(Originally published in the December '09 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)
If you’re like me, that phrase brings back memories of nerdy high school science films extolling the modern marvels of convenience, value and progress, made possible by the Chemical Industry. It was a huge post-war economic engine that expanded its reach into nearly every product category and helped fuel the rise of the American suburb. There are now about 80,000 chemicals on the market, but only a few hundred have been tested for human or ecological safety. One unintended consequence is that many of these chemicals have reached into our ecosystems, including the very top of our food chain – us.
“Body burden” is the term toxicologists use to describe the toxic load an individual might be carrying at a given moment – several hundred substances, some of which will accumulate, others metabolized and excreted. Pregnant mothers will pass these substances to her child. One of the common pathways for exposure to toxic chemicals is through inhaling airborne pollutants. Most people have heard by now that indoor air can be far worse than outdoor air, and that the rise of asthma, multiple sclerosis, and other diseases could be caused by long-term, low-level exposures to the chemicals that surround us in daily life. And of course, we spend most of our time indoors.
The LEED rating systems aim to drastically reduce potential exposures to building occupants by limiting the use of emitting materials in the first place, and promoting active measures for improving indoor air quality. I always recommend stocking products that contribute to LEED credits, especially low-emitting, less-toxic products, that appeal to the green builders in your area. Products like formaldehyde-free plywood and cabinets, formaldehyde-free insulation, zero-VOC adhesives, zero-VOC paints and coatings – the list of less-toxic alternatives is long. But the list of emitting products, products that would not meet LEED’s requirements for indoor air quality, is much longer.
I invite you now to get up (after reading the article first, of course!) and follow your nose around your store. Pick up a few products and pronounce their ingredients. The paints, strippers, cleaners, pest killers, weed killers, plywood and treated lumber – what is the quality of this air that you and your staff breathe everyday? There’s a very good chance that some nasty neurotoxins, carcinogens, and endocrine disruptors are floating around in the mix. Unintended consequences, yes. More importantly, the people who might be exposed to off-gassing chemicals are probably the people you most care about. Swapping out the high-emitting products in your inventory, in favor those with zero or dramatically fewer toxic emissions, contributes to a healthier workplace with fewer liability issues.
In the long run, there are large-scale initiatives underway that will eventually lead to safer alternatives through greener chemistry. The Toxic Substances Control Act, the current federal chemical oversight regime, will likely be strengthened, giving the EPA more power to eliminate toxics and require manufacturers to prove health and safety before bringing new formulations to market. In California, the Green Chemical Initiative is undertaking a range of activities designed to make rapid progress eliminating toxics and stimulating growth of greener alternatives. However, the positive effects of these efforts won’t be felt for years.
In the meantime, the motivated dealer can learn more about body burden, LEED and indoor air quality from dozens of informative online resources – start Googling! SCS, GreenGuard and GreenSeal publish lists of their certified products, and there are other green product databases out there, too. The intended consequences could be felt immediately, leaving those you care most about breathing a little easier.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Community Insulation
Community Insulation
(Originally published in the November '09 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)
With the economy still in doldrums and the cold winter months around the corner, I continue to be fascinated with insulation. Not the rebate-earning, energy-efficient, recycled-denim kind your customers will love you for, but the economic kind that will sustain your business through the lean times and propel the inevitable upturn to come. There’s little doubt that energy efficiency and green building will define the shape of this industry for decades to come, so it makes sense for every LBM dealer to bone up on these issues, stock and promote the products, train the staff, etc. But creating sustainable “economic insulation” requires deep community collaboration.
There are good examples of multi-generational, family-owned dealers that are well-placed in their communities, have staved off the “big boxes” and done well, even in hard times. These are good models, but the reality is that these examples are getting harder to find and even harder to replicate. Two organizations, BALLE, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, and AMIBA, the American Independent Business Alliance, are focused on helping local businesses thrive, creating new models.
In the Rockies just outside of Denver, sits Big Horn Building Materials, a big local supplier for the surrounding mountain towns and resorts. Founder, Don Sather, has been a big proponent of energy efficiency and green building, walking his talk – the store is fitted with solar panels and is involved with a local non profit studying the feasibility of wind power in the community. He was also one of the founding member of Summit Independent Business Alliance, (SIBA), an AMIBA affiliate. “A few years ago, our community successfully fought off a new 'big box' chain and that really opening my eyes,” Don told me. “One of the most important things about being involved in a local network is getting closer to local officials and educating them about the economic benefits of supporting locally-owned business versus national chains.” Strong relationships with other local businesses and SIBA’s shop local campaigns have kept his business doing well, even though the economy overall has been weak, he added.
Woodland Building Supply, a 9 year-old dealer in Philadelphia, is another interesting model. Larry Reese, president and co-founder, was determined to make Woodland a destination for green building, stocking a wide selection of products, and recently opening a green showroom. “We’ve always focused on the triple bottom line and building relationships with local green builders,” Reese said. They joined Greater Philadelphia Sustainable Business Network, a BALLE affiliate, about a year ago. “It seemed like the natural thing to do. We’ve developed many more strong relationships with local builders, developers, and vendors and, to be honest, they’ve kept our business really busy over the last year.”
Paula Burke of Burke’s Hardware, a family-owned dealer with a 72 year history in Raleigh, North Carolina, told me a similar story. They recently joined their local network, Shop Local Raleigh, and were immediately impressed with the results. “We participated in a Shop Local TV ad, and even though we’ve been in the community for a long time, it was amazing how many people came into the store who’d never heard of us before!,” she said. They were motivated to join the network in part by the down economy, but mostly, she said, “because it was just the right thing to do, to support your community.”
