Green building strategies not only improve the environment, but also help create longer-lasting structures that cost less to run, improve the health of the occupants and reduce waste. While the building industry (both residential and commercial) can be slow to adopt new practices, it has been steadily moving toward better construction standards.
But we still see skepticism about the practicality of sustainable building in design, engineering, construction and even finance. Here, we have created a list to set the record straight about some of the most common misperceptions about green building practices:
Myth #1: Green building is too expensive
Cost is the ultimate enabler or prohibitor for any project. Typically, we want things done at the highest quality and to pay the least amount of money. Managing that balance can be difficult. Many times, builders do the most effective thing for the financial bottom line.
In sustainability, we embrace the concept of the triple bottom line, where financial, environmental and social variables are all factors in decision-making. In fact, choosing methods other than green building is usually more expensive over the life of the building. It’s similar to what happens with payday lending, in that what seems like a cheap fix can have astronomical unintended consequences in the long run.