Are There Any Risks In Building Green?
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In a stark contrast with how construction used to be thought of, the green building movement has been a shift away from the traditional concerns about money and time. The betterment of our planet, as it turns out, is quickly becoming a bigger priority. Since March of this year, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program has seen around 20,852 new LEED registered and certified projects.
Most of this can be attributed to the fact that builders view green buildings as more economical in the long run, and recent incentives on the part of the government have added an extra encouragement. But while these positives have been talked about pretty often, there are some risks associated with going green that still leave many builders wary.
According to the results of a recent forum conducted by the Marsh Green Building Team, the two things that play into builders’ reluctance to construct green projects are still financial concerns and legal concerns. Builders, of course, worry about whether or not green constructions will even endure during this economic downturn. Financially, a number of things can still go wrong. Material prices are always subject to large fluctuations, government incentives can fall through or fail to be secured, and entire projects can have unforeseen delays because of those types of things. Then there are the legal concerns.
The idea of jumping into a supposedly “green-built” project, and then failing to reach LEED certification levels expected by others, is unnerving to think about. There’s also the worry in many constructions that standards of operation and new design features – especially those not covered by the insurance market – will fall short because contractors won’t be willing to take on those things.
As it turns out, there are a number of solutions that can alleviate all these kinds of risks. They include everything from using underwriters to bringing attorneys and contract management services on board who actually have experience in green construction and design. I would encourage everyone in the industry (or even on the outside!) to read Marsh’s report (Green Building: Assessing the Risks) for more detail. It lays out a good case for not putting so much stock in fears toward the green movement. Because while green building is still new in a lot of ways, there are countless solutions that will make every construction more manageable and a lot less unpredictable.
What’s more, if you look at the report’s statistics, it seems pretty clear that the economy actually isn’t a huge risk factor anyway. David Pogue, the National Director of Sustainability for CB Richard Ellis, articulated this well when he recently said, “We are being regularly asked today if the continuing downturn in the economy has reduced the emphasis on sustainability. In many ways, the answer is actually the reverse. At its core, sustainability is about conservation and there is even more reason to conserve today.”
House adapted from images courtesy of HAAP Media Ltd. under Royalty-Free license.
The biggest risk to building green, at least in my experience and area, is in the fact that people are not willing to pay for extremely economically and environmentally beneficial features and technologies in the homes; though they definitely like them and want them. Perhaps its the continued ‘fire sale’ mentality the homebuyers still have in the marketplace or perhaps just a ignorance to the real value robustly green features like solar panels, solar hot water, induction cooktops, etc. really have. Either way, it has gotten me personally out of the development side of things for a while.
“bringing attorneys and contract management services on board”
Just what is needed – ambulance chasers with their fingers in the pot – If lawyers are needed to build green then better to just forget it.
At the residential level I wholeheartedly agree with The Author’s comment. There is little incentive in the short-term for people to make the switch. The cost incentives, such as stimulus money for commercial or government projects doesn’t exist for the average home-buyer.
Russ, I think in the short-term we need to have the lawyers in the mix otherwise it could get really messy and insurance rates would end up even higher due to unnecessary litigation. There are really good forums by green building lawyers that offer great discussion of such issues. Try Green Building Law Update by Chris Cheatham.
Face it, a lot of the reason for “Green” building is that it happens to be in vogue with the crowd thats in power just now. That said, there are parts of the LEED program that are just common sense and make for a more efficient and cost effective building over its lifecycle. Where efficiency and responsible usage of resources / reduction in environmental impact converge is where LEED makes sense for the Suits and the Hippies.
One needs only to look at what happened to the auto industry starting in the early 70’s to see that the residential building industry needs to remain very proactive in the “green” movement. The price of the average automobile has gone up by a factor of about 10 over the past 30 – 40 years, due primarily to safety and “green” requirements. A similar impact on residential housing would put most people out on the street.
Yes, there is a significant amount of trendy stuff being offered to the potential homeowner right now, and some people will wind up stuck with an expensive and difficult to maintain white elephant. Only solid leadership from within the construction industry will be able to provide solid guidance through this maze we face. The only other reasonable option is the government, and the auto industry can show us where that will lead us.
You can incorporate a number of sustainble design and construction techniques into any project at little or no incremental cost, and as a responsible design professional I normally do this as a matter of course (especially when it comes to maintaining healthy indoor air) without even discussing it with my clients. But if LEED Certification is part of your business plan, you are well advised to seek the advice of a knowledgable attorney.
I am a LEED Accredited Professional who is married to an attorney. So I am very aware that achieving a given level of LEED Certification is never a sure thing, and that contractural commitments to do so are best avoided.
I write a blog, http://www.idsgreen.com, that covers low-cost ways to make any project more sustainable.