(Originally published in the November '09 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)
With the economy still in doldrums and the cold winter months around the corner, I continue to be fascinated with insulation. Not the rebate-earning, energy-efficient, recycled-denim kind your customers will love you for, but the economic kind that will sustain your business through the lean times and propel the inevitable upturn to come. There’s little doubt that energy efficiency and green building will define the shape of this industry for decades to come, so it makes sense for every LBM dealer to bone up on these issues, stock and promote the products, train the staff, etc. But creating sustainable “economic insulation” requires deep community collaboration.
There are good examples of multi-generational, family-owned dealers that are well-placed in their communities, have staved off the “big boxes” and done well, even in hard times. These are good models, but the reality is that these examples are getting harder to find and even harder to replicate. Two organizations, BALLE, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, and AMIBA, the American Independent Business Alliance, are focused on helping local businesses thrive, creating new models.
In the Rockies just outside of Denver, sits Big Horn Building Materials, a big local supplier for the surrounding mountain towns and resorts. Founder, Don Sather, has been a big proponent of energy efficiency and green building, walking his talk – the store is fitted with solar panels and is involved with a local non profit studying the feasibility of wind power in the community. He was also one of the founding member of Summit Independent Business Alliance, (SIBA), an AMIBA affiliate. “A few years ago, our community successfully fought off a new 'big box' chain and that really opening my eyes,” Don told me. “One of the most important things about being involved in a local network is getting closer to local officials and educating them about the economic benefits of supporting locally-owned business versus national chains.” Strong relationships with other local businesses and SIBA’s shop local campaigns have kept his business doing well, even though the economy overall has been weak, he added.
Woodland Building Supply, a 9 year-old dealer in Philadelphia, is another interesting model. Larry Reese, president and co-founder, was determined to make Woodland a destination for green building, stocking a wide selection of products, and recently opening a green showroom. “We’ve always focused on the triple bottom line and building relationships with local green builders,” Reese said. They joined Greater Philadelphia Sustainable Business Network, a BALLE affiliate, about a year ago. “It seemed like the natural thing to do. We’ve developed many more strong relationships with local builders, developers, and vendors and, to be honest, they’ve kept our business really busy over the last year.”
Paula Burke of Burke’s Hardware, a family-owned dealer with a 72 year history in Raleigh, North Carolina, told me a similar story. They recently joined their local network, Shop Local Raleigh, and were immediately impressed with the results. “We participated in a Shop Local TV ad, and even though we’ve been in the community for a long time, it was amazing how many people came into the store who’d never heard of us before!,” she said. They were motivated to join the network in part by the down economy, but mostly, she said, “because it was just the right thing to do, to support your community.”
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Going Local
(Originally published in the October '09 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)
For most of us independent business owners, the idea of buying local is pretty familiar – at least with respect to our own businesses. We know that money spent in our stores, from folks in our own community, tends to stay in the community. A good chunk of our salaries and those of our employees will likely be spent and invested locally, for other goods and services, as well as for local taxes that pay for fire, police and other municipal services. Awareness of these benefits is spreading and giving rise to hundreds of buy-local campaigns which could be an important component of your green strategy.
Recently, the media has covered the growing interest in buying locally produced food as “locavores” seek to reduce the “food miles” and carbon footprint of their daily meals. Right alongside, the shop local movement has been quietly picking up steam. Organizations like BALLE, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, (www.livingeconomies.org) and AMIBA, the American Independent Business Alliance, (www.amiba.net), and a few others, are experiencing rapid growth. Combined they represent over 30,000 independent businesses and over 130 local networks, with the bulk of those forming over the last two years. Not surprisingly, a growing number of these businesses are LBM dealers, such as Kenyon Noble Lumber in Montana and Burke Brother's Hardware in North Carolina.
“Joining an Independent Business Alliance, or starting one in your local community, is not unlike joining a co-op, where members can benefit from group buying on advertising, supplies, etc.,” says Jeff Milchen, co-founder of AMIBA. Milchen, counts the recession and growing interest in reducing environmental impacts as two of the main drivers lifting the number of independent business alliances they work with from 30 before the recession to an anticipated 75 by year’s end.
Both organizations provide support to locally-focused business networks to educate the community about the benefits of buying and “thinking local.” Alissa Barron, of BALLE, points out that there’s a strong economic case for local businesses to form collaborative networks that promote buying locally. “Dollars spent at locally-owned businesses circulate in the community 2-4 times longer, and do 2-4 times more good, than those spent with chains,” says Barron. “We’re also finding that businesses end up collaborating on broader issues, too, like pooling resources for buying renewable energy.“
Seeking to tap this trend with some innovative twists is San Francisco start-up, Viv, (www.doyouviv.com). It’s a forward-thinking rewards program that helps green customers entice participating retailers to continuously green their operations with a simple card scan. The businesses take green steps based on the number of customer visits, while the Viv team offers consulting, free energy audits, and discounts from affiliated wholesalers. Meanwhile, your customers share pride in your accomplishments and become more loyal.
