What is the SEC and How is it Related to the Environment?
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How does the SEC, otherwise known as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, help the United States regulate environmental policies?
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ESG / CSR
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Greenly solutions
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Why Green Building Consulting Is an Opportunity
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From buying land, purchasing a property, and either renovating or building it from the ground up: there’s a lot to consider with construction projects, and as sustainability continues to become more prominent in society – green building consulting is another prerequisite to think about when starting a new construction project.
Green building consulting refers to the practice of promoting eco-friendly and sustainable construction for new and existing building projects. As the demand grows for green building services, many may wonder what the true benefits of this new method to construction are – and if it's worthwhile for your business.
In this article, we’ll explain what green building consulting is, how it can be beneficial, the challenges of green building consulting, and how it’s an opportunity.
What is green building consulting?
Green building consulting is the effort to provide expertise to individuals, businesses, or organizations looking to design buildings that can adhere to greater sustainability and environmental responsibility.
“ Green building consultants can provide services to help improve energy efficiency, improve environmental performance, and help businesses comply with new environmental regulations. ”
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Some of the values and goals depicted in green building consulting include:
- Eco-friendly designs to improve building proficiency
- Avoiding legal troubles by helping to get certifications or comply with environmental regulations
- Increasing the efficiency of your company’s building and overall productivity
👉 Overall, green building consulting can help to companies to reduce their carbon footprint, curate a more resilient business in the midst of climate change, and ultimately inspire others to work towards greater sustainable development.
What does a green building consultant do?
Most people may think that the only criteria to become a green building consultant is to have exceptional knowledge on green infrastructure, but in reality – good marketing and management skills are also essential.
“ A green building consultant should have adequate marketing and management skills as it can prove difficult to persuade clients on the benefits of green building without these skills. This is similar to someone at the Apple store having knowledge of all of the products, but not having the ability to market or sell anything to anyone. ”
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Some of the roles and responsibilities of a green building consultant include:
- Taking charge of the documentation process when trying to determine a building's current green rating;
- Develop a strategy to conserve energy and water in addition to deciding which materials will be most suitable for the green building project;
- Engaging with stakeholders to make the requirements of the project clear and ensure good communication;
- Determining the energy requirements for the building depending on building codes or district requirements;
- Calculating all the numbers and other technical data needed for authorization letters prior to proceeding with the green building project;
- Conducting regular visits to the construction site to ensure the green building project is proceeding as planned.
- Increasing the efficiency of your company’s building and overall productivity
👉 Ultimately, a good green building consultant will make their green building project personal rather than something to be completed merely on paper – and they will demonstrate this through good communication and personable skills.
How can green building consulting be beneficial?
Green building consulting can prove helpful not only in environmental efforts, but for a business and their efforts to become more lucrative and successful. This is because green building consulting can indirectly help to improve employee performance, intrigue stakeholders, and ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
“ Companies today may seek green building consulting not only as a way to adhere to environmental efforts, but to ramp up and improve their own business endeavors. ”
Some of the benefits of green building consulting include:
- Sustainable Design – One of the main facets of green building consulting is to develop architectural designs which will maximize energy efficiency, water conservation, utilize renewable energy, and prevent excess GHG emissions.
- Get Certified & Ensure Compliance – Green building consulting can help businesses to comply with current and upcoming environmental regulations and also to receive certifications such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ot BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) – both of which can help companies to demonstrate their efforts towards sustainability in construction.
- Improve Building Efficiency – Green building consulting isn’t just good for the planet, but it can help to increase productivity amongst your employees with greater efficiency – such as with reduced utility bills, improved energy efficiency, better central cooling or heating systems, lighting designs, and more.
- Reduced Waste & Water Usage – Developing a more eco-friendly building design can help to reduce water usage and also prevent waste – as a green building consultant will be sure to include elements such as more accessible recycling bins and efforts to enhance water.
- Impress Clients & Stakeholders – Immediately upon entry into the building: customers, stakeholders, and investors alike are bound to notice the more efficient and eco-friendly nature of your office – which can be a great segway into a conversation about your other environmental efforts.
