We recently conducted a market research study of about 200 building firms, including many different segments of the shelter industry—architects, builders, code officials and so on—asking for details about their sustainable business practices.
Our results confirm that many companies have adopted well-known green practices, such as recycling and zoned HVAC for their office buildings. But a lot fewer have gone into “deep green” territory, adding renewable power sources to their buildings, for example, or demanding less packaging from their suppliers.
One of the biggest eco-impacts is all but ignored: only 10% of those surveyed offer incentives to employees for using alternative transportation (such as biking or walking), and only 13% provide employee passes for public transportation. Overall, however, things are moving in the direction of better stewardship. A full recap of the survey can be found here.