For most independent LBM dealers, this trend plays to your natural advantage, but you can’t sit on your hands. Join your local network, put signs in your windows, buy your supplies locally, and start educating your customers – both contractors and home owners - about the community benefits of buying local. There may be opportunities to pool resources with fellow local businesses, too. If you’re sourcing local materials, make sure to point them out - they can also contribute to LEED regional credits. All in all, by fully embracing your local selves, your business will benefit and your community will, too.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Making Energy Efficiency a Growth Engine
(Published in the September '09 issue of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)
It’s been said that there are no certainties in life except death and taxes, but I propose that there is at least one more – energy efficiency. At least, in the realm of residential construction and the retail supply chain there is no doubt that both market and government requirements for energy efficiency will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. There are several drivers, and suppliers who understand them can shape their retail strategies and tactics to maximum benefit.
Let’s start with the macro-economic trends. Regulations are toughening energy efficiency requirements in building codes and making green building guidelines mandatory. Nascent energy retrofit programs will likely continue for years, supported by rebates and other incentives. Carbon regulations coupled with supply and demand issues ensure that the long-term trend for fossil fuel prices is rising. Home buyers are seeking, and will continue to seek, more energy efficient homes, and home builders are learning that energy efficient homes are easiest to sell and at premium prices. Lastly, product manufacturers will continue to rollout technology innovations that make it easier to build energy-efficient homes and retrofit existing ones. The upshot of all this is that there will be a growing number of pros and homeowners looking for options that contribute to energy efficiency.
For dealers and distributors, the obvious strategic play is to position the firm as an authority on energy efficiency. The key to making this work is finding ways to build energy efficiency knowledge into the fabric of the organization, and this requires an investment in people. Involve everyone at the beginning. Identify key management and staff, send them to training, and make them responsible for creating a plan for including additional staff, identifying key products appropriate for your region, creating effective merchandising programs, and reaching out to key customers. While LEED seems the obvious choice, I recommend having a look at the Passive House Institute, (www.passivehouse.us), which promotes the most innovative approaches to energy efficient building design.
While there are a growing number of product and material innovations, it’s important to choose products that work in your region and clearly demonstrate that you’re on the leading edge. Energy lost through windows is enormous, so why not stock the most efficient options and make them the centerpiece of your merchandising effort? Serious Materials, (www.seriousmaterials.com,) a Silicon Valley producer of insanely efficient windows, is a good place to start.
With organizational knowledge in place and innovative products on the shelf, the next step is connecting with customers. Signage in your store and yard should be a given, and the overall message hierarchy should emphasize staff expertise, low cost of ownership, rapid payback, rebates and incentives. There should also be plenty of opportunities for customers to educate themselves, therefore hangtags, booklets, kiosks, and other ways of offering customers more “drill down” are key. Most product manufacturers will gladly help with this task, so don’t be shy about asking them to contribute. Finally, host energy efficiency workshops led by your most capable staff and invite local weatherization and retrofit firms, (keep in mind there are a growing number of non profits doing this work, too,) as well as city leaders, green building experts and, of course, your best customers.
From new home construction to home improvement projects, the leading priority is, and will continue to be, energy efficiency. Dealers that invest the energy in making themselves experts, will have created a growth engine that will carry them through the next business cycle and beyond.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Green Building and Greenwashing
(Published in the August '09, Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)
The green building movement continues apace and more LBM dealers continue to ask how they can prepare. One of the best things a dealer can do is get their key staff trained in the most relevant programs in their area, whether it’s LEED or a regional program. Developing this knowledge base in the organization can only be a positive and, if pursued intelligently, can be leveraged for competitive advantage. But knowledge of guidelines is only half the battle since, as a merchant, the bottom line is still the bottom line – you have to stock and be effective at selling the green materials and products that green builders want, or should want with the proper education. And education is, of course, one of the most important aspects of selling. Which brings up the question – how do you know which products to stock?
The first part of the answer should be obvious - ask your customers. You have to get close to your customers, learn about the projects they're working on, and for goodness sake, ask them what kinds of products you should stock for them. Having some background in green building guidelines will help you ask the questions intelligently, but even so, a green builder who encounters an interested, responsive retailer is practically a customer for life, so go do it!
But relying on your customers to tell you what they want is, again, only half the battle. Developing expertise in your product categories and discerning the “real deal” from the “greenwash” requires some study of product certifications and getting to know the manufacturers.
Product certifications exist to protect against false claims and many are so good that green building rating systems like LEED incorporate them as standard. Among them, for example, are GreenSeal’s GS-11, the standard for low-VOC paint and coatings, and FloorScore, for low-emitting flooring products. But for uncertified products, the honus is ultimately on the merchandise manager to determine whether the product is truly green, is good enough to stand behind, and whether customers actually want it. After all, if a product fails to satisfy, for whatever reason, the dealer’s reputation can suffer right along with the manufacturer. And reputations are damaged most when the charge is “greenwashing.”
In short, greenwashing is the false or exaggerated claims about a product – that it’s “LEED certified” (LEED is a building rating system, not a product certification) when it’s not, or that it has any number of “green” qualities that are vague, untrue and/or unverified. In the realm of green building, the merchandise manager can help him or herself tremendously by asking manufacturers for 3rd-party LEED credit analysis or other documentation that demonstrates the veracity of the claims being made. A manufacturer that has gone the extra mile to produce an environmental product declaration (EPD), for example, demonstrates not only that the product qualifies for LEED credits, but that they take green building seriously. That’s a good sign.
