ECO-nomics

The conception that green buildings exist solely in order to diminish CO2 emissions displays the first and most common misconception about sustainable architecture. We should remove the socio-political debates about global warming from the picture. At the Greenbuild 2007 conference, former president Bill Clinton stated that, “building green is the greatest economic opportunity since WWII.” The ‘green collar jobs’ that are created by the emerging industry initiatives are significant to the American economy especially after a decline in manufacturing jobs in the US. George Hartwell, the mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan, mentioned at Greenbuild that his city—after feeling the devastation of globalization—has now started to increase its wealth by changing old manufacturing edifices into new green material manufacturing facilities.

The book Green to Gold (2006) tackles the burgeoning world of green business revenue and aims to be pragmatic in a niche where “over 95 percent of the stories and examples talked only about the benefits of environmental thinking.” Many businesses are enthusiastically fueling the green movement and it is critical to remember that “no business strategy works all the time” . The authors’ realistic approach is still optimistic, but they have sought out the book’s information with the specific aim of presenting a non-idealized view in the burgeoning domain where ecology and business meet.

Green to Gold presents some key strategies and thoughts about going ‘green’ in the business world. My favorite is: “Climate change is shaping up to be the biggest environmental strategy issue the business world has ever faced.” The authors employ metaphors from economic jargon: “Natural resources are the assets on the planetary balance sheet.” The aims of getting ahead and making a profit are still in play, but the notion of a greater ecological and human good are also addressed.

Eco-chic and green business initiatives are excellent and simultaneously problematic. As the July 1, 2007 article called “Buying Into the Green Movement” stated in the New York Times:

Consumers have embraced living green, and for the most part the mainstream green movement has embraced green consumerism. But even at this moment of high visibility and impact for environmental activists, a splinter wing of the movement has begun to critique what it sometimes calls “light greens” .

[Though it should (as I stated at the outset of this post) be out of the realm of politics and climate change, we can choose to consider this as well if that is on your agenda.] The global climate and carbon footprint problems we are facing are too large in scope to be bought by consumers who propone the same life style choices, overall. Simply buying green stocks while not recycling and driving an SUV will not bring us anywhere in the grand scheme of things.

We need to educate ourselves and make smart, green, lifestyle decisions. Since many businesses and marketing campaigns have aimed at green images, it is the consumer’s responsibility to be discerning. An accessible space for information about this new intersection of ecology and business is the weekly video news podcast called ECOBIZ. Sponsored by Citi Smith Barney, this video podcast is free, straightforward, interesting, and encouraging in many ways. The website falls under the umbrella of the Sundance Channel.

Environmental sustainability and social change are the broad topics attended to by a great podcast (in video): ECOBIZ, but the information embedded in any given episode can lead to a quickly snowballing interest. For example, the episode about the Terra Pass, if one’s interest is sparked, can lead to the company’s website, a potential purchase in one of many areas, and even to joining the Terra Pass Facebook group. The ease of the modern American consumer is all-too evident between TerraPass and the plethora of businesses going green to gain our business.

A wide range of individuals and companies are featured, and Emmy-Award winning Allison Stewart, who serves as the podcast’s anchor. The episode’s features have included Timberland, Terra Pass, Emory Knoll Farms, Recycline, Ben and Jerry’s, and The Sallan Foundation; these companies are all making environmentally conscious steps in different ways. These segments validate the opportunity that the green movement has augmented.

There is intangible brand value in marketing your entire company as environmentally friendly, but it is more than painting the façade of your company headquarters green. The innumerable websites, podcasts and books on this ‘green’ topic are successful because being informed is the only feasible preparation for the future of corporations; a green image may suffice for now, but not for long. Knowledgeable, committed consumers are making demands for transparency of policies in companies. Companies are being asked about their environmental footprint, from alternative energy investment, office policies, waste management, architectural choices, ad infinitum.

The social sites, podcasts and blogs (like my own) are changing media, and by extension the issue of our “e-waste.” The question of what to do with all the outdated electronic material is pressing, as “every old computer has about four pounds of toxic materials including […] flame retardants, lead, cadmium, and mercury. Given that over 300 million computers are awaiting disposal in the United States alone, the toxic waste math is not pretty.” ReCellular is yet another eco-smart business, which was created “to refurbish, reuse and responsibly recycle discarded cell phones.” It is “the world's largest recycler and reseller of used cellular phones and accessories.” Companies like this one are innovating and changing the notion of green business. They have a green hue in more than their appearance: they are building a green business out off sustainable practices and using waste materials to generate new revenue.

Briefly Noteworthy

I found this image here, and it is apparently hanging in the foyer of HGTV's (2008) Green Home. If HGTV isn't mainstream, I dont know what is.

Greening My College Campus (Unforeseen Challenges)

I have not updated this blog with the frequency I intended, but I have been quite busy working on moving my convictions about sustainability from the (virtual) page to the world. As usual, I have been advocating 'going green' incrementally to friends and family, but I have also been presented with a particular challenge:
I am on the Senior Steering Committee, and am on the particular sub-committee where I will help choose the Class Gift. I am passionately advocating a “green gift” of some kind. Despite my bias toward environmentally friendly choices (predictable given this blog’s subject matter), I believe that something "green" speaks more to our time, as the Class of 2008. Convincing others to make sustainable choices requires choosing your battles; this committee has been my chosen sphere of advocation and action.

The first sustainable gift idea I Iproposed was an arborsmithed bench (see above image or see here). I think that a special bench such as this would be utilized because it would give a unique sense of place and artfulness to wherever it is put. Others raised concerns about vandalism, but with thoughtful consideration for its location (i.e. not by fraternity houses and instead outside the art building or library) it could add a sustainable and aesthetic marker in our outdoor campus space. This idea was the first I proposed to counter the groupthink that was going on in the committee, and it was not taken up with much excitement—instead it became more of an exemplar that there are other ideas out there beside the one that was proposed early on for a large metal mascot sculpture.

The metal mascot is kitschy, antiquated and most importantly: not sustainable. (My concern was also that the committee was taking the path of least resistance by silently settling for the metal statue to not have to do further research.) The voice behind the mascot (pun intended: mask-ot) seemed determined to derail anything I proposed; his authorship to the idea was clearly paramount.

The next idea I researched and proposed was a “green fund” of some sort, and in particular I was hoping to get it to pay for the LEED certification of the next green building on campus. This was met with curious animosity from some (financially oriented) staff members. I pressed the issue, but was quite discouraged to hear that the school’s system may not be able to accommodate such a small (aim: $10,000) fund, as it presents a risk. The risk was partially that the school may not choose to “build green” in the future, and then the fund would go unused.

With this news, I called to the head manager of our facilities about the next building renovation’s lack of an environmental agenda (scheduled to break ground in Summer 2008). He explained that they were taking what opportunities they could for incorporating sustainable practices. With the new building’s construction we will lose (inevitably) about six white oaks. With this fact, I began thinking about how we could take these and keep the wood locally; thus the idea of carved chairs or a carved mascot was born. As of now, we are still in the process of getting votes from an online poll of the senior class, which will determine our next move.

It has been an uphill battle and I have been at the forefront of it--daring to dream of making this campus sustainable and I have been taking the heat for it from the opposition. The case for sustainability can be helped only by teamwork at this point; if the senior class votes for the green fund and if others speak up, (as some of my peers have begun to at my request for some vocal support) then incorporating sustainability could become a reality in some small facet. A univocal campaign does not get far, no matter how many people tell you that you are “fighting the good fight.” In this experience I have learned how resistant some can be to sustainability, and I have learned how to deal with such conflicts in a professional manner.