Home Sustainable Land Development Today April 2005

Developers vs. Environmentalists

Written by Leo Roy

Thursday, 31 March 2005

Celebrate Earth Day this year. Developers are not generally loved by environmentalists, but there need not be a dichotomy between those who care about the environment and those who provide humanity with shelter and places for education, health care, worship, recreation, and commerce. It is hard to build a project anywhere in the United States today and get away with filling wetlands, destroying wildlife habitat, eroding stream banks, or causing flooding, due to reasonably consistent enforcement of environmental laws. Moreover, most in the development community realize that incorporating natural site features, such as mature trees, vegetated stream banks, and views into their projects increases their value and marketability. Some forward-thinking developers have gone even further, and have embraced sustainable development and green building, both to distinguish their projects and out of concern for the quality of life for future generations. Sustainability has become something of a buzzword, receiving increased attention in public policy, academic study, and even popular culture. When USA Today and The Wall Street Journal start covering “green buildings” as they did last year, clearly the issue has become mainstream. Yet widespread and effective use of sustainable design principles by land developers and their engineers still lags behind their use by other professions, such as architects. Architects have adopted the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) standards promulgated by the US Green Building Council. LEED certification is quickly becoming analogous to the Good Housekeeping™ Seal of Approval for building design and construction. While firms are starting to apply sustainable design principles to some of their project work, few have yet to commit to incorporating sustainability into their corporate culture. Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), an architectural firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, was a pioneer in promoting sustainable design principles, beginning in 1993. HOK developed Sustainable Design Groups within the firm, developed a design guide and green materials database, and regularly publishes a newsletter to promote sustainable design principles internally to their employees and externally to their customers. HOK provides an excellent example of how to incorporate these principles into business practices, and they now have over 400 LEED Accredited Professionals. My firm, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB), headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, has begun to embrace sustainable design principles, incorporating sustainability not only into project work, but also into facility management practices. VHB recently joined the Chicago Climate Exchange, and committed to investing in projects like tree planting and landfill gas management, to offset the greenhouse gas emissions for which the firm is responsible. In addition to becoming carbon neutral, VHB has assessed its facilities to determine energy and water usage, and identified conservation opportunities, such as lighting systems, water-saving bathroom fixtures, and timed thermostats. We’ve pursued waste-reduction opportunities, such as evaluating the effectiveness of office recycling programs, and improved incentives for carpooling and commuting to work by public transportation. These two companies serve as examples, encouraging other firms to acknowledge their roles as corporate citizens, and to accept some responsibility as stewards of the environment that sustains us all. To say that every day is Earth Day is a cliché, but it is true; this is the only planet we’ve got. Working in harmony with nature, land development can protect and enhance our environment, and need not be detrimental. And by incorporating sustainability into our way of doing business, it is possible to be both a developer and an environmentalist at the same time. SLDT