It’s also a good idea to attend the green building expos and talk to manufacturers directly – there are regional shows in almost every part of the country with the USGBC GreenBuild show being the largest national show. This is where you’ll find the best information on new products and their performance characteristics short of trying them yourself. And why not try them yourself. Only with this kind of commitment will you find those gems that your customers should be using and when that happens your green building reputation will be golden.
The green building movement continues apace and more LBM dealers continue to ask how they can prepare. One of the best things a dealer can do is get their key staff trained in the most relevant programs in their area, whether it’s LEED or a regional program. Developing this knowledge base in the organization can only be a positive and, if pursued intelligently, can be leveraged for competitive advantage. But knowledge of guidelines is only half the battle since, as a merchant, the bottom line is still the bottom line – you have to stock and be effective at selling the green materials and products that green builders want, or should want with the proper education. And education is, of course, one of the most important aspects of selling. Which brings up the question – how do you know which products to stock?
The first part of the answer should be obvious - ask your customers. You have to get close to your customers, learn about the projects they're working on, and for goodness sake, ask them what kinds of products you should stock for them. Having some background in green building guidelines will help you ask the questions intelligently, but even so, a green builder who encounters an interested, responsive retailer is practically a customer for life, so go do it!
But relying on your customers to tell you what they want is, again, only half the battle. Developing expertise in your product categories and discerning the “real deal” from the “greenwash” requires some study of product certifications and getting to know the manufacturers.
Product certifications exist to protect against false claims and many are so good that green building rating systems like LEED incorporate them as standard. Among them, for example, are GreenSeal’s GS-11, the standard for low-VOC paint and coatings, and FloorScore, for low-emitting flooring products. But for uncertified products, the honus is ultimately on the merchandise manager to determine whether the product is truly green, is good enough to stand behind, and whether customers actually want it. After all, if a product fails to satisfy, for whatever reason, the dealer’s reputation can suffer right along with the manufacturer. And reputations are damaged most when the charge is “greenwashing.”
In short, greenwashing is the false or exaggerated claims about a product – that it’s “LEED certified” (LEED is a building rating system, not a product certification) when it’s not, or that it has any number of “green” qualities that are vague, untrue and/or unverified. In the realm of green building, the merchandise manager can help him or herself tremendously by asking manufacturers for 3rd-party LEED credit analysis or other documentation that demonstrates the veracity of the claims being made. A manufacturer that has gone the extra mile to produce an environmental product declaration (EPD), for example, demonstrates not only that the product qualifies for LEED credits, but that they take green building seriously. That’s a good sign.
It’s also a good idea to attend the green building expos and talk to manufacturers directly – there are regional shows in almost every part of the country with the USGBC GreenBuild show being the largest national show. This is where you’ll find the best information on new products and their performance characteristics short of trying them yourself. And why not try them yourself. Only with this kind of commitment will you find those gems that your customers should be using and when that happens your green building reputation will be golden.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Green Optimism and the Emerging Economics of Trust
(Published in the June '09, Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)
It seems there’s less talk these days about the bad economy and more about things we can do to take action. Action is inherently hopeful which is psychologically empowering, but the real dollar value lies in the fact that that those businesses that take action when economic conditions change create their own opportunities. And over the last several weeks, this is exactly what I see happening. After multiple conferences and talking with hundreds of businesses and entrepreneurs, I’m hearing optimism about green business opportunities and a genuine desire to be more, or even much more, sustainable. And this is leading to an emerging economics of trust that our industry needs to embrace.
The big economic trends all point to “green”, of course, clean energy, energy and water conservation, clean technology, federal spending and regulation, etc. The green building movement is positioned to explode over the next several years. There are more green building programs that require 3rd party verification and the USGBC’s LEED program is pushing 3rd party life cycle analysis (LCA) for products and materials earning LEED credits. And there are more 3rd party certifications that cover a wider variety of product categories. The message to manufacturers is that not only must they produce products that meet green building guidelines, they must do so sustainably, and it must be demonstrated to a trusted, impartial third party. “Trust, but verify,” a former president and product pitch man once said. And manufacturers are doing it, ensuring that this will be one of the most important ways to establish their credibility in the marketplace, with huge implications for brand building, marketing and sales strategies.
Consumer attitude trend lines continue to slant “green,” as well. Energy saving is top of mind for most at the moment, but awareness about the long term issues of climate change, drought, eutrophication, toxic chemicals, food security, etc. hasn’t abated. Consumers are still buying greener products, but more people are suspicious of corporate greenwashing. In fact, one emerging trend shows people moving away from “consumerism” altogether and toward greater personal responsibility. More people want to do more with less: less negative impact on their family’s health, the environment, and energy budget, and more quality of life. As a result, a host of social media websites like GreenGuide.com and GreenMaven.com are popping up, attempting to deliver the real truth about this green product or that greenwasher, creating rapidly growing communities that trust in the “wisdom of crowds.” More importantly, sites like these can establish or obliterate the credibility of a retailer or a product in flash.
I’ve recently spoken with a surprisingly large number of product manufacturers, some in unexpected product categories, who are planning to undergo some sort of third-party certification or documentation to give their claims a credibility boost in the market. Product certifications and other documentation are increasingly important to retail and distributor merchandisers who process loads of product data everyday but don’t have the expertise or the time to independently verify all manufacturer claims. More often these days, the first question a buyer asks when being sold a green product is, “who says?” That’s a good sign, because many retailers and distributors I talk to are attempting the more difficult task of creating trustworthy merchandising programs for their stores and yards. The starting point and the foundation for these programs must be on building collections of quality, verified products that the sales staff understands with confidence. Those who get it right will inspire trust and have good reason to be optimistic about their future.
