With battering hurricanes and raging wildfires from coast to coast, one would think that our nation would be clamoring to increase the safety, resiliency, and independence of our built environment. Unfortunately, it’s unclear how open we are to learning from these disasters, changing our approach, and rebuilding with resiliency in mind.

Only partway through historic hurricane and wildfire seasons, the verdict is still out about how willing we are to respond to climate change, build more responsibly, and curb our use of fossil fuels.

Homebuilders are finding that more customers than ever want green houses that promote both their well-being and the environment.

GREEN CONSTRUCTION already makes up a growing portion of homebuilders’ work orders, and things aren’t expected to slow down. But in the coming decade, the market’s health will be all but married to the welfare of its customers, according to a market study by Dodge Data & Analytics.

Our annual Eco-Leaders edition provides a lot of interesting information on what’s new and advanced in our industry. But I hope it also serves to stimulate one’s thinking about what leadership is and what it represents.

It isn’t easy to come up with an original statement describing leadership, at least one that is meaningful. Most attempts to distill the essence of leadership into a sentence, a slogan or a marketing campaign end up sounding cliché and contrived.

Shelter Dynamics, a specialty modular builder that offers innovative, small-footprint, net-zero, affordable housing solutions, is seeking a dynamic, forward-thinking builder to take the helm.

Shelter Dynamics, a California-based specialty modular building company, is seeking a like-minded, experienced homebuilder to lead this fast-growing company as it expands its operations.

Green Builder Media and Shelter Dynamics are bringing the Flex House, our small-footprint, net-zero energy, solar powered demonstration home, to Solar Power International next week. We anticipate that the home, once again, will steal the hearts and minds of attendees with its unique design, high performance products, and smart technologies.

Green Builder Media partnered with specialty modular builder Shelter Dynamics to showcase the concept of “Right Sized Living” with the Flex House. 

To continue addressing the need for transparency in the supply chain, UL is adding a new feature to the SPOT database that will help users identify products made by manufacturers that have policies in place to protect against human rights abuses in their supply chain.

The new information is collected on a voluntary basis and will provide an added level of transparency into the overall societal impacts of manufacturing that product – information that has long been missing from traditional green product software tools and search engines.

by Eric Mackres, Debbie Weyl and Daniel Melling

With its three battering landfalls, Hurricane Harvey has spilled over 9 trillion gallons of rain, wiped out communities, and caused countless casualties—with a quickly rising death toll. In the aftermath of the superstorm, victims will reconstruct their lives. But should they rebuild their homes?

Harvey has rendered us speechless.  With heavy hearts, we send thoughts, prayers, and donations to our friends and colleagues in Texas, hoping that our support will, in some small way, ease their inconceivable suffering.

Even though precast concrete has many advantages, it can be difficult to transport. Transportable factories could change that.

The National Precast Concrete Association suggests conventionally produced concrete is rapidly becoming outdated, given the advantages to clients in using precast concrete. Site-cast concrete has served many well, but precast and the added benefits of transportable precast factories are game-changers. Of serious interest to clients is the potential cost savings of ordering precast concrete. Precasting requires less labor, and its raw materials cost less because of a precaster’s ability to bulk-buy and receive associated discounts from that. Precast also uses accelerated curing, a heat treatment that vastly improves durability and strength. This means a potentially quicker turnaround, as precast can be installed immediately without a waiting period for the concrete to gain strength. Moreover, it has high resistance to chemical exposures and rust. Should there be any damage over time, workers can remove and replace precast sections without serious damage to the remaining structure.

Pressure from investors and stockholders may force companies to act on Climate Change.

Is it worthwhile for a company to invest in sustainability? A growing number of larger U.S. businesses think so. Those that don’t may severely impede their companies’ success, according to a new market report.

So what if Trump doesn’t believe in climate change? Some of us are going ahead with the fight anyway.

THE MIND ONCE ENLIGHTENED cannot again become dark.” So said American Revolutionary leader and writer Thomas Paine. So say we all.

Just because President Trump chooses not to lead on climate change doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t.

Innovative products and systems may be what ultimately sell The Flex House to a client, but it’s the design that gets them in the front door.

The Flex House was conceived as a modular housing design that can meet the needs of a broad range of homeowners. The prototype consists of two modules that come together at a central axis. On one side of this “spine” are the living room, office and bedroom; on the other, the entry, dining room, bathroom and kitchen.

This blog was originally published February 2, 2017.  Recent events have made it worth republishing.  

In a time of great tumult, I have adopted one of Martin Luