Green Spring Training

(Originally published in the March 2012 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

March is my favorite month.  Why?  Spring is in the air, at least in some parts of the country.  And baseball is just around the corner.  And now, some market research has come out demonstrating that green building is poised to lead this industry out of the doldrums.  Things aren’t back to normal, or back to a new and different normal, not just yet.  But if you’ve been working to bring your retail or wholesale operation into the green big leagues, this could be your breakout season. 

The study from McGraw Hill reports some interesting numbers that should inspire optimism.  The share of new single family homes built to a LEED or equivalent standard reached 17% and rising to about a third of the market in five years.  Builders report that marketing green homes is easier and the majority of customers are willing to pay a little more.  Among builders who are doing some green projects, 39% report that green work is having a positive impact on their bottom line, compared to 90% of builders who are fully dedicated to green.  There were similar results for green remodelers.

I want to focus on one takeaway from this.  The reason dedicated green builders and green remodelers report better results – and are looking forward to better prospects, too, I might add – is because they are focused.  They have the knowledge and skills, and therefore the credibility.  They know what they’re doing and they believe in it.  These are the companies driving green forward and these are the companies getting the bigger share of the projects.  If you’re looking to grow your green business, these are the pros you want on your team.

Given the strength of this trend, making green building an increasing focus of your own business is an obvious forward thinking strategy.  Equally important is building strong relationships with the leading green builders and remodelers in your market area.  This may seem obvious, too, but to build productive relationships these four key points are worth repeating.

First, be prepared to walk your talk.  No amount of schmoozing will win customer loyalty in this arena without expertise and knowledge to back it up.  Don’t rely on manufacturers and product knowledge to see you through.  Go the extra mile and develop internal expertise in LEED or other residential green building programs.

Second, go to them.  Don’t expect them to come to you.  Visit them at their office, their job site, green building association meetings, trade shows and conferences.  Most regions have a USGBC chapter or equivalent – join it.

Third, bring value to the relationship, right away.  If you can help them win a new project, introduce them to a talented new sub, point them to an innovative new solution, they will come to see you as vital part of their business ecosystem.  When this happens, they will start bringing value to you.

Fourth, dig deeper and find expert builders, remodelers, retrofitters with specialisations that make sense for you and your region.  Energy retrofitting, rainwater harvesting, green roofs, and solar are all hot areas – maybe they’re ripe for building new relationships, too.  Develop the right product categories they need, host in-store events, and develop referral programs.

At the end of the day, it’s the customer relationships that sustain any business, especially during lean times.  This industry is adopting green building at an accelerating pace and demand is showing signs of picking up.  It’s the leading builders and remodelers who are winning an increasing share of the business.  By getting together you can build a solid team and make this a winning year.

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.)

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 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.