Green Building: Save your Business with Sustainable Remodeling
The art of green building isn’t just about saving on energy bills – it’s about saving your company. The green building industry, from extravagant new commercial buildings to residential energy efficiency upgrades, is growing exponentially.
LEED-certified buildings already represent six percent of the commercial building industry and over 40 percent of new buildings have applied for certification. Expect green building in the residential sector to see similar growth in the near future. The USGBC now has a ratings system for single-family homes, and resulting data should be forthcoming next year.
Even more important will be the push at the federal level to incentivize home efficiency upgrades. Tax credits, low interest loans and other factors will fuel the sustainable housing fire in the coming years.
For a remodeling contractor in a very competitive market, that could mean a shift in direction, a change in the questions you hear from homeowners, and perhaps even some new education (USGBC offers classes, webinars and LEED certification for aspiring green builders). A vital key to success in cementing leads and getting contracts signed will be knowledge of green building practices, materials, and trends.
Even now, when times are tight and wallets tighter, off-hand knowledge of the pricing and price differences between conventional products and newer eco-friendly rivals could make all the difference for you, the contractor. And perhaps even more unusual for many remodelers will be the need to understand the policy and politics that drive green building. Homeowners themselves are more educated these days and are likely to at least have a general understanding or awareness of federal tax incentives – can you explain the intricacies to them?
The easiest way to look at the benefits of becoming a “green” remodeling contractor (and soon) is simply to put it in conventional terms. Historically, the calling cards of a quality contractor have been experience, knowledge, communication, and of course, quality work. In the inevitable green age of home building and design, those four characteristics will take on slightly new definitions. All the old qualities must be present, but with the added green aura. And the sooner you’re educated about working with green materials, the further ahead of the pack you’ll be when the majority see the light.