Build2Sustain- Understanding Green ROI

For this week’s Guest Post Friday, Rich Cartlidge, an attorney, recent graduate of Stetson University School of Law, and fellow member of the Build2Sustain advisory board, and author of the Green Building Envirotrends Blog has kindly offered to post for a second time here at Musins. Rich is a great resource and focuses on the areas of land use planning, environmental law, and property development. Rich can be contacted through his blog, on Twitter (both linked above) and by email.

Would you build a building without have a comprehensive set of construction documents? I don’t think so! So why are so many people building sustainable buildings without understanding the economics and the ROI? There are a variety of answers such as seeking certification to bolster your reputation as an environmental steward or perhaps you just need something to talk about at cocktail parties. However, the more likely answer is that while many talk about how sustainable buildings save energy there is a surprising lack of data available to the general public on the ROI of sustainable features. Well there is good news, Build2Sustain will soon be bringing transparency to the construction and renovation process!

Build2Sustain makes sense and will help to bring transparency and common sense to an emerging field which is currently filled with green washing and bad information. By following the progress of Build2Sustain you or your company can learn the truth about what works and what doesn’t. Build2Sustain will be taking the risks that many individuals and organizations are afraid to take for fear of damaging their reputations by building poorly performing buildings or making promises which their projects ultimately don’t meet. Build2Sustain will be your rainbow which leads to a pot of gold! By following the progress of Build2Sustain you will be able to reap the financial rewards of sustainable building, help to protect the environment for the next generation, and be part of history by participating in a fully transparent renovation process.

Raquel Bedell one of the leaders of Build2Sustain points out exactly how Build2Sustain is going to change the way we look at renovations:

We intend to collect data and follow up on projects long after their completion to track real world energy consumption and satisfaction. We want to see how people work and breathe in this new space and what implications this brings. With all this information, we will be able to offer preferred solutions that owners/tenants and design/build professionals can use as a starting point to begin their own renovations. As renovations begin to expand, we will have healthier, happier workspaces with lower carbon emissions.

I encourage you to join the conversation, participate in the process, and follow our progress as we change the way the world looks at sustainable renovations.

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