Thinking Globally, Building Locally

(This article was originally published in the November '10 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

The green building movement is rooted in big thinking, but the USGBC is beginning to think small and local. Their mission is to transform the built environment – that’s thinking big with over 125 million buildings in the US, most of which are energy and water hogs. Considering that buildings account for a third of the US carbon footprint, success is of global importance. After over a decade of leading the commercial building revolution, USGBC has become a transformative force with a valuable brand. But there still remain 120 million less than efficient residential buildings, which is where action must now be focused. This is why the USBGC is putting considerable effort into boosting residential green building in concert with local leaders, which is good news for LBM dealers.

In residential building, there was already a green building movement well under way by the time LEED for Homes arrived on the scene two years ago. Local and regional residential programs have existed for years in progressive cities like Austin, Texas, whose Austin Energy Green Building program was the first in the nation. LEED for Homes shares many similarities with these programs, even though each reflects its own local conditions, both in terms of content and approach. In addition, there are alternatives to LEED, including EnergyStar, NAHB’s program, the new, (to the US,) PassivHaus approach, the International Living Building Institute, the NauHaus Institute, and a host of natural building organizations.

Given these realities, I really like the USGBC’s collaborative approach. They recognize that they’re part of a budding community of green building leaders and that there’s more than one way to build a green home. So, rather than attempt to impose their rating system, they launched the LEED for Homes Affiliate Program with the pragmatic aim of forging working relationships with many green building organizations and local green building leaders, thereby promoting the broader movement in the context of local needs.

“We’re market oriented and are looking to support and promote what’s working in each community,” Nate Kredich, USGBC’s VP for Residential Market Development, told me recently. For example, they’ve been working with North Dallas Green Built and the NAHB, developing educational materials for production builders, dealers and distributors. They’re even helping to produce a “mini GreenBuild” in the area. (By the way, USGBC’s GreenBuild is November 17-19.) In Minnesota, they’ve joined a coalition with Minnesota GreenStar, with its new-build and remodeling rating systems, and Minnesota Green Communities, which advocates for healthy, affordable housing. They’ve also launched the Green Home Guide (www.greenhomeguide.com), a website to help connect homeowners, builders and dealers with trusted information, and with each other.

In terms of economic clout, green residential building is only just finding its feet and, in any case, current economic conditions have strangled most building of any kind. But when homes start to be built again, it’s likely a great percentage will be guided by a national or regional program. “We recognize that for green home building to scale rapidly, it’s important that everyone in the value chain understand the rating systems and are well-connected with their local green builders,” said Kredich, emphasizing the value of education. They’re reaching out to support interested independent dealers, like Shaw Stewart in Minneapolis, as well as the big chains. With many more new green residential products and materials coming to market in 2011, it should be easier for proactive dealers and distributors to rise with the green home building market. If that’s true, then the USGBC’s big thinking could very soon be taking root in a community near you.

THE Alternative Building Material

(This appeared in May '10, Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest)

When I began thinking about this article and the various alternative building materials I could write about, several came to mind. But what counts for “alternative,” anyway? For example, there are products that are greener versions of old standbys like triple-glazed windows or FSC lumber. I could write about Serious Materials’ (www.seriousmaterials.com) innovative EcoRock drywall which they claim is 5 times more environmentally friendly than gypsum drywall, or Eco-Panels’ (www.eco-panels.com) super-efficient and well-designed structural insulated panels (SIPs). And then there are materials and methods that have thousand-year histories but aren’t mainstream, such as cob, which combines clay, sand and straw fibers usually sourced onsite. But these kinds of natural alternatives don’t usually require much of a supply chain. Instead, I’m going to highlight a building material that will blow your mind – hemp.

Industrial hemp used to be one of the most important agricultural products in the United States, but its cultivation has been illegal here for decades. (That may change soon - google Hemp History Week to learn more.) The Puritans brought it with them from Europe, many of our Founding Fathers grew hemp, and as recently as 1942, the government actively encouraged farmers to grow it. In those days, hemp was indispensable for making rope, cordage and sail cloth, and it yielded more usable fiber per acre than cotton or flax. Innovations in more recent times have demonstrated its value as paper and plastic feedstock, nutritive food ingredient, and biofuel. Cultivation can also bring benefits to farming communities as it delivers relatively quick, dependable yields without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.

Absolutely the coolest thing about hemp is that it’s being used to sequester carbon in an innovative new product called Tradical Hemcrete. It’s a combination of hemp shiv, which is the woody core of the plant, and a hydraulic lime binder. The components are mixed at the jobsite and packed into forms to make thermally efficient, breathable walls that could potentially last for hundreds of years. After its first US installation in the NauHaus, an innovative new home prototype designed by building science think-tank NauHaus Institute, (www.thenauhaus.com), there are now several more homes in the works.

Hemp Technologies, (www.hemp-technologies.com,) based in Ashville, NC, is the North American distributor of the product, importing it from England where it was originally developed. Greg Flavell, co-founder and hemp technology guru, said he discovered the product after searching for the most sustainable building material he could find. “I think this is it – it’s zero waste, non-toxic, breathable, mold resistant, durable, and is carbon negative, sequestering about 238 pounds of carbon per cubic yard,” he told me, adding “it’s also cost competitive.”

There are a few limitations, of course. The product is imported from England, where it was originally developed, because hemp isn’t yet grown domestically, nor are there easily sourced quantities of domestically produced hydraulic lime. The system is sold in two bags, Tradical HF and Tradical HB, which must be mixed at the jobsite by company-trained installers, though any contractor could easily master working with the material. In any case, those factors will slow widespread adoption of the material in the near term. However, Flavell says that they’re working on sourcing a little closer to home and developing a new panel system. Panels could dramatically expand the potential applications and make it easier for distributors and dealers to pick up the product. “We’re hoping to have panels available later this year,” says Flavell. If everything goes according to their plans, hemp could very well become less “alternative” and much more mainstream.