It seems there’s less talk these days about the bad economy and more about things we can do to take action. Action is inherently hopeful which is psychologically empowering, but the real dollar value lies in the fact that that those businesses that take action when economic conditions change create their own opportunities. And over the last several weeks, this is exactly what I see happening. After multiple conferences and talking with hundreds of businesses and entrepreneurs, I’m hearing optimism about green business opportunities and a genuine desire to be more, or even much more, sustainable. And this is leading to an emerging economics of trust that our industry needs to embrace.
The big economic trends all point to “green”, of course, clean energy, energy and water conservation, clean technology, federal spending and regulation, etc. The green building movement is positioned to explode over the next several years. There are more green building programs that require 3rd party verification and the USGBC’s LEED program is pushing 3rd party life cycle analysis (LCA) for products and materials earning LEED credits. And there are more 3rd party certifications that cover a wider variety of product categories. The message to manufacturers is that not only must they produce products that meet green building guidelines, they must do so sustainably, and it must be demonstrated to a trusted, impartial third party. “Trust, but verify,” a former president and product pitch man once said. And manufacturers are doing it, ensuring that this will be one of the most important ways to establish their credibility in the marketplace, with huge implications for brand building, marketing and sales strategies.
Consumer attitude trend lines continue to slant “green,” as well. Energy saving is top of mind for most at the moment, but awareness about the long term issues of climate change, drought, eutrophication, toxic chemicals, food security, etc. hasn’t abated. Consumers are still buying greener products, but more people are suspicious of corporate greenwashing. In fact, one emerging trend shows people moving away from “consumerism” altogether and toward greater personal responsibility. More people want to do more with less: less negative impact on their family’s health, the environment, and energy budget, and more quality of life. As a result, a host of social media websites like GreenGuide.com and GreenMaven.com are popping up, attempting to deliver the real truth about this green product or that greenwasher, creating rapidly growing communities that trust in the “wisdom of crowds.” More importantly, sites like these can establish or obliterate the credibility of a retailer or a product in flash.
I’ve recently spoken with a surprisingly large number of product manufacturers, some in unexpected product categories, who are planning to undergo some sort of third-party certification or documentation to give their claims a credibility boost in the market. Product certifications and other documentation are increasingly important to retail and distributor merchandisers who process loads of product data everyday but don’t have the expertise or the time to independently verify all manufacturer claims. More often these days, the first question a buyer asks when being sold a green product is, “who says?” That’s a good sign, because many retailers and distributors I talk to are attempting the more difficult task of creating trustworthy merchandising programs for their stores and yards. The starting point and the foundation for these programs must be on building collections of quality, verified products that the sales staff understands with confidence. Those who get it right will inspire trust and have good reason to be optimistic about their future.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Self-Reliance is Back
(Published in the May '09, Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)
When the First Lady planted the White House vegetable garden this spring, it did more than just promote home gardening. It harkened back to the Victory Gardens that were commonplace during the Second World War, when our society pulled together for the war effort, and our culture was imbued with the virtue of self reliance. And it seems that our culture, which has been criticized over the last generation as being both selfish and disposable, might be taking a taking a sharp turn toward self-reliance and sustainability. Anecdotally, this seems true. A friend of mine has forsaken anything packaged and has taken to making her own cleaning products, toothpaste and yoghurt. On a recent trip to Portland, I saw more rain barrels and front-yard vegetable gardens than I could count. Though I don’t know for sure, I’m inclined to believe that book sales for Emerson and Thoreau are on the upswing, as well. All this, of course, creates opportunities for the savvy retailer in our industry.
Let’s start with gardening. Not only were sales of organic gardening products up last year, but more households were growing their own food. According to the National Gardening Association, an estimated 36 million households participated in food gardening in 2008 and projected that number to increase 19% to 43 million households in 2009. In a separate report, they find that “9 out of 10 households, believe that it’s important to maintain their landscape in a way that benefits the environment,” although only about half are knowledgable about how to do so. That gap is the retailer’s opportunity – a budding population of food gardeners with a thirst for knowledge.
For those dealers with garden centers, (those without might reconsider), it should be relatively easy to source organic soils, plant foods, pest control products, and drip irrigation kits, as these product categories have been growing for years and most L&G distributors stock them. Seeds can be a different matter and here I recommend Seeds of Change, (www.seedsofchange.com,) who stock a wide variety of organic and heirloom varieties. Getting your staff educated is also a key component. In California, there’s a fantastic program called Our Water Our World, (www.ourwaterourworld.org,) a non-profit funded by state and utility grants that provides free training and education for store staff on pesticide-free methods for controlling typical garden pests. There are similarly focused non-profits and organic gardening organizations around the country, so they should be easy to find.
There’s lots more to household self-reliance and sustainability than simply planting a garden. For example, installing a rainwater harvesting system, which I wrote about last month, adds another key input toward the sustainable food garden. But along with inputs come the outputs, such as waste. Households generate lots of organic waste, with food scraps accounting for a big chunk of what goes to the local landfill, where it’s consumed by anaerobic microbes that produce methane, a green house gas that is 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. The solution is simple: composting. Composting organic waste produces a nutrient rich soil amendment, which every gardener knows is essential. There are some good composters on the market that look attractive on the retail floor, such as those from EnviroCycle, Terracycle, and the Earth Machine. Some, like the Green Johanna even work in cold weather and can handle meat and bones. An alternative to conventional composters is the worm bin, such as the Worm Factory, which works well for those folks without a yard.
