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Green
in Tough Times?
By Ralph Velasquez, Sustainable Roofing Technologies Editor
October 21, 2008
Sustainable Roofing
Technologies Column
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A
Sustainable Earth is possible in tough times! |
Dear Readers,
What I love about adversity is that during those times, the cream will
rise to the top. What, what are you saying? Well, it has
been my observation over my 30 years in the building industry, that when
times are good and money flows most easily, then even the sloppy, poor
quality, unethical and downright horrible products, businesses and
business strategies thrive. It seems that money covers a multiple
of “sins” and much is overlooked, not much different than what we see in
the financial markets today. BUT, when times get tough and the money
gets restricted, then these type of businesses begin to fail and fall
out of favor and the better run companies with superior solutions and
good value, not only survive but often thrive.
Why does this phenomenon occur? It occurs because money is tight and
more “valuable.” so purchasers look more closely and more carefully at
what and from whom they will purchase to fulfill their needs. With
resources scarce, we want to be more sure than ever that our limited
resources are spent wisely and with good solid companies who will be
around and will respond to any concerns we may have. Further, the
competition increases and the good companies, again with solid
offerings who have not cut corners during the flush times, are better
positioned to respond to this increased competition and have the staying
power to survive the downturn. I could go on but right about now you are
asking yourself so what does this have to do with sustainability and
green issues? Glad you asked!
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Sustainable
Business is
Good Business. |
While sustainability has been building for sometime, it has absolutely
exploded over the last couple of years, with everyone having a “green”
solution for their product, system or service. While this has been great
on one hand it has spawned some who are sloppy, those who provide poor
quality, are unethical, provide marginally sustainable products bordering
on “green washing” and perhaps some with just plain horrible products. Sounds
like the normal business cycle to me.
So during this downturn, we will
find those companies that are good, solid concerns that offer true
sustainable solutions and superior value to their customers. We will see
those who are committed to the fundamental shift in the built
environment not only survive, but thrive as they pick-up the pieces from
those who are just on the “latest bandwagon,” with no commitment to the
process and the solutions. This can only be good for the informed consumer!
I know that specific to green (vegetative) roofs, more will begin to
look at the value these roof solutions bring to their various
properties. We know that vegetative roofs can offset some construction
costs, mitigate stormwater, reduce energy use, extend life of a roof
system, reduce sound transmission, improve the building's value, provide
an income source on some installations, reduce the heat island impact,
have health benefits, help reduce air pollution, increase the
bio-sphere of an urban landscape, reduce stress. and on and on. Is this
great value or what? I’d say vegetative roofs make better sense than
ever during tight economic times. Let’s get the greatest bang for
our buck
and get all these benefits from the dollars we do spend on buildings.
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Solar and
Flower Power. |
What about solar, specifically building integrated solar? Prices for the
technology are coming down, energy concerns due to cost and national
security is more important than ever and more incentives are being made
available to encourage the use of this technology.
By the way, if you
are not aware, congress passed the 2005 energy bill extension which was
due to expire this December 31st, until 2016. The 30% federal tax
credit, coupled with a removal of the residential limit (previously
$2,000), will keep the solar industry growing new green jobs for our
economy and help all Americans to achieve energy independence.
There are other great incentives for exterior windows, other roof
materials, insulation, HVAC, ENERGY STAR® appliances and hybrid cars -
sorry, not quite the built-environment but good to know anyway. There are
incentives for the reuse and recycling of property used to collect,
distribute or recycle certain materials. There is the extension to issue
tax-exempt bonds for qualified green building and sustainable design
projects. Commercial buildings that achieve energy efficient design had
a tax deduction extended through 2013. New was the 30% tax credit for
wind turbines on residential properties.
Through good times and bad, through the ages of business, government and
finance, these standards have been sustainable and sustained: Good ideas, good
business, and good business people triumph in difficult times.
Being
sustainable is a good idea, it’s good for business and it has great
people involved, so in and of itself, it will not only be sustained but
will thrive! GO GREEN!
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Our
Future Earth Can Be Green. |
See you next month!
Ralph P. Velasquez
Director, Sustainable Technologies Group
Tremco, Inc. Contact Ralph at: phone (VM) 877.510.2681, SustainableRoofingEditor@greenroofs.com, ASTMEditor@greenroofs.com (for a while) or rvelasquez@tremcoinc.com.
Past
Sustainable Roofing
Technologies Articles
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