Christopher Peacock, whose reintroduction of white kitchen cabinetry became the rage this decade, launched a line of paint last spring whose subtle shades cost more than $100 a can.
There is nothing subtle, however, about how the designer deems the shade of green these days.
In February, Norwalk-based Christopher Peacock Paint quietly became a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), one of a half-dozen area businesses to do so that month and more than 40 so far this year.
Based in Washington, D.C., the USGBC sponsors the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, which gives property owners a benchmark to build and operate “green” buildings that have a minimal impact on the environment.
Besides energy efficiency, the program takes into account water use, the selection of materials and indoor air quality among other factors.
Dues are assessed on a sliding scale, ranging from $300 annually for nonprofit organizations and professional firms with less than $250,000 in yearly revenue; to $4,000 for the largest contractors.
Steven Winter Associates Inc., a Norwalk-based facility energy consultancy, became the first Fairfield County company to join the nascent USGBC in January 1998, a year after the Farmington-based Carrier Corp. subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. became the first in Connecticut to do so.
To this day, Steven Winter Associates”™ Andrew Zumwalt-Hathaway remains a LEED “faculty” expert with USGBC, as does his Steven Winter alumnus John Amatruda, who today is a partner at Norwalk-based Viridian Energy & Environmental L.L.C.
After Steven Winter signed on, it would be a full four years before another Fairfield County company would join ”“ Kohler Ronan L.L.C. Consulting Engineers, a building systems consultancy that has offices in New York City and Danbury.
A steady trickle of area businesses would sign up over the next several years until last December, when the pace of membership increased to about one new local member weekly, and in April a record 10 companies joined up, including the Greenwich Hyatt Regency.
As local USGBC membership remains on pace to crack the 100-company mark this year, the group”™s mix has broadened beyond the original core of architects, energy-efficiency consultants and building contractors.
Architects are still joining ”“ the most recent company to obtain USGBC membership was Shope Reno Wharton Associates, a Norwalk architectural firm that has been named to the Architectural Digest 100 seven times.
Beginning in March 2005 with Unger Enterprises Inc., a Bridgeport-based maker of cleaning tools, other types of organizations began obtaining membership, including the MetroPool Inc. commuter service in May 2007; Royal Bank of Scotland that November; Redding fireplace vendor Spark Modern Fires in January; and Danbury Hospital in July.
“Green is booming,” noted USGBC in a recently published strategic plan for the next five years. “Being green has become mainstream.”
Even as its works to accelerate demand for green buildings and produce data to support its goals, the organization stated it is weighing a shift in emphasis from its core mission on individual buildings toward broader aspects of sustainability: how buildings contribute to climate change, and the concept of social equity that pays dividends in communities in addition to profits corporations take.