Little “economic recovery” gardens, irrigated by rainwater, with soil amended by composted organic waste – a great story all around, full of merchandising opportunity for the savvy and self-reliant retailer.
When the First Lady planted the White House vegetable garden this spring, it did more than just promote home gardening. It harkened back to the Victory Gardens that were commonplace during the Second World War, when our society pulled together for the war effort, and our culture was imbued with the virtue of self reliance. And it seems that our culture, which has been criticized over the last generation as being both selfish and disposable, might be taking a taking a sharp turn toward self-reliance and sustainability. Anecdotally, this seems true. A friend of mine has forsaken anything packaged and has taken to making her own cleaning products, toothpaste and yoghurt. On a recent trip to Portland, I saw more rain barrels and front-yard vegetable gardens than I could count. Though I don’t know for sure, I’m inclined to believe that book sales for Emerson and Thoreau are on the upswing, as well. All this, of course, creates opportunities for the savvy retailer in our industry.
Let’s start with gardening. Not only were sales of organic gardening products up last year, but more households were growing their own food. According to the National Gardening Association, an estimated 36 million households participated in food gardening in 2008 and projected that number to increase 19% to 43 million households in 2009. In a separate report, they find that “9 out of 10 households, believe that it’s important to maintain their landscape in a way that benefits the environment,” although only about half are knowledgable about how to do so. That gap is the retailer’s opportunity – a budding population of food gardeners with a thirst for knowledge.
For those dealers with garden centers, (those without might reconsider), it should be relatively easy to source organic soils, plant foods, pest control products, and drip irrigation kits, as these product categories have been growing for years and most L&G distributors stock them. Seeds can be a different matter and here I recommend Seeds of Change, (www.seedsofchange.com,) who stock a wide variety of organic and heirloom varieties. Getting your staff educated is also a key component. In California, there’s a fantastic program called Our Water Our World, (www.ourwaterourworld.org,) a non-profit funded by state and utility grants that provides free training and education for store staff on pesticide-free methods for controlling typical garden pests. There are similarly focused non-profits and organic gardening organizations around the country, so they should be easy to find.
There’s lots more to household self-reliance and sustainability than simply planting a garden. For example, installing a rainwater harvesting system, which I wrote about last month, adds another key input toward the sustainable food garden. But along with inputs come the outputs, such as waste. Households generate lots of organic waste, with food scraps accounting for a big chunk of what goes to the local landfill, where it’s consumed by anaerobic microbes that produce methane, a green house gas that is 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. The solution is simple: composting. Composting organic waste produces a nutrient rich soil amendment, which every gardener knows is essential. There are some good composters on the market that look attractive on the retail floor, such as those from EnviroCycle, Terracycle, and the Earth Machine. Some, like the Green Johanna even work in cold weather and can handle meat and bones. An alternative to conventional composters is the worm bin, such as the Worm Factory, which works well for those folks without a yard.
Little “economic recovery” gardens, irrigated by rainwater, with soil amended by composted organic waste – a great story all around, full of merchandising opportunity for the savvy and self-reliant retailer.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Water Self Reliance
(Published in April '09, Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest)
With April, comes Earth Day and a host of local events all over country and of every description, from creek clean ups to huge music festivals. The media is full of green stories and more people than ever want to know about green building, saving energy, solar and wind power, retrofitting, etc. But often overlooked and under reported is the water crisis and what homeowners and builders can do about it. While those in regions used to drought and limited fresh water supplies might be prepared, communities in regions just coming into drought could use some help in becoming more water self reliant. For retailers, this represents an opportunity to do well, and do good.
There are many products and practices available for reducing household water demand, many of which can earn sizable rebates. Highlighting these products, with signage that details benefits, cost savings and local rebates can boost your sales – make sure you have the rebate forms on hand. Weather sensing irrigation controller, such as Cyber-Rain (www.cyber-rain.com) offers a cool, internet-enabled product for both home owners and landscapers. Dual-flush toilets also qualify for rebates that can sometimes cover the entire retail price of the product. And Caroma’s (www.caromausa.com) new Profile Smart is 1.28/0.8gpl and even incorporates a sink on top of the tank, capturing and reusing that graywater for even greater savings.
Another water-wise strategy is rainwater harvesting, an emerging opportunity for retailers. Regions of drought and abnormally dry weather are spreading across the West, Midwest and South, so it makes sense to capture the water when it rains for use in garden irrigation and other non-potable applications. Innovative new products now make it easy for a home owner to install their own system, eliminating the mosquito and debris clogging problems of home-grown rigs. Starting at the gutter, RainTube, (www.raintube), offers an enclosed system the lets water in and keeps debris out. Next, cutting the downspout and fitting diverters is where many homegrown projects go wrong, but a slick new kit makes it easy to get it right. The RainReserve Diverter, (www.rainreserve.com), incorporates a filter, is mosquito proof, comes with tools and is made from recycled and biodegradable plastics. Once fitted, the home owner can use the RainReserve website to locate their own used barrel to reuse. A cool alternative to the barrel is the RainWater Hog, which looks like a piece from a giant construction set and is designed to be sited almost anywhere. An in-store display incorporating products like these with useful information about your local drought conditions and benefits of rainwater harvesting could prove valuable to your community.
