As more and more people become conscious of their impact on the environment, they’re looking for ways to become more eco-friendly. They’re using less water, watching their energy use, and buying second hand. They’re also looking for companies that share their beliefs.
As a construction company, going green gives you the ability to help eco-conscious home buyers create a home that’s more sustainable.
Here are a few easy tips to help.
Get Green Certified
One of the first things that you can do to go green is to get your green certification. It shows your dedication to reducing your impact on the environment, and that you can help your clients reduce theirs as well.
You can get your company certified through LEED (the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) or GBI (Green Building Initiative). These organizations use performance-based codes, which help to ensure that your materials, tools, designs, and practices meet local and state green codes.
Use Green Building Materials
Building homes requires a lot of materials, many of which typically aren’t environmentally-friendly. The process involves the use of wood, concrete, bricks, steel, insulation, and more. Fortunately, there are numerous green alternatives at your disposal, such as:
- Recycled wood
- Recycled concrete
- Wool bricks
- Composite lumber
- Strawbale frames
Check Out Green Resources
Some of your clients may want more information about the materials you use to build your homes. There are a few resources you can use to provide them with what they want to know:
- The Health Product Declarations focuses on the health effects of different building materials.
- The Environmental Products Declarations shows the environmental impact of different materials from the start of the supply chain to the finished product.
Build Off-Site
While building on-site might seem like the easiest way to build a house, constructing a majority of it off-site is more eco-friendly. Building off-site saves time and transportation, and it reduces overall waste. You can also build a better quality house without having to worry about the elements.
Install Green Systems
You can further help your clients reduce their environmental footprints by offering to install additional green solutions to their homes. For instance, a solar panel system provides them with an alternative to traditional electricity. Not only does it use substantially fewer resources (non-renewable ones, at that), but it can also help them to save money on their energy costs each month.
Other green systems to consider offering to your clients include:
- Programmable thermostats
- Green HVAC systems
- Fixtures that use less water
- Rainwater harvesting systems
- Energy-efficient lighting
- Green insulation
- Lawn care services
Invest in New Tech
We live in a time where new technology is constantly in development. These developments help to make our lives easier. Many of them also help to reduce our impact on the environment.
With everything going digital, consider shifting toward a paperless system. Instead of printing out plans, checklists, and paperwork for your clients, do everything (or at least a vast majority of it) online. You can email updates, paperwork, bills, and other information to clients. You can also use apps that help you manage your projects seamlessly.
Another amazing technological development that can help your construction company is a 3D printer. 3D printers use recycled materials, and those materials are then re-recyclable. Another benefit of 3D printing is that it can help to save you a lot of time.
Choose Eco-Friendly Partners
Having your company go green is great, but if your partners aren’t also green, it can hurt your mission and destroy your reputation.
Read: Is Green Building a Glimpse Into the Future or a Mere Fleeting Trend?
When choosing partners, make sure that they share the same goal in helping the environment. This way, you can uphold your promise to your clients and show them that you mean it when you say you’re invested in the green mission and providing sustainable homes.
Going Green
For a construction company, going green does more than reduce the overall environmental impact of your business; it also enables you to help your customers achieve their goals of reducing their footprints as well.
