It gives me great pleasure to introduce Green Chix, a social media movement that has been launched by Green Builder Media and some of our closest partners to encourage sustainable thinking. Our goal is to provide information, inspire ideas, and facilitate conversations that lead to long-term, sustainable change. After all, the incremental improvements that we make every day can lead to exponential results!

Our fundamental goal is to transform the way that our culture perceives the world around us, shifting from our current “throw-away” mentality to one that values the preciousness of our natural resources and the inviolability of our irreplaceable planet.

We are confident that, together, we can play a vital role in this transformation. In the illustrious words of Margaret Meade, “never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Each month, Green Chix Mentors will offer information through social media about targeted themes (such as water, energy, heath, comfort, design, etc.) and suggestions for environmentally- beneficial lifestyle choices. We trust that this material will enable you make more enlightened decisions about how to make your homes and lives more environmentally responsible, and also to influence your families, friends, and communities to do the same.

Life is busy, so we will provide a variety of suggestions for ways that you can get involved. If you want to be an environmental hero, you’re in the right place. If time is short and you just want to quick fix, no problem—we’ve got ideas for you too!

Green Chix is new and will evolve over time. We want to hear from you! Please email me at sara@greenbuildermag.com with your ideas about topics we should feature or thoughts about how we can enhance the program.

As we like to say at Green Builder Media, our commitment is unwavering and our task is clear: to continue exploring the frontiers of sustainability. We are pleased that you’re here to join us for this wildly exciting journey into the future.

For more information about green building and sustainable living, visit www.greenbuildermag.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter at @greenbuildermag and @VISIONHouseGBM for regular updates and breaking news.
 

Yesterday, in an Impact Series: Game Changers in Sustainability interview, internationally celebrated conservationist Thane Maynard said, “The way that we’re going to change the world is through hundreds of millions of individual choices. The good news is that we have lots of models to emulate. It’s time for people to stop making excuses and just get going. Conservation isn’t about saving the condor or wild horse, it’s about saving ourselves.”

Fortunately, we’re seeing a plethora of green products flood the market, as well as prolific messaging about decisions that individuals can make to enhance the sustainability of their lifestyles.

Sustainability is permeating our business culture as well—the acceptable parameters of capitalism are shifting, causing corporations to evolve beyond a purely profit-driven model to one that incorporates social responsibility and environmental stewardship. Items that economists have traditionally described as “externalities” are now becoming central tenets of blended-values based decision making, enabling business leaders to define firm principles that contribute to the development and success of enduring corporations.

The concept of building community-oriented enduring corporations is not new, but the increasing pace and level of competitiveness in today’s global marketplace is compelling organizations to innovate and collaborate more than ever before in order to remain viable.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School says that “great companies identify something larger than transactions of business portfolios to provide purpose and meaning.” Business leaders can no longer focus solely on a single bottom line—they must build social institutions that appropriately respond to their communities and the environment.

Enter “For-Benefit” corporations: a rapidly growing class of organizations that have redefined fiduciary responsibility, governance, ownership, and stakeholder relationships so that they simultaneously and equally value social, environmental, and financial considerations. Through the creation of innovative legal and accounting practices, For-Benefit corporations are successfully able to achieve a triple-bottom line in a way that makes them not just viable, but increasingly competitive, in today’s economy.

Fortunately, For Benefit corporations aren’t just relegated to academic case studies and theoretical cocktail conversation anymore. Prominent (and profitable) corporations are taking the leap into the new business structure, including well known consumer products brands such as Seventh Generation, Method, and Dansko, as and some companies in our own industry, including Icestone, US Tile, Southern Energy Management, and Sun Light & Power.

Not surprisingly, Patagonia has jumped on the bandwagon and will become one of California’s first For Benefit Corporations. Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, says that “by turning the company into a For Benefit corporation, I can ensure the values of my company continue. I compare it to a conservation easement on a piece of property: It’s a conservation easement on my company.”

For more information about how you can differentiate your business by transforming it into a For Benefit corporation, visit http://www.bcorporation.net/.

How do you think For Benefit Corporations will affect the flavor of our business environment in the future? Write to me at sara@greenbuildermag.com or follow me on Twitter @SaraGBM.

For more information about green building and sustainable living, visit www.greenbuildermag.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter at @greenbuildermag and @VISIONHouseGBM for regular updates and breaking news.
 

For those of you headed to Orlando next week for the International Builders Show, we encourage you to come meet the green gang at our booth (W4671.)

We’ll have something for everyone (including a couch so that you can rest your conference weary feet)! Ever been to a TweetUp? They're fun, and we encourage you to join us for one in our booth at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, February 10. 

We’ll also be featuring some of our favorite projects next week, including:

• VISION House® in INNOVENTIONS at Epcot®--a ground-breaking green show home exhibit scheduled to open in April that will revolutionize how people perceive green homes and sustainable living. This experiential exhibit will offer hundreds of sustainable living ideas that Epcot visitors—nearly 11 million a year—can take home to enhance their daily lives. Sponsors for this exciting project include Trane, Schlage, Boral, Pella, Panasonic, Armstrong, and Kohler.

• VISION House LA—a stunning, high-end home of the future located in the fashionable neighborhood of Pacific Palisades that integrates the best in sustainable design, advanced technologies, and intelligent systems. Indoor and outdoor living spaces are nurturing and comfortable. Durable green products keep the home healthy and safe. The house is regenerative, providing pleasure to its inhabitants, adding value to its neighborhood, and replenishing its surrounding natural environment.

• Green Chix— a social media movement that has been launched by Green Builder Media and our Emerald Circle partners to encourage sustainable thinking in mainstream consumers. The goal of Green Chix is to provide information, inspire ideas, and facilitate conversations that lead to long-term, sustainable change. After all, the incremental improvements that we make every day can lead to exponential results. Don’t forget to pick up your very own handmade recycled leather “friend” bracelet!

• Green Builder College—our online educational platform that offers the highest quality curriculum available online today about sustainable building and design, building science, and green products. There’s no better way to get your continuing education credits and accreditation from organizations like AIA, RESNET, BPI, USGBC, NAHB, SIPA, and others!

• Green Builder magazine—pick up copies of our beautiful January issue, which focuses on innovative solar solutions, as well as our February issue, which is our highly acclaimed annual compilation of Hot 50 products.

• Green Builder Coalition—a non-profit organization that advocates for sustainability.

So come on by for a little down home sustainable hospitality. We look forward to seeing you there!

Not going to IBS but want to share your ideas with us? Write to me at sara@greenbuildermag.com or follow me on Twitter @SaraGBM.

For more information about green building and sustainable living, visit www.greenbuildermag.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter at @greenbuildermag and @VISIONHouseGBM for regular updates and breaking news.