For the slightly more committed, graywater systems and composting toilets are two other water conservation strategies that are gaining some mainstream momentum and are worth learning more about. Graywater systems capture and reuse water that’s already been used for bathing, cleaning, laundry, etc. Very often, local codes can be very restrictive, but they’re beginning to be reviewed and modified in response to current and forecasted drought conditions. Composting toilets, of course, use no water to begin with and that’s generating more interest in them. As people learn to overcome their fears and misconceptions about how they work, the retail opportunities will grow. And while the systems can be expensive, there are rebates available, and SunMar, a leading manufacture of residential units, offers a program for non-stocking dealers. Even better, a demo unit on your store floor would be a nice way to test the water, so to speak, in your local market.
With April, comes Earth Day and a host of local events all over country and of every description, from creek clean ups to huge music festivals. The media is full of green stories and more people than ever want to know about green building, saving energy, solar and wind power, retrofitting, etc. But often overlooked and under reported is the water crisis and what homeowners and builders can do about it. While those in regions used to drought and limited fresh water supplies might be prepared, communities in regions just coming into drought could use some help in becoming more water self reliant. For retailers, this represents an opportunity to do well, and do good.
There are many products and practices available for reducing household water demand, many of which can earn sizable rebates. Highlighting these products, with signage that details benefits, cost savings and local rebates can boost your sales – make sure you have the rebate forms on hand. Weather sensing irrigation controller, such as Cyber-Rain (www.cyber-rain.com) offers a cool, internet-enabled product for both home owners and landscapers. Dual-flush toilets also qualify for rebates that can sometimes cover the entire retail price of the product. And Caroma’s (www.caromausa.com) new Profile Smart is 1.28/0.8gpl and even incorporates a sink on top of the tank, capturing and reusing that graywater for even greater savings.
Another water-wise strategy is rainwater harvesting, an emerging opportunity for retailers. Regions of drought and abnormally dry weather are spreading across the West, Midwest and South, so it makes sense to capture the water when it rains for use in garden irrigation and other non-potable applications. Innovative new products now make it easy for a home owner to install their own system, eliminating the mosquito and debris clogging problems of home-grown rigs. Starting at the gutter, RainTube, (www.raintube), offers an enclosed system the lets water in and keeps debris out. Next, cutting the downspout and fitting diverters is where many homegrown projects go wrong, but a slick new kit makes it easy to get it right. The RainReserve Diverter, (www.rainreserve.com), incorporates a filter, is mosquito proof, comes with tools and is made from recycled and biodegradable plastics. Once fitted, the home owner can use the RainReserve website to locate their own used barrel to reuse. A cool alternative to the barrel is the RainWater Hog, which looks like a piece from a giant construction set and is designed to be sited almost anywhere. An in-store display incorporating products like these with useful information about your local drought conditions and benefits of rainwater harvesting could prove valuable to your community.
For the slightly more committed, graywater systems and composting toilets are two other water conservation strategies that are gaining some mainstream momentum and are worth learning more about. Graywater systems capture and reuse water that’s already been used for bathing, cleaning, laundry, etc. Very often, local codes can be very restrictive, but they’re beginning to be reviewed and modified in response to current and forecasted drought conditions. Composting toilets, of course, use no water to begin with and that’s generating more interest in them. As people learn to overcome their fears and misconceptions about how they work, the retail opportunities will grow. And while the systems can be expensive, there are rebates available, and SunMar, a leading manufacture of residential units, offers a program for non-stocking dealers. Even better, a demo unit on your store floor would be a nice way to test the water, so to speak, in your local market.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Get Ready for Green Home Builders
(Published in March '09, Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest)
This year may be remembered for its gargantuan financial meltdown and economic crisis. It may also be remembered as a foundational year for green home building for two big reasons. First, energy and water conservation are more important issues than ever before. With government incentives, such as rebates and weatherization financing, and water rationing looming in some regions of the country, energy and water efficiency are top of mind concerns for home owners and new home buyers. Second, green homes are selling faster than non-green homes. This has been borne out by research conducted by various local green home building programs, but a recent press release from the US Green Building Council indicates that new homes meeting the LEED for Homes standard built by Pulte in Las Vegas, are selling about twice as fast as their conventional homes. The LEED for Homes program is barely a year old and already there’s a ten-fold increase in new homes slated to be certified this year. With production home builders now taking notice, you can bet that a dramatically larger percentage of new housing starts will be green.
If a rebound in new home construction will be led by green, how can retailers position themselves to benefit? To get a broader perspective on this question, I organized a virtual roundtable discussion with some green building professionals. It seemed everyone wanted to talk about LEED for Homes and rising consumer demand. Why? While it’s not necessarily a good fit for every project, it’s a national standard and a strong brand, which is especially good for production builders. New home buyers are already looking for energy efficiency and healthy indoor air quality, so a credible national green certification for homes will help builders sell their green homes quicker, which is what we’re already seeing. And to meet the growing demand for green homes, the new professional credential, LEED AP + Homes, is rolling out this year, which will dramatically increase the number of professionals working in the area. This is precisely where retailers should take notice.
“Retailers who are serious about serving their pro customers need to get themselves educated about the changes transforming the home building industry,” says Michael Strong, president of GreenHaus Builders (www.greenhausbuilders.com) of Houston, Texas. He was one of the first to build a LEED for Homes project, 2008 NAHB Green Building Advocate of the Year, and has been building green for years. He recommends retailers have at least one staff member go through the LEED AP + Homes training and to bring the rest of the staff up to speed – floor staff and buyers. “Nothing’s more frustrating than to spec a product, educate my supplier, only come back for a second purchase to find they no longer stock the product because they didn’t understand it,” says Strong.
