Think Green®

I'm the son of a builder who was the son of a builder. It's kind of in my blood. When I want to relax, I build. I've built or help build my house, two cabins, a log sauna, a timber frame sugar house, a woodshed, and countless smaller buildings and improvements. I've got a smokehouse and barn in mind for the future. My mother in law says I have an "edifice complex."

One building ethic I learned young was to reduce or eliminate waste- the old standard was that a builder should never have more than a wheelbarrow full of scrap left after building a house. Every piece of lumber, pipe, roofing, wire was used or found another purpose in the building. A cut off plank from one place was used as a brace somewhere else. And when building was slow, my father and grandfather used to "unbuild" structures- demo in the trades- both to make income and to salvage the materials. Both the house I grew up in and many other buildings they built were constructed at least in part from repurposed lumber, trusses, stone, pipe, and fixtures. It was always just the financially smart thing to do.

Now it's the green thing to do as well. A new report, from McGraw Hill Construction, produced with support from Waste Management, shows that contractors believe that good management of construction waste and reusing existing structures are two of the three most important elements of a 'green' building, just behind energy efficiency. In the report, titled "Sustainable Construction Waste Management", 61% of contractors surveyed rank 'construction waste management' as an important aspect of a green building and 80% believe it will be important in five years. 57% of them find 'reusing an existing structure' important to a green building, and 78% believe it will be important by 2014. Reuse and recycling. It was important to my granddad, and will be more important to my grandkids. It's common sense, and it's good for business.

In the report, Jim Halter, Vice President for Construction Solutions for Waste Management , remarks, "By reducing or eliminating environmental impacts through high-performance, market-leading design, construction and operations waste management, and environmental practices, construction firms can reduce their environmental impact and also protect and enhance their corporate reputation and brand."

They can enhance the bottom line as well. It saves money and energy to reuse materials and structures. These buildings and materials have "embedded" energy and engineering into them- the energy and brain power it took to create them in the first place. Conserving that embedded energy and engineering saves both. That's one reason that more and more consumers, homeowners, and commercial building owners are asking for 'green' design and construction, which usually saves significant operating costs for owners and often cuts construction costs, too.

There are still many opportunities to be tapped for builders and owners alike. In 2008, the U.S. generated 143.5 million tons of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. That's a lot of metal, glass, concrete, cardboard, wood, insulation, roofing and wiring! Only 28% of this was reused, recycled, or transformed into energy- the rest went to the landfill. It makes dollars and sense to do better.

That's why waste diversion is increasing despite the recession. 20% of all firms are diverting at least half of their construction waste on 60% or more of projects, and 25% of firms expect to do so within the next year. It makes one wonder what the other 75% are thinking?

You might think regulation is playing a large role in this, and you would be right- 81% of the contractors cited that. But even more -82%- cited client demand- those who will own and operate the buildings want them 'green' for money saving reasons stated above. Right behind those two come competitive advantage (77%) and increases in education and awareness (75%) as major influencing factors. In a diversified, competitive industry like construction, any edge is important and giving people the greener buildings they want seems like an easy win. As a result, 57% of contractors have already set sustainability positions and diversion goals, and 43% plan to divert more than 50% of waste from projects this year. Surely more will follow.

Even as overall construction starts are falling in this tough economy, green building continues to grow dramatically, and shows little sign of slowing down. In the report, McGraw-Hill Construction projects that by 2013, 25% of all new construction starts will be 'green' buildings. This represents a $140 billion market. Pretty soon, you are talking real money. No wonder they call it 'green' building! This rapidly growing green share of the overall building market underscores the importance and opportunities for smart management and reuse of construction waste.

Ancient cities were built on the ruins of old, often using the same stones and materials. We can be as smart as the ancients. Let buildings become buildings again and again. It's good for green buildings, green bank accounts, and a green planet.