I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the recession was one of the best things that could have happened to the environment. Increasing financial limitations have resulted in a changed consumer psyche. Today’s buyers are rethinking their purchasing habits, reducing their consumption of disposable goods, and even downsizing their living spaces.
With uncertainty about whether or not she’ll have her job next month, every penny counts to the new 21st century consumer. Today’s savvy buyer is more likely to think twice before spending hard earned and precious dollars.
The instant gratification of on-the-spot purchasing on credit cards has largely evaporated. With an average credit card APR of over 20% and a growing portion of banks unexpectedly cutting off accounts, the new 21st century consumer is inclined to wait to make a purchase until she can actually afford the item.
Many goods and services that were once considered necessities are now seen as luxuries. Gone are the days of keeping up with the Jones. Frugality has displaced the extravagance of the boom days, and the biggest winner appears to be the environment (it’s no stretch to understand that fewer disposable products results in reduced resource demand).
The new 21st century consumer is just as label conscious as ever, but instead of gravitating towards designer items, she looks for eco-attributes. According to a study conducted by JWT (formerly J. Walter Thompson), 82% of consumers surveyed said that they would pay at last 5% more for environmentally friendly products, and 70% reported that their purchasing patterns are influenced by environmental messages and labeling.
Today’s savvy consumer is no longer simply concerned with upfront cost. She now thinks longer term and considers things like embodied energy and carbon footprint. She will look for locally produced products to reduce her environmental impact from transportation, and she’ll repair an item rather than throwing it away to minimize her waste output. She’ll invest more in a product that will last, but she won’t necessarily accept a lower quality product just because it’s ‘green’.
Today’s consumer no longer carelessly discards items like she used to. She recycles her light bulbs and print cartridges. She thinks about purchasing refurbished computers instead of new ones. She’s even holding on to her belongings, from cell phones to automobiles, for longer on average than in recent history.
So what does this new 21st century consumer psyche mean to product manufacturers and building professionals? First, we must understand to classify her. She actively practices Green ‘Responsugality’—green laced with responsibility and frugality. Above all, she is searching for value—not just a cheap deal, but something that expresses her ethics through her pocketbook. Offer her a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution, and you’ve pretty much got it in the bag.
Our modern consumer remains apprehensive about the future of our economy. Her discernment empowers her, so now is a perfect time to harness her emotions with a blended values message that addresses her financial, social, and environmental concerns. In order to capture her heart, mind, and dollars, it’s important to be a company that will care for her budget, her community, and her planet.
A word of caution, though—according to Advertising Age, more than half of today’s consumers are wary of greenwashing and false sustainability claims. And when it comes to going green, companies just can’t fake it—according to Nielsen Online, 25% of online blog entries about sustainability are entered by disgruntled consumers pointing out discrepancies between companies’ claims and the reality of their environmental performance.
Green has emerged as the means for this consumer to validate herself. To be successful in today’s marketplace, it is paramount to provide her ways to recycle, use less for longer, and have a positive impact on the planet. Help her to become experientially educated, and she’ll be your loyal customer for life.
Tell us your thoughts about the 21
st century consumer. Email me at sara@greenbuilermag.com or join me on Twitter at SaraGBM.
Posted: 2/28/2010 9:39:50 PM by
Sara Gutterman | with 0 comments
I spent last week in Las Vegas at the International Builders Show. While the weather was unusually rainy and bleak, the atmosphere of the conference was quite the opposite. Optimism was pervasive among builders and manufacturers alike, and smiles noticeably replaced last year's scowls.
Innovative new products included a hybrid spray foam that insulates while sealing air leaks, integrated solar roofing panels that replace traditional shingles, and appliances that are designed to hook into a smart grid.
I was quite taken by the changing cast of characters seated at the green table. I can't recall seeing a booth that didn't have some kind of green message, and I've never heard the words "green" and "production builders" used more often together than I did last week.
Many manufacturers are already considering the business implications of the production builders adopting green building products and practices. Even if housing starts remain down, the demand for green products by the production builders will drive increased production, augment investment in new products, and reduce prices, thereby creating a virtuous cycle of increased adoption for those green products.
Savvy manufacturers are already beginning to phase out traditional product lines in favor of green ones that will meet changing codes, regulations, and consumer demand.
