The United States is buzzing with ­excitement around all things environmental. From General Electrics’ “eco-imagination” to Al Gore’s Oscar- and Nobel Prize-winning performances on climate change, it would seem we’ve come to the “tipping point” that Malcolm Gladwell refers to in his book by the same name—that point where environmentalism and sustainability has seemingly moved from fad to craze to commonplace.
But is that really true? Are we really experiencing a sea-change, specifically with respect to land development, green building, and the development of more sustainable communities?

The messages and feedback we’re receiving from the development community would seem to support this “tip” is occurring. Certainly, the overall tenor of the development community would lead one to believe that the entire industry has gone green. This emphasis on profitable development that works to sustain, and even restore, our fragile planet was a good thing to witness. Developers are learning, growing, and taking notice of their role in protecting natural resources and thinking about sustainable development.

Yet, much of this focus on sustainability by the broader development community remains largely as style, without much substance at this point. Once you remove the colorful noise and clutter of a “greening” conference and coverage in the trade and professional press, one simple truth is revealed—eco-design and development is barely a blip on the radar of everyday planning and practice in land use, design, development, and building.

In recent surveys of the top building owners in the United States, for instance, 38 percent stated green design to be “increasingly important,” with 15 percent stating it to be “very important.” So, at best, one could conclude from these survey results that still half of all top building owners do not consider eco-development and design important.

In another survey, 25 percent of members of the Construction Management Association of America stated an interest in taking building projects through the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. It’s safe to assume that a smaller segment of that 25 percent might actually end up spending the time and money to go through the process. Surveys like this, as marketing professionals know, often hold a significant margin for error—a gap between word and deed.

The results of these surveys should not be shocking as they mirror other information gleaned from the broader population.

For decades, Roper-Starch, for instance, has conducted consumer behavior surveys that have clearly and constantly demonstrated that 10-15 percent of the population are “green-hearted,” meaning they are willing to pay more for a green product and go out of their way to make the eco-responsible choice, etc. Likewise, the same small percentage of green leadership is seen with participation rates in leading voluntary environmental programs across industry sectors. So, it would seem that the participation in eco-design and development developers and builders, while small, is on par with the rest of the world, professions, and business sectors across the board.

The fact is, the bulk of the development and design profession, like so many other business sectors, is riding the well-publicized, but small-in-number coattails of the leaders and models in the game—the 10-15 percent of “green-hearted” eco-champions.

For example, the current estimated value of new buildings participating U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED programs for green buildings—the poster child for the eco-building movement—is over $7 billion. Yet, this represents a mere one percent of total construction in the United States. It is a blip on the radar screen—a green blip, but a blip nonetheless.

Audubon International’s own Audubon Signature Programs, launched 15 years ago, serves as another ­example. This voluntary education and certification program was created to facilitate green siting, design, construction, and management of new developments with an emphasis on both the landscape and the promotion of existing green building ­efforts.

While participation by the development community has increased over the years and especially in the last two to three years, the actual number of members in this eco-certification program pales in comparison with the number of new developments built each year. Again, a blip.

Clearly, land development, and decisions related to where and how to build, has significant impacts on the nature of our communities. As population and our human footprint continues to grow, so too will our need to develop the land with nature in mind. Yet, with all the ­forward progress, we seem to be stuck in “blip” mode. What we need is a way to make environmental stewardship, ­sustainable resource management, and ultimately, the fostering of more sustainability communities, the norm, rather than the exception, and developers in communities around the country and across the globe have a weighty role to play in this journey.

One recently-released attempt at developing land use siting and design guidelines and standards—the Sustainable Sites Initiative—is another indication of interest.

Yet, the groups represented at the table of decision-making are not representative of the real actors in the play—existing nonprofits, developers, land owners, etc., who are living out the economics of sustainable land use, design, and development. Without these actors, the play will end with terrible reviews.

Unfortunately, if one focuses on the science and seriousness of climate change, we do not have time to waste. According to the latest reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we have mere decades remaining before greenhouse gases—a product of unsustainable policies, practices, and purchasing behavior during the last 100 years—launch a domino effect that would destroy our coastal cities and decimate our economy.

One way Audubon International has been working towards meeting this goal is through its Eco-Design & Development Initiative—launched to leverage innovation and best management practices to create models for the proper siting, design, construction, and management of new developments.

From experience and research to-date, central to moving the dial of eco-design and development, are three relatively simple goals:

1. Facilitating Best Practices - Assist in creating model developments that protect the environment, and also meet desired economic and social outcomes, by emphasizing eco-design, construction, and sustainable resource management.
2. Driving Change - Document and publicize the environmental, economic, and social outcomes of model sustainable developments to inspire change in others.
3. Offering New Solutions - Identify existing policy barriers (e.g., governmental, economic) that hinder the establishment of more sustainable new developments, as well as alternatives to overcome these barriers.
   

To help chart this new path, it will take a collective voice from universities, associations, environmental groups, professional associations, and the private sector.

Audubon International is developing an advisory council to provide advice, feedback, and opportunities for partnerships to avoid duplicating existing efforts.
With a collective voice, especially the loud and strong voice of readers of Sustainable Land Development Today, many of the current policy and market-based barriers could be identified and overcome. With a collective voice, a whole new set of incentives—ones that reward and create demand for the right type of sustainable development—could be created.

The biggest chasm of change occurs between plan and action. While the words and intent of developers, builders, and all those involved in development are providing the hope for change, in the end, action is needed. Pure, uncompromising, and collective action is needed to make eco-design and development commonplace.

That will mean changing people’s attitudes, examining common policies that create unintended barriers, facilitating the mass uptake of best planning and management practices by professionals, and finding ways for the market to reward those developers and developments that take the lead.

The land development sector in general, should feel proud of the progress made to date. Yet, there is much left to do before we move from blip to tip. SLDT