Wednesday, January 30, 2008

things to think about when building Green

My wife is trying to come up with ways that the place where she works can become more "eco-friendly" and she asked for my input. So here Babe, here you go:
Anybody who works in a public space has to consider a number of things when deciding to undertake any real changes in the way the space functions:
  1. Who do the changes affect? Are you changing the space because you have to, because you can make it more useful and efficient for the people that use it? Or is it changing because the needs of the ownership have changed?
  2. What are the easiest (sometimes cheapest) changes to make? What changes can have the greatest effect with barely anyone noticing? For example:Is a "living roof" really the answer, or could a revamp of the recycling program free up the same amount of resources with less effort and cost?
  3. Who's on board? The greatest ideas need support to start rolling and keep moving.
  4. Do the changes need sustained effort to have the greatest value? Or will they "pay for themselves" once implemented?

Thats the best I can do today without writing a paper. Please send specific suggestions for this list or any other comments directly to this blog.