While the sustainability equation cannot be solved by the production builders alone, I was encouraged by the progress that is being made in that sector of the market.
For example, Pulte Las Vegas showcased their Villa Trieste project, a green community that aims to reduce energy demand by 60% over traditional residential communities. And two senior executives at K. Hovnanian Homes shared information with me about steps that they are taking toward enhanced sustainability, including using green products and practices that will help them achieve up to 50% home performance improvement.
Of course, it is paramount that each of us continues to push the boulder uphill and positively affect our own sphere of influence, regardless of the market sector or size of our companies. To that extent, Green Builder Media, in conjunction with partners Building Media, Department of Energy, Energy Star, Steven Winter & Associates, and Ecos Interiors by Pat Gaylor, put our best foot forward with our ReVISION Vegas project—a green retrofit of an 1,800-square-foot 1960s house that embodies this moment of "Green Responsugality" (an ethic of sustainability blended with equal parts of responsibility and frugality).
Our goal was to create a net-zero-energy home. We're delighted to say that the house went beyond net zero—between the performance improvements and the solar systems, the house received a negative 2 HERS rating, meaning that it produces more energy than it uses. We hope that the ReVISION Vegas project can serve as a model for the typical American family to implement significant, affordable green upgrades.
For more information about the ReVISION Vegas, visit our website at www.greenbuildermag.com or read the latest article about the home in the digital version of Green Builder magazine.
Posted: 1/27/2010 12:00:00 AM by
Scott Donnelly | with 0 comments
With the eyes of the world on the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) this week in Copenhagen, members of the global community wait with a range of expectations for some meaningful agreement on how to begin to address the planet's increasingly urgent environmental and climate issues. Throughout the course of the week, there have been ups and downs, progress and setbacks, agreements and stalemates.
China claimed its place in the global spotlight by committing to cut CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by up to 45 percent by 2020. Japan strengthened its global environmental leadership position by pledging $19.5 billion to combat climate change. Countries such as Australia, Britain, France, and Norway committed $3.5 billion for forest protection across the globe. And the U.S. offered to take the lead in raising an additional $100 billion to assist developing countries in combating climate change, as long as fast-growing economies like those in China and India accept binding commitments and verification processes for emissions reduction programs.
But tension around unsettled issues is mounting, and there are open questions as to whether or not global leaders can marshal the political will to implement the extreme measures necessary to reduce our collective global impact. In an impassioned statement, U.N. climate chief Yvo De Boer declared that we're in an "all-or-nothing situation", and that unless global leaders reach consensus this week, it is possible that we'll face dire consequences as nature unleashes her fury against our current levels of pollution, waste, deforestation, and ecosystem destruction.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue of climate change, there is more at stake from the results of COP15 than carbon emissions, energy efficiency, and clean technology targets. Climate consciousness has become an unavoidable pillar of our global conversation, and now, whether or not we can agree on its causes or effects, it is shaping current and future decisions about business, politics, regulation, and the economy. If we want to have an individual, national, or global influence on the outcome, we simply cannot opt out of the discussion.
As environmental accountability becomes increasingly intertwined with corporate, political, economic, and social strategy, the chess game of sustainability becomes multi-dimensional—allowing each of us to strategically execute our gambits to enhance our personal, corporate, and national competitive advantage.
In the end, the only way we can achieve environmental sustainability is if there is financial incentive to do so. There is no longer a division between carbon consciousness and job creation. Sustainability must be compatible with profitability. If we're smart, we can leverage climate change solutions not only to clean up our planet, but also to streamline our businesses and realign international political goals.
The main objectives of COP15 are to reach agreement about carbon reduction strategies and to determine guidelines for providing aid to developing countries. If those goals are achieved successfully, we can expect future climate conferences to focus on other accompanying challenges and opportunities, such as revolutionary technological innovation, massive infrastructure investment, transformational financial growth, and fundamental social behavioral change.
For more information about important topics related to sustainability and green building, follow me on my Twitter page at
SaraGBM.
Posted: 1/7/2010 6:03:00 PM by
Scott Donnelly | with 0 comments
Every once in a while, true innovation breaks through the status quo and changes the way we do things. Think about how the Internet has changed your life—the way you access information, the way you communicate with your friends and colleagues, and the way that you conduct business.
