The color of money
st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; mso-ascii- mso-ascii-theme- mso-fareast- mso-fareast-theme- mso-hansi- mso-hansi-theme- mso-bidi- mso-bidi-theme-} Are you “greened out?” Hang in there. You”™re not alone, but it”™s not just a buzzword. Eventually, all buildings, whether pre-existing or new construction, will become energy efficient and eco-friendly.
Changes in lifestyle and changes in financial and economic conditions ultimately dictate that businesses do things differently.
“If you”™ve a notion that green will be another dot.com bubble, don”™t hold your breath ”“ green is here to stay,” said Jeff Sama, director of environmental permits and pollution prevention for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Sama was the keynote speaker at a Sept. 10 forum hosted by the Rockland Business Association at Rockland Community College”™s new Science & Technology Center auditorium. Sama told listeners that rising concerns about climate change, the price of oil and rising backlash against Asian imports (read: lead-laced toys and tainted baby formula) all serve to give America cause to pause and re-think its own resources.
Speakers and panel members who joined Sama at the seminar  included Craig Kneeland of NYSERDA (the state Energy Research and Development Authority); Don Perry of Shiva”™s Karma L.L.C.; Bill Edsall of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals; Lorinda Hill representing Rockland Community College; Michael Shilale of New City-based MSA Architects; and Al Samuels, Rockland Business Association president.
“Even during these volatile times in the stock market, venture capital is extremely exuberant when it comes to green technology-based business,” said Sama. “There are immediate paybacks and incentives to go green.” Â
Architect Michael Shilale espouses affordable housing and is developing both residential and commercial space using green technology. He added, “Avoiding the use of hazardous materials makes it a very attractive choice to everyone, from the architect to contractor and ultimately to the consumer.”Â
Businesses that go green, not just on the exterior of buildings,  but using human-friendly indoor materials, reduce and have the potential to totally eliminate exposure to industrial illnesses. “We should be getting an insurance break for workers comp because healthy buildings keep workers”™ illnesses down,” said Sama. “Engineering studies in the Netherlands showed buildings that were eco-friendly produced a huge increase in worker productivity.”Â
Even personal products ”“ hair care, makeup and soaps immediately come to mind ”“ were once laden with hard-to-pronounce chemical ingredients. Consumer-smart companies have taken massive steps toward going green. “As a result, they are seeing double digit growth,” said Sama. “People who live lifestyles promoting health are converts and will go to great lengths to adhere to that lifestyle. Â Green technology is not just in brick and mortar, but in every segment of American society.”
He pointed to firms that claim their green products ”“ bamboo vs. traditional wood flooring, for example ”“ are doing other kinds of environmental damage that gets overlooked in the process of going greener. Â “Is it really green and sustainable if it took an oil tanker to bring the product halfway across the world?” Sama asks.
Rather than be overwhelmed by the products and choices in the market, Sama encouraged business owners to “create a blueprint and create a reasonable plan. You don”™t have to start at the top; work your way up to an attainable, sustainable goal and include your staff.”
One method can help business owners seize this brave new green world is by getting employees on board. “You might surprise yourself by encouraging them to find sustainable office products that are reasonable,” Sama said. “You may even be pleasantly surprised if a competition arises among them to find the best green at the best price.  Those are things the business owner can do ”“ and remember, it doesn”™t cost anything to ask how much something will cost.”Â
The younger generation, noted Sama and panel member Lorinda Hill, who runs Rockland Community College”™s recycling program, is more likely to espouse the green lifestyle by becoming recycling and composting champions.
While the forum encouraged  listeners that going green was a “home run” for businesses, not just in saving money but in keeping workers healthier and more productive, Michael Shilale said there are no LEED certified buildings in Rockland County ”“ at least, not that he was aware of, although many buildings incorporate some form of proactive energy feature.
Shilale let forum and audience members know there is a program wherein existing buildings can be brought up to LEED standards and apply for certification. He is in the process of doing this for his own New City office.
“Green buildings are just common sense buildings,” said Craig Kneeland, senior project manager for energy efficiency services for NYSERDA. “That should be the driving force made in your decision making.”
“Like charrettes” ”“ give-and-take sessions designed to help the building process ”“ “which are becoming popular between builders and the public, we are also creating programs for contractors to charrette with developers,” said Kneeland. “They are the ones out in the field implementing architects”™ drawings and they know what will work and what won”™t. What may look good on paper may not work in the field.”
Several programs under the NYSERDA umbrella offer economic advantages to building green. While Kneeland acknowledged the NYSERDA programs might challenge some, “We try to be flexible; basically, we will give money for a building that ups its energy efficiency and is not necessarily green.”
The Internal Revenue Service allows tax breaks for certain items that can cushion costs, said Neeland.
Some listeners grumbled about New York”™s inability to grow “green” business, citing only 56 green manufacturers in the state, and a mere nine in the mid-Hudson region, mostly in the lighting industry.
LEED, said panel members, is catching on if the Hudson Valley can just sit tight. In 2004, there were 36 LEED incentive programs in the region””that number has grown to 269 in 2009. While LEED is a rigorous third party standard, said panelists, the goal ”“ whether it is silver, platinum or gold certification ”“ is attainable and offers long-run savings for employers both in costs to maintain and in employee productivity.
Don Perry, president of Shiva”™s Karma in Warwick, said the one thing the Hudson Valley needed were quality workers to be able to put their valuable skills to work. “They haven”™t left us, even though our population is getting smaller,” he said. “You will find these people working in big-box chain stores doing menial jobs they are overqualified for because there is nothing in their field. They haven”™t left the area; they just aren”™t using their skills anymore. There is no market for them now that their jobs have been outsourced. We have untapped wealth right here as far as intellectual power.”
Sama said there are 1,700 building product manufacturers in New York City. “The reality is, when it comes to buying, people like to ”˜press the flesh”™ ”“ see the person and products face to face. The Hudson Valley is in a unique position as the metropolitan area spreads out. I believe it is a positive perfect storm in the making.”