Last month I read an article in the WSJ that kept made me even happier to be in the green building profession. This first quarter has been the busiest for us in years. 2009 is truly a new year, and I am hearing from multiple sources that it is a green year (specifically as it relates to energy efficiency). Now forecasts are showing that the demand for people like me outstrips the supply. I like to think that this is true since we have a lot of green leads and we are giving each the attention that they deserve. I do have a couple of concerns in the new green economy that we all need to be aware of:
1. I am seeing people from outside the building industry jump on the green bandwagon with their green services. While I admire their enthusiasm and will support their efforts, lack of actual experience in construction could hurt them. They need to partner up with people that do have construction experience in order to avoid costly mistakes.
2. Yes, the demand is up, but if financing is not available that makes sense then that could be a problem. We also need property values to not be at an all time low so the comps are there so people can borrow money to build green.
I am still very excited about this market and believe that green initiatives coupled with capitalistic market forces will bring in great opportunities for those who chose the path of sustainability. I see huge opportunities are in existing buildings. They need help. Most of them are not going anywhere and are still being used even though they are not efficient. Business owners and howeowners alike see the value in make energy and water efficient upgrades since it does affect their bottom line.
Here is the article that provoked my thought in the first place.
Green Gap
As environmentally friendly construction takes off, a question looms: Who’s going to do all the work?
By SARI KRIEGER
Demand is booming for environmentally friendly construction. But it’s booming so fast that there aren’t enough skilled professionals to do the work.
Green building demands a range of specialized knowledge that most builders don’t have — everything from where to obtain recycled materials to how to orient a building to maximize natural heating and cooling. So, contractors, architects and other pros are rushing to get up to speed, often through their trade groups, which have started offering more training in green techniques.
The Journal Report
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“Every developer I have ever met has told me that educating their team on green is crucial,” says Kristen Bacorn, a green-building consultant in New York. “Green is such a new and developing field that professionals don’t necessarily know it, and they’re craving education.”
That’s also the experience of Chris Hurst, a green-home builder in Tuolumne, Calif., who runs seminars in green construction. “The plumbing and electrical guy gave me a funny look at first, but then they said, ‘We want to learn this because green is the future,’ ” Mr. Hurst says.
A Leg Up
For builders, the stakes are potentially huge. Rising consumer interest and a raft of new government regulations are driving green building forward, even as the larger real-estate industry craters. Builders who aren’t familiar with eco-friendly construction methods may be at a big disadvantage in this new market, experts say.
“I think builders who can say they are a certified green professional have a leg up on the market,” says Philip LaRocque, executive vice president of the New York State Builders Association. “As new-home sales plummet, [green homes are] penetrating a much higher percentage of the marketplace.”
Fear of liability is also driving builders to get trained. Already, numerous green-building jobs have gotten botched because of a lack of knowledge — and, in some cases, that has led to lawsuits or insurance claims.
![[The Journal Report: Energy]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/EY-AA159B_LEEDS_NS_20081113173915.gif)
In one recent case, an architect recommended that an owner use a green product from a new manufacturer without doing any research on the reliability of the supplier. As it turned out, the supplier couldn’t deliver and the project was delayed, says Frank Musica, senior risk-management attorney for Victor O. Schinnerer & Co., which insures many of the country’s major architectural firms. The delay led the owner to file an insurance claim and the contractor to demand more money to cover higher overhead and other considerations.
Course Work
For an indication of how quickly the pros are scrambling to get up to speed — and just how far there is to go — consider the LEED certification. Nine years ago, the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council created Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines for certifying buildings as environmentally friendly. Over time, LEED has become one of the best-known green standards.
Now contractors, consultants, attorneys, architects and others are rushing to get certified by the USGBC as LEED Accredited Professionals, which involves passing a test to demonstrate LEED expertise. In the past two years, the number of such professionals has doubled to over 60,000 from 30,000. But that’s still a small part of all the professionals involved in the U.S. building industry. The National Association of Home Builders alone has 235,000 members.
To meet demand, the USGBC has bolstered its course offerings. The organization used to hold about eight to 10 courses per month across the country, with about 60 people attending each. Now it has expanded to about 50 workshops a month, with a maximum of 80 people per class.
Meanwhile, the major architects’, contractors’ and builders’ associations have all rolled out their own education programs on green building. The Associated General Contractors of America, for instance, created a full-day LEED course in March 2008. And the American Institute of Architects recently passed a continuing-education requirement that all members take four hours of sustainable-design course work each year, as part of the eight health, safety and welfare credits required annually for membership.
Some builders are taking training into their own hands. New York-based Turner Construction Co., which embraced green building over a decade ago and helped found the USGBC, trains every new hire in green-building skills. Michael Deane, chief sustainability officer, says Turner sometimes even has to train subcontractors in the proper methods.
He says any contractor or subcontractor who doesn’t learn green building practices will go out of business. For instance, he argues, standards are changing so drastically that class A office buildings not built to green specifications won’t be considered class A anymore. “I think that green buildings and in particular LEED buildings are going to become the new normal,” he says.
—Ms. Krieger is a staff reporter for Dow Jones Clean Technology Insight in Jersey City, N.J. She can be reached at sari.krieger@dowjones.com.
