Sustainable fires still burn under our cooling economy

Green building, also known as sustainable building, is growing like weeds. “The global green building market is projected to double in size…over the next four years,” according to State of Green Business 2008, a report by Greenbiz.com.

With the promise of even bigger payouts and benefits, the green building market is also attracting impressive seed money. Global venture capital investment in clean technologies, a core component of green building, jumped 43 percent last year according to Dow Jones VentureSource.

As an economic powerhouse, green building will cross-pollinate many secondary and tertiary industries, making rain for business owners and sun for its inhabitants. For example, a research report by Clean Edge projects that Solar “will grow from a $20.3 billion industry in 2007 to $74 billion by 2017.” And a report by the American Solar Energy Society says that by 2030 the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors could generate up to 40 million jobs and $4.5 trillion in revenue. 

In addition, a report released by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation called Green Building in North America says: “In the United States, the annual cost of building-related sickness is estimated to be $60 billion. According to researchers, green building has the potential to generate an additional $200 billion annually in worker performance improvements by creating offices with better indoor environmental quality, including air and natural light.”

With much at stake and much to gain, the race to secure the sustainability leadership edge among the States is on. To maintain its competitive advantage, Oregon – a nationally recognized leader in green building – is successfully securing its frontrunner status by planning, preparing, and promoting its green future. Oregon’s 2008 Policy Initiative and Playbook lays it all out: “Economies built on sustainability…will better navigate emerging constraints in resources and regulation by reducing their environmental footprint, making better use of raw material, producing products more efficiently, and reducing costs and improving margins.”

But, more importantly, Oregon is executing on its plan to lock down the green edge. A big part of that plan is ensuring that there’s enough skilled labor to support its rapidly growing green industry. So Oregon, like other states around the country, offers green certificate programs at its colleges and universities – some in conjunction with the Cascadia Sustainability Academy.

This week, I begin a nine-month certification program to become a “National Sustainable Building Advisor.” As a seasoned marketing communications professional, why would I want to become certified in sustainable building?

I’m passionate about sustainability and its power to stimulate local-to-global markets, and positively impact professional and personal lives. For me, I believe that obtaining a green certificate will complement not only my career but also my retirement – particularly when I build my own sustainable home one day.    

The grass really is looking greener on the other side.

NOTE: Here’s more information about the National Sustainable Building Advisor program and its intent: “To build a community of Sustainable Building Advisors who can confidently and knowledgeably promote sustainable building to the industry and the public.”

: : : : : : : : : : :

Does your business blog need life support?

Only five percent of the 133 million blogs tracked by Technorati were updated in the last four months. So maybe some bloggers have been on extended vacation and perhaps others just abandoned their blogs altogether. And maybe a few are business bloggers who aren’t getting the proper support for maintaining oxygen flow into the lifeblood of their company blog. 

If you’re a business blogger, here’s important advice to consider as you strive to evolve your blog and fulfill your business objectives by leveraging the wonders of Web 2.0:

How your company perceives its own blog is just as important as how others view it.

1. Don’t be tempted to think of your new blog or any other social media resources as “technology” tools; think of them instead as communication vehicles or brand extensions for creating conversations, building relationships, and generating new, highly qualified business.
2. A blog by itself does not a social media strategy make. Please continue exploring multiple online channels and creating multiple, synchronous touch points in the Social Web Sphere – all of which are necessary to leverage the boundless opportunities associated with Web 2.0. Your blog is just one component of a much larger universe of opportunity.
3. The hardest part about joining the blogosphere is not deciding whether or not you should blog, learning how to blog, launching the blog, or even generating traffic to the blog (although this is definitely not easy, it is also not the hardest part). The hardest part is engaging readers, inspiring loyalty and building relationships, and this comes from the quality of conversation you create – not only on your blog, but also throughout the blogosphere. Many companies prefer to maintain the “built it and they will come” perspective when it comes to blogging. But even if “they” do come, what matters in blogging is whether or not they’ll stay.

Ultimately, your company’s perceptions can make or break whether or not you leave a meaningful brand mark in the blogosphere. So, how does your company perceive blogging?

: : : : : : : : : : :