Today I came across 2 bits of news concerning the green building industry that I thought I would share with you. The first was an interview on E&E TV that I watched this morning, on which two women decided to build green homes. The homes were installed with solar panels and now instead of paying large monthly utility bills, they receive a rebate from the utility companies every month. For the full interview go to following site: http://www.eenews.net/tv/2007/08/30/
The second news release that I found interesting was about a report on the lowering cost of green building. According to the Geneva-based World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), costs for going green may be overestimated by over 300 percent. The findings are disclosed in a new report titled “Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Business Realities and Opportunities,” which illustrates that in a global survey of 1,400 people, the cost of going green was estimated at 17 percent above conventional construction.
In truth, however, costs for green products, materials, and practices have come down tremendously in the past few years, bringing the cost of moving into the sustainable arena to just five percent above the cost of conventional construction.
Why the misperception? Most likely green is still perceived as the costlier option due to the fact that the providers of green goods and services haven’t done enough to market themselves as cost-saving options. Right now, the general perception of going green is that it’s an environmental issue, and that embracing the green movement is good for corporate relations. But the manufacturers of green and sustainable products will generate an amazing amount of momentum if they go straight for what the building community wants—a message that speaks to the bottom line.