I'm thrilled to announce that Green Builder Media, in partnership with i365Tech, is taking advantage of the power of the Internet to launch GreenExpo365, the building industry's first virtual conference and expo focused on green building. With GreenExpo365, we have harnessed the power of social networking and community aggregation to deliver a completely new, fresh way for building professionals to talk with one another and with manufacturers.
As a recovered venture capitalist, I'm trained to look for innovative, ground-breaking technologies that address everyday challenges in user-friendly ways. From my perspective, GreenExpo365 is the obvious evolution of trade shows and information exchange in this industry. The platform is an efficient, always-accessible, 21st century tool that information seekers can use to retrieve material from exhibitors without having to endure the hassles, expense, and carbon footprint of traditional trade shows. At the same time, it allows exhibitors to constantly refresh their materials and engage attendees in a completely novel manner.
GreenExpo365 wasn't created to replace a handshake and a smile—it's intended to benefit both attendees and exhibitors by maximizing marketing dollars and augmenting live interaction with anytime, anyplace access. With a deliberate focus on green building, GreenExpo365's social networking tools (like live chat, discussion forums, blogs, and other enabling communication technologies) will provide value that extends far beyond what is currently delivered by social media outlets (such as Facebook, Twitter, My Space, and YouTube).
Don't miss the show! Register now at www.greenexpo365.com to access the site and receive information about the conference. Everyone who registers before January 4, 2010 will be entered to win one of five $100 VISA gift certificates. The expo hall will open in January, 2010 with top-tier exhibitors such as Typar, Simpson Door, Bay Systems, Environments for Living (Masco Home Services), and Monier Lifetile.
Posted: 12/2/2009 12:00:00 AM by
Scott Donnelly | with 0 comments
The buzz of the U.S. Green Building Council's annual conference, Greenbuild, has come and gone once again, and after a successful event in Phoenix last week, I'm happy to report that the conversation about sustainable development is clearly evolving. The conference was well attended and upbeat—building professionals and manufacturers alike seemed optimistic about their green prospects for 2010.
Like at most shows, there were new product launches and catchy marketing campaigns, but what particularly caught my attention was the depth of the information that was presented. People weren't asking basic questions about green building like they used to. Instead, they were talking about lessons learned from green buildings they have designed and constructed; integrated systems that optimize home performance; and advanced technologies like smart grid appliances and energy monitoring systems. They weren't searching for a justification for building green—they were looking for ways to strengthen their competitive advantage through sustainability.
Overall, I was quite pleased with the show, with one striking exception. While walking towards the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) booth, I saw a group of disconcerted people standing in the aisle. Upon inquiring about the hubbub, my attention was directed upwards toward a banner that had been surreptitiously erected that accused SFI of greenwashing.
While I'm generally supportive of activist protests that help facilitate positive change (for example, Rainforest Action Network's campaign against The Home Depot that catalyzed the elimination of old growth lumber from THD stores), this particular protest seemed out of place and counterproductive. At a time when most of us are licking our wounds from the economic battle that was 2009, a more collaborative approach may have been more effective.
The protest emanated from the long-standing debate about whether or not SFI, as an organization that was founded by the lumber industry, can be impartial enough to create a legitimate forestry certification.
I like to say that every raindrop fills the bucket, so I applaud SFI's efforts to continue to increase awareness about sustainable harvesting and lumber certification. With that said, we have a long road ahead of us to achieve our sustainability goals, and it is of paramount importance that SFI and all other organizations (including Green Builder Media) continue to implement more stringent, environmentally appropriate policies and practices.
A peek under the covers may reveal the politics of the greenwashing banner—the LEED rating system only recognizes wood certification from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), not from SFI. While I am completely convinced that the banner was not placed by either FSC or USGBC, I am left wondering how much of the protest has to do with legitimate environmental concerns and how much has to do with maintaining market share.
Regardless of which side of the issue you're on, now is a time for questions and answers, not infighting amongst the people who are truly trying to make a difference. Sustainability is not about a checklists or points. It's a customized solution, and each of us must create optimized scenarios for ourselves. When it comes to green, we can't be afraid to dance to the beat of our own drums, assuming of course, that those drums are crafted from sustainably harvested wood.
Posted: 11/19/2009 12:00:00 AM by
Scott Donnelly | with 0 comments
