go green

It’s just depressing really. You turn on the television, radio or flip through the newspaper and the economic nightmare is staring you in the face. But there is a “green lining” to the thunderstorm that is our economic tragedy. “There is?” you ask.

Yes, the January 2009 issue of Environmental Building News (EBN) took an investigative look at green building and results show that architecture, engineering and construction firms have the ability to conquer this crisis and achieve financial success while continuing on their path of helping the environment with their sustainability muscle.

The article published in EBN, entitled, “Finding the Green Lining: Surviving and Thriving in an Economic Downturn” reminds us that there is hope amidst the dreary downfall of our economy, and that’s a welcomed reminder in my book. “What is your company’s strategy for surviving the economic downturn?” that’s the question ringing through the halls of so many companies across the world.

The typical response is to cut expenses and reduce the workforce. However, it is the atypical response to make changes through energy consumption and adopt the “less is more” mentality that is catching on. It is because of this aim to consume less that the green building and sustainability industries have been placed in the spotlight more than ever. So, what is this “apple of one’s eye” industry doing to stave off the economic evildoer? They are educating consumers about simple changes that will help reduce costs and allow them to keep valuable employees.

The best part is that these changes are bringing about positive results and those results are ringing through the halls too. The more people hear about the benefits of sustainability the more they want to learn. Once they learn how easy it can be, they’ll hire a firm to assist them with the transition. It may be in a commercial project or it may be in smaller areas of a residential home – but the fact is that in one way or another people CAN do their part to go green and help their environment, family and pocketbook.

Who wouldn’t want to jump on that bandwagon? It’s as if sustainable building or green living were the prince that rode in on his white horse to save the day! Essentially, when businesses apply the teachings of sustainability, they also thrive; which is evident through decreased costs of doing business.

So it’s not only the designers, architects or builders helping others jump on the sustainability bandwagon that make money; it’s those companies that hire green gurus for their help too. Cue, the flourishing world of green! The majority of the population that makes up the design and construction industry aren’t seeing hoards of people walking in the door to put up brand spankin’ new buildings, not to say that those clients don’t exist.

But, they are seeing more business owners who recognized the huge jump in energy prices as a wake-up call to make the most intelligent changes they can to conserve. People are making modifications where they can in the structures that are already in place by upgrading current systems and creating programs to be more energy efficient. I’m sure this question has been posed to you already, but I’m going to ask it anyway.

If the president of your company asked you and your co-workers if you would rather change the number of hours in the work week, practice more sustainability and downgrade the company holiday party or potentially face getting laid off, what would you pick? If it were, I’d absolutely say let’s make the changes to avoid layoffs. When I set out to write this series, my goal was to hit home the concept that everyone wins by going green – money is saved and our planet is taken care of – and if we can continue this movement imagine what kind of future this planet holds.

We’ve painted a much prettier picture in my mind. So go out there and be a responsible and efficient consumer – and as always – go green! See more at www.acreageanywhere.com