Education and training was also a main theme for Heather Gadonniex, LEED AP, and president of sustainability consultancy Green it Group, (www.greenitgroup.com.) “When I meet with major retailers or distributors looking for help in getting into the green building market, I find there’s enormous confusion about green building guidelines and product certifications,” she says. Part of the blame must go to product manufacturers whose sales and marketing people often add to the confusion. But retailers must ultimately know about the products their pro customers want and develop the expertise to anticipate their needs as technologies, green building guidelines and product certifications evolve. “Retailers should look for products from manufacturers who provide back up documentation to support the validity of their green product claims and, when necessary, obtain third party certification,” says Gadonniex.
While LEED for Homes is a national standard, it includes credit for locally produced materials and innovations appropriate for local conditions. Of course, there are also local and regional green building programs that very often offer a simpler alternative for local builders. According Clarke Snell, author and principal of Think Green Building, (www.thinkgreenbuilding.com), a green and natural builder in North Carolina, thinking local is the right approach. “Building for local climate conditions with locally produced materials is what builders should be focused on, therefore it should be the focus for retailers, too,” says Snell. “Selling FSC certified lumber products from the other side of the planet just doesn’t make sense.” While sourcing locally might be hard for big box chains, it could be a valuable differentiator for knowledgeable independents.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Green X-Ray House – a Community Affair
(Published in January '09, Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest)
In past columns, we talked about the importance of community involvement, networking with green building leaders, and making sure the local municipal green building folks know who you are. It costs virtually nothing and can only lead to good things, and sometimes even spectacular things. Nothing exemplifies this better than Beronio Lumber’s involvement in an exciting little project that put an otherwise unremarkable little town in Northern California on the green building map.
South San Francisco is an industrial suburb of San Francisco, whose fortunes waned with the outflow of manufacturing and airline jobs over the years. Recently, city leaders had a vision to promote green building, community development, and the city’s attractiveness to potential new residents, and it all congealed around a single project. The city owns several rental properties and decided to transform one of them, a modest 3 bedroom bungalow, into a showcase called the Green X-Ray House (see their website here: www.greenxrayhouse.com.)
South San Francisco is an industrial suburb of San Francisco, whose fortunes waned with the outflow of manufacturing and airline jobs over the years. Recently, city leaders had a vision to promote green building, community development, and the city’s attractiveness to potential new residents, and it all congealed around a single project. The city owns several rental properties and decided to transform one of them, a modest 3 bedroom bungalow, into a showcase called the Green X-Ray House (see their website here: www.greenxrayhouse.com.)
While the focal point of the project is the house, the real story is about the community that came together to make it happen. The major player in this story is, of course, the City of South San Francisco’s Economic and Community Development Department who, earlier in the summer of 2008, convinced the Green Building Exchange to become part of another city project dubbed the Sustainability Center, a multi-use facility housing several green businesses. The Green Building Exchange is a unique business, designed to provide a central location for green building education for builders, architects and home owners. Beronio Lumber started building relationships with green building related organizations a couple of years ago, including the Green Building Exchange where they’ve even installed a permanent display. So, when conversations began about what to do with the vacant property, the city consulted with the, now local, Green Building Exchange, who immediately brought Beronio Lumber into the process. Thus, the Green X-Ray House was born.
The concept was simple: remodel the house with lots of green features to demonstrate how easy a modest green makeover could be. Beronio Lumber provided decking materials, FSC certified flooring, FSC molding, window and door casings, as well as the windows and doors. Meanwhile, the folks at Green Building Exchange talked up the project with other local firms – it seemed everyone wanted to be involved. The modest green makeover quickly became a vibrant community project. Over 19 local firms participated, nearly all directly involved in the green building industry. Local builder W.L. Taylor Construction managed the project. Local plastering company Get Plastered! (yes, that’s their name!) applied American Clay, an interior plaster product that is all the rage among interior designers. The most surprising partner was Pepsico/Frito-Lay, whose business has nothing to do with green building, but as a local member of the community donated cash and over 25 volunteers to work on the house over a weekend.
The concept was simple: remodel the house with lots of green features to demonstrate how easy a modest green makeover could be. Beronio Lumber provided decking materials, FSC certified flooring, FSC molding, window and door casings, as well as the windows and doors. Meanwhile, the folks at Green Building Exchange talked up the project with other local firms – it seemed everyone wanted to be involved. The modest green makeover quickly became a vibrant community project. Over 19 local firms participated, nearly all directly involved in the green building industry. Local builder W.L. Taylor Construction managed the project. Local plastering company Get Plastered! (yes, that’s their name!) applied American Clay, an interior plaster product that is all the rage among interior designers. The most surprising partner was Pepsico/Frito-Lay, whose business has nothing to do with green building, but as a local member of the community donated cash and over 25 volunteers to work on the house over a weekend.
The Green X-Ray House is now a symbol for the neighborhood, not just as another green show house, but of what can happen when a community comes together to try to make a difference. Beronio Lumber created enormous community good will, as did other participants. The Green X-Ray House neighbors are thrilled because their property values went up a tick and their community got some positive recognition. Suddenly South San Francisco is a green leader, with cities from around the country sending representatives to learn how this successful collaboration can be replicated in their communities.
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