HBR on green building: it’s a slam dunk

HBR on green building

When Harvard Business Review declares that green building is “no longer a pricey experiment, but a realistic choice for most building projects”, you know the world is changing.

When the author of HBR’s piece on building the green way offers ten practical design and construction rules that will help you conserve the Earth’s resources and your budget, you wonder if HBR isn’t changing, too (via treehugger).

What, no fuss, no fight? No conceptual quandries or complex management models?

If that’s HBR’s take on green building, then you can bet it’s a slam dunk.

Author Charles Lockwood spins off some great lines in the process of adding up the reasons building designers and managers should go green.

Such as:

“Just five or six years ago, the term ‘green building’ evoked visions of tie-dyed, granola-munching denizens walking around barefoot on straw mats as wind chimes tinkled near open windows. Today, the term suggests lower overhead costs, greater employee productivity, less absenteeism, and stronger employee attraction and retention.”

Says Lockwood, just about any company can do it on a standard budget by implementing the following ten rules:

Oh, and, we’re not just talking about new construction. In fact, says Lockwood, “the owners of standard buildings face massive obsolescence.”

So, you can “convert any standard workplace into a green building by generally following the same ten rules”, says Lockwood, “such as selecting alternative building materials. A green renovation can include everything from a new green roof to more efficient HVAC and lighting systems, enlarged existing windows, and low-VOC paints and flooring.”

Green buildings have less negative impact on the environment than standard buildings, in part because their construction:

Good for HBR! I just wish they had kept the original article link available to non-subscribers for a while longer…Or mebbe they haven’t changed that much.

Published by Ken on January 27th, 2007 tagged Community Initiatives, Island Vulnerabilities


2 Responses to “HBR on green building: it’s a slam dunk”

  1. Julia Schopick Says:
    January 27th, 2007 at 7:52 pm

    I see that you, too, are a fan of http://www.treehugger.com. So, I hope you will want to listen to The Keeper, Inc.’s online audio interview of Treehugger.com’s Simran Sethi, at http://www.keeper.com/sethi.html (The Keeper, Inc., by the way, is the manufacturer of the environment-friendly Keeper and Moon Cup reusable menstrual cups.)

    Simran, who is fast becoming a shining “eco-star” (she has appeared on the Martha Stewart Show and the Oprah Show!) gave keeper.com a really informative and lively interview. Do check it out!

    Thanks very much!

    Julia Schopick
    The Keeper, Inc.
    http://www.keeper.com
    thekeeper1987@aol.com

  2. Ron Says:
    January 29th, 2007 at 1:56 pm

    I just read another article over at http://finance-offline.blogspot.com/ titled “Green Homes: No Longer Just A Real Estate Fad” that even included this line:

    “Green buildings have been found to appreciate faster than traditional buildings.”

    That’ll turn a few heads.

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