A Green Building Consultant's Dilemma

Wednesday

Apr072010

Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 12:00PM

Advisory Board member, Elaine Hsieh shares with us her thoughts this week. You can find out more about Elaine on the B2S team page.

As a green building consultant, I often find myself torn between day-to-day consulting realities and my vision for true sustainability.

We all know that mainstream methods of building, especially in the US, are unsustainable for the environment, and many builders who call themselves "green" are just following checklists toward an end goal of getting some sort of green label or certification. These lists are mostly just collections of prescriptive, accessible steps aimed at performing better than minimal standards. As a consultant, it is my job to help these owners, developers, design teams, and other building professionals understand the value of pursuing green building certification goals that include rigor and transparency and third-party verification to ensure credibility. I help teams make more sustainable decisions and perform as well as they can to achieve their certification goals, and I do my best to support an integrated project delivery process, manage expectations, educate, and assist the team toward their greening efforts.

In some cases, people are motivated to pursue certifications out of their enlightened interest in sustainability. Even though education and cost-benefit discussions are usually part of these efforts, they can lead to innovative results and rewarding work as a consultant. In many cases, however, project teams are motivated to chase green building certifications because there is either a local ordinance requirement or because the owner is trying to compete in a market where these labels are in demand. As a consultant, the outcomes of these situations are usually far less satisfying; they often wind up feeling like mindless point-chasing, with needless cost additions, uncooperative construction teams that didn't account for "extra paperwork," and a lot of people who shake their heads at how annoying "green" building is. The unfortunate reality is that most people don't care to listen to consultants like me unless the owner (i.e., the one with the purse strings) cares.

Regardless of their motivation for certification, I'm happy that people are doing something to modify past behaviors and look for greener, more sustainable solutions. But are these minimalist, box-checking approaches to green building enough? Most green building certifications help teams get acknowledged and rewarded for taking small steps toward reducing their environmental impact, but will these baby steps make a difference when 99% of the world's buildings still need to be addressed?

Some have suggested that tighter local regulation is a way to move beyond voluntary green building certification recognition. While this sounds good in theory, in practice it's mostly unrealistic. Consider how few building departments in the US know how to actually enforce their local green building ordinances credibly. It's impossible to issue a building permit after a project gets built and certified, which makes it impossible for an inspector to ensure the building is actually going to meet the required certification standards. This is not to say that green building regulation is not good, but the experience enforcement authorities have with green building rating systems is generally low and some of these "green" policies are just plain hard to enforce. These are some of the reasons why many well-intentioned green building regulations often lead to buildings with perceived "green label equivalence" that contribute to greenwashing and confusion in the marketplace.

Another possible step beyond basic green building certification lies in tighter federal building codes. If these codes become stricter and incorporate more sustainability elements (e.g., adopt ASHRAE/USGBC/IESNA Standard 189.1P), then this may force awareness, education, and change. Unfortunately, not all parts of the US are created equal in terms of building codes, so this transition to a federal green building code may take a while.

All of these approaches are a bit superficial, though. They lack a true philosophical foundation. It would be great to find a deeper, less prescriptive approach to sustainability.

One green building certification system that is trying to do some "pulling" in the building industry is the Living Building Challenge. The system's author, Jason McLennan, indicated that its purpose is to "act as a lighthouse" for project development teams striving to achieve true sustainability. More specifically, the system is only made up of prerequisites (i.e., imperatives) like net zero energy, net zero water, no "red list" materials, and other equally challenging systems-based targets. In the Living Building Challenge, "all aspects are guided by identifying an ideal and positioning that ideal as an indicator of success, so decisions are steered by restorative principles instead of code-minimum solutions." Here is a system that is based on constant reminders of the objectives we are working to achieve. In my world, I think it's one of the few green building systems that is aligned with what most "deep green" professionals can generally get behind. Although the risk of setting goals too high may stop most people from even trying, a system that is guided by ideals is not intended for everyone.

And that's the conundrum. Keep the sustainability bar low (i.e., check-box green building), and you'll get more adoption, but slower overall progress. Set the sustainability bar higher, and you'll get better results where they're implemented, but less adoption.

If we can't strike the right balance between green ideals and practices that people can actually adopt, how long will it take for us to reach the vision we share for a sustainable future?

Raquel |

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Reader Comments (8)

Elaine,

Great post. You articulate the challenge architects, builders and homeowners face when considering renovation and new construction. The moral imperative to build well is real but blurred by having to reconcile what qualifies as "sustainable" and within economic constraints.

I'm encouraged to see the idea of "building 2 sustain" receiving due interest and attention and I sense momentum growing rapidly.

With mountains of "gray" information available having the services of concerned and dedicated counselors like you engaged in sorting things out will prove beneficial for generations to come...and I believe that is the ultimate goal.

Thanks,

Mike

April 7, 2010 |

Mike Hines (@eXapath)

Thanks, Mike.

I appreciate your perspective and encouragement. I find that most people just want to be told what to do, so checklists and rating systems will always be in demand. Education and awareness certainly helps our industry make better decisions, but it seems that "economic constraints" are always a key factor in how all decisions are made.

As Paul Hawken says, "The question we have to ask, and path we have to take, is where we heal the future and monetize that activity in the present."

Best, Elaine

April 7, 2010 |

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