Annual Conference. Two of the breakout sessions were specific to marketing Green Building and LEED within the A/E/C industry. Needless to say, I was a front-row-sitting-apple-polisher for these sessions.
The first session was called "From Green to Gold" by Jerry Yudelson, PE, CPSM and Principal at Yudelson Associates. He recently sat on the national board for USGBC and has trained nearly 3000 people on the LEED system. He's authored several books, one of which I picked up on Marketing Green Buildings. He signed it. I bet he felt like a rock star. :-) I'm a total green-groupie.
A few highlights and bits that I found useful:
Registering a LEED project is like getting engaged: It doesn't mean you're going to get married, but you intend to. LEED certification is like the wedding ceremony (and comes with all the inherent planning, headaches, excitement, and relief when it's complete). Your building even gets a shiny bit of metal as proof of the whole thing. Great analogy.
When comparing a Green Building with Traditional Buildings: Turn the tables. "I can build a facility for you which will result in 15% more absenteeism, higher turnover, 25% higher energy cost, 15% more water use, and I can save you 50 cents a square foot. Whaddya think?" No one in their right mind would agree. But when you try to convince someone to build for 50 cents a square foot more with all of those associated benefits, you still get push back. Crazy, isn't it?
Some of the limitations on the growth of green buildings: 1. Design/construction team lack of experience and unwilingness to take risks. 2. Continued perception that green is more expensive. 3. Lack of post-occupancy evaluations to demonstrate green benefits.
The second green sessions was titled "Green Trends and Opportunities in the Marketplace" by Harvey Bernstein, FASCE, VP Industry Analytics and Alliances with McGraw Hill Construction. He is responsible for green initiatives to include studies on green construction trends. He shared some great numbers with us on their recent Green Building study.
What's the impact of buildings? 40% total energy use, 38% carbon dioxide emissions and 36% of all greenhouse gas emissions, 30% waste outpot, 12% potable water consumption.
Changing ethics will result in shift in the market: 89% of polled 13-25 year olds said they are likely to switch brands given equal price and quality to support a cause. 74% are more likely to pay attention to messages of companies deeply committed to a cause. 69% consider a company's social commitment when deciding where to shop. These are our future (and current!) employees. They're also our future owners, developers, end-users.
The Dow Jones Sustainability Index is continually outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The tipping point for the green market is expected within three years.
47% believe that government will eventually require green building which may influence their support for green building.
40% of corporate leaders agree that ignoring green building will lead to problems with regards to public relations.
36% agree that green building creates an unjustifiable cost premium. 40% have no opinion. So, 76% need more education to overcome that perception.
Increased energy costs are driing 75% of all green building, 40% government regulations and tax incentives, and 26% state global influences.
So, that's what up in the world of green building right now. Those are some of the most recent stats we have on the state of the sustainable union. I encourage those in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction to take those stats to their marketing departments, to their principals, and to heart. As Jerry Yudelson cited in his presentation:
"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time as come." --Emile Zola 19th c. French Writer
Thanks to Mr. Yudelson and Mr. Bernstein for sharing their abundance of green knowledge with us in DC.
If you're interested in the content of the other sessions at SMPS, be sure to send me an email and I'll share my information with you.
The first session was called "From Green to Gold" by Jerry Yudelson, PE, CPSM and Principal at Yudelson Associates. He recently sat on the national board for USGBC and has trained nearly 3000 people on the LEED system. He's authored several books, one of which I picked up on Marketing Green Buildings. He signed it. I bet he felt like a rock star. :-) I'm a total green-groupie.
A few highlights and bits that I found useful:
Registering a LEED project is like getting engaged: It doesn't mean you're going to get married, but you intend to. LEED certification is like the wedding ceremony (and comes with all the inherent planning, headaches, excitement, and relief when it's complete). Your building even gets a shiny bit of metal as proof of the whole thing. Great analogy.
When comparing a Green Building with Traditional Buildings: Turn the tables. "I can build a facility for you which will result in 15% more absenteeism, higher turnover, 25% higher energy cost, 15% more water use, and I can save you 50 cents a square foot. Whaddya think?" No one in their right mind would agree. But when you try to convince someone to build for 50 cents a square foot more with all of those associated benefits, you still get push back. Crazy, isn't it?
Some of the limitations on the growth of green buildings: 1. Design/construction team lack of experience and unwilingness to take risks. 2. Continued perception that green is more expensive. 3. Lack of post-occupancy evaluations to demonstrate green benefits.
The second green sessions was titled "Green Trends and Opportunities in the Marketplace" by Harvey Bernstein, FASCE, VP Industry Analytics and Alliances with McGraw Hill Construction. He is responsible for green initiatives to include studies on green construction trends. He shared some great numbers with us on their recent Green Building study.
What's the impact of buildings? 40% total energy use, 38% carbon dioxide emissions and 36% of all greenhouse gas emissions, 30% waste outpot, 12% potable water consumption.
Changing ethics will result in shift in the market: 89% of polled 13-25 year olds said they are likely to switch brands given equal price and quality to support a cause. 74% are more likely to pay attention to messages of companies deeply committed to a cause. 69% consider a company's social commitment when deciding where to shop. These are our future (and current!) employees. They're also our future owners, developers, end-users.
The Dow Jones Sustainability Index is continually outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The tipping point for the green market is expected within three years.
47% believe that government will eventually require green building which may influence their support for green building.
40% of corporate leaders agree that ignoring green building will lead to problems with regards to public relations.
36% agree that green building creates an unjustifiable cost premium. 40% have no opinion. So, 76% need more education to overcome that perception.
Increased energy costs are driing 75% of all green building, 40% government regulations and tax incentives, and 26% state global influences.
So, that's what up in the world of green building right now. Those are some of the most recent stats we have on the state of the sustainable union. I encourage those in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction to take those stats to their marketing departments, to their principals, and to heart. As Jerry Yudelson cited in his presentation:
"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time as come." --Emile Zola 19th c. French Writer
Thanks to Mr. Yudelson and Mr. Bernstein for sharing their abundance of green knowledge with us in DC.
If you're interested in the content of the other sessions at SMPS, be sure to send me an email and I'll share my information with you.
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