Green is not Black or White
Posted on Apr 19th, 2009 by Doug Marsh VP, CR, CAPS, GBP | 0 Comments
Green is not Black or White
4/20/09
I attended a great Green seminar the other day which was another module in the new Boots on the Ground series put on by the City of Austin and the HBA. One of the more intriguing elements that day for me was the idea of Green Washing versus Green Design. The more we study, design, and build Green projects it becomes clearer and clearer the necessity of designing in the Green aspects and products in the beginning. It’s the adding on of Green products or designs after the fact that is one of the hall marks of Green Washing. To participate in the City of Austin Green Builder program we have to, for example, bring in the HVAC Contractor in the design phase to be part of the team that designs the building. The critical nature of this aspect of the building demands its inclusion in the design process. Another example is how the building will be insulated. This is another component that is critical and, in fact, tacking on enhancement or upgrades latter won’t work because the HVAC is designed around, in part, how the building will be insulated. The other element in this discussion is adding in a Green product without following through with an analysis of the product using some sort of checklist to really look at where the product came from, how it was made, and what’s in it.
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