NEWH - September 2009 - (Page 10)

sustainability point of view Asking the Tough Questions Can sustainability survive in hard economic times? By Dina Belon Dina M. Belon is the Sunshine Chapter’s sustainable director and a principal at RUSH Hospitality, a sustainable hospitality renovation company based in Titusville, Florida DEALING WITH SUSTAINABILITY during these economic conditions is a lot like what you might feel when in an airplane traveling with your child and the oxygen masks drop from overhead. Instinctively your first thought is to help your child and ignore yourself. Most airlines advise you to help yourself first so you are more capable of helping your child. Right now everyone is instinctively trying to survive this recession and individual sustainability issues are secondary. But if we ignore the environment for a few years while we deal with the economic hard times, the problems with the environment just become more extreme. We will have survived the recession and still be faced with much more terrible problems. It is very commendable that there are so many professionals in our industry supporting sustainability. But what happens if you cannot convince a client that a sustainable design or process is the best direction to take? Are you done being ecological until the next opportunity to convince a client to utilize a sustainable design or process, versus worrying about convincing a client we as individuals should have a personal sustainable program? Why does it take a client’s interest to “allow” us to provide the best sustainable project that we can within the time and budget? Instead think about the sustainable options that you could use within a client’s existing budget, schedule, and standards. As you make decisions, such as: does a material meet the functional requirements, aesthetic desires, and budget limitations, add one more consideration, is the selection sustainable? The answer may be “no” due to the balancing of one of the other considerations but at least you have made a conscious decision. The sustainable questions can be: • Does the product utilize recycled content (post industrial or post consumer)? • Does it affect or improve indoor air quality? • Are the source materials sustainable? • What are the assembly materials? • What is the manufacturer’s efficiency (reduced energy; minimal waste; carbon neutral; LEED certified manufacturing facility)? 10 september 2009 www.newh.org tel 800.593.NEWH • What is the travel distance of source materials, distance of manufacturing facility to final site? • Can the material be recycled at the end of its life? • Is a product reusable or salvageable? • What is the durability—extended lifecycle? • What are the maintenance methods and products? • Is the product energy efficient (ex. Energy Star)? • Does the product support water conservation? • What are the installation procedures? • What are the drying and curing procedures? • Can you minimize waste during installation? If everyone does something, the results start to add up. Think about all parts of your life: professional, public, and private. Many of us recycle at home, but don’t think about it at work. This is not like a diet or exercise program. It is easy if you spend some time just thinking about it. You are already practicing sustainability in your lives. Just keep at it. On a personal basis there are many options that will make a difference. Start a recycle program. My family bought four plastic storage containers. We recycle plastic, newspaper and cardboard, aluminum cans, and glass bottles. We live in a condo that has a recycle center so it is very easy for us to recycle. As an interior designer, I was not happy about four new containers taking up space in my kitchen, but I got over it. We have cut our garbage that goes to the landfill in half. Doing something sustainable on a public basis is equally easy. Our family does not throw into a landfill any clothes, toys, electronic gadgets, appliances, furniture, or anything that is reusable. We have several favorite charities that we recycle through, mine is the SPCA Thrift Store. If you are looking for an equity investment in this crazy market, look at green equity stocks. CoopAmerica.com has a section on its website that is a comprehensive list of green companies. You will be surprised at the performance of these stocks compared to non-sustainable companies. Charitable work is another way of practicing sustainability. Remember that one part of the triple bottom line is people, and helping your neighbors and community is just as sustainable as recycling. Just one simple sustainable activity in your life will make a tremendous difference. You can do something for the people and planet as well as save money. You do not have to compromise your sustainable beliefs in tough economic times. I http://www.CoopAmerica.com http://www.newh.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NEWH - September 2009

NEWH - September 2009
Contents
News
Sustainability: POV
Design 101
Case Study: Project
Case Study: Product
Have you Seen?
Product Know-How: Fabrics
On the Scene
Cover Story: NLP
Project: Langham Shanghai
Project: Founding Farmers
New Members
Save the Date
Partner Profiles

NEWH - September 2009