- Networking Opportunities – Your green building consultant could know other companies or connections to help push your company’s sustainability strategy even further.
👉 Green building consulting can ultimately prove itself to be an indispensable opportunity as it can allow your business to increase profits, customer loyalty, and stakeholder interest all while improving your environmental efforts.
What are some of the challenges of green building consulting?
Green building comes with its advantages, but there are still several challenges to be addressed when green building – such as with the need for extensive training for green building consultants and ensuring that finances remain well-rounded throughout the project.
“ It is important to remember when proceeding with a green building project that economic factors must remain viable to other goals of the company besides environmental goals – such as social goals, or how the green building consultants aim to ensure the new construction project benefits the employees and surrounding residents. ”
Some of the additional challenges associated with green building consulting include:
- Additional Costs – It will cost businesses more money to hire a green building consultant, and in addition – more sustainable materials often come with a heftier price tag. This may make it difficult for newer businesses to utilize the benefits of green building consulting.
- Lack of Standardization – Because green infrastructure and green building are still relatively new, there are no official guidelines for what constitutes as a green or “eco-friendly” building – making a green building consultant’s job challenging and trust more difficult to establish between the green building consultants and their clients.
- Adhering to Aesthetics – Sustainable architecture is better for the planet, but doesn’t always look the most pleasing to the eye – which can make it difficult for a green building consulting company to satisfy their customers and spread the word on the benefits of green building consulting.
- Extensive Training Needed – Green building consultants are required to undergo training to fully understand current building codes, various approaches relevant to the districts they will work in, and to further develop their conceptual skills of green building.
- Balancing Finances – Since green building consulting can prove to be more expensive than traditional consultations for construction projects, it’s important that companies seeking a green building consultant have a good financial plan in order to ensure all ESG and sustainable principles can be met.
👉 Green building consulting may come with its challenges, but luckily – as we progress towards a more sustainable society, several of the roadblocks associated with green building consulting are likely to become obsolete.
How is green building consulting changing as we move toward a more sustainable world?
Although green building consulting coms with its challenges, such as the need for training and a lack of standardization in the business – many of these roadblocks are bound to become irrelevant as we work towards greater green building technologies and efforts for green build consulting training.
“ One of the most challenging components of green building consulting is the lack of standardization or “rulebook” to determine which buildings can be considered “green” – but this is likely to change in the near future as sustainability becomes more prominent in business, which will incentivize more companies to utilize green building consulting. ”
Some of the other ways green building consulting will evolve in the coming years include the advancements in green building technology, utilizing AI, and increased opportunities for collaboration as green building continues to become a more normalized practice.
For instance, there are several new efforts in green building technologies – such as the development of high-performance insulation using recycled paper, making use of sustainable materials such as bamboo, and the use of LED lighting. New ideas for energy efficiency are being developed every day, all of which can be used for green building consulting in the future – which will further expand the practice and make green building more accessible to all.
AI can also play a role in helping to improve green building consulting, such as with smart technologies that can regulate the indoor temperature of a room and know when to lower the heat or air conditioning systems in a building.
Lastly, as more companies begin to partake in green building consulting – the more opportunities will arise for partnerships. This could include collaborations with stakeholders, architects interested in sustainability, government agencies, and even environmental experts looking to support the notion of green building consulting.
💡At the end of the day, green building consulting presents the opportunity for businesses to adhere to environmental standards while also creating a more well-rounded business.
Overall, green building consulting can serve as a way for businesses to adhere to environmental regulations, improve their own business prospects, and inspire other companies to do the same – especially as green building consulting is only bound to get better as we intertwine our creative ideas with science.
What About Greenly?
If reading this article on how green building consulting has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
It can be challenging to choose the right green building consultant for your company amongst other important environmental decisions, but don’t worry – Greenly is here to help. Click here to schedule a demo to see how Greenly can help you make the right choices to put you on the path towards the greenest future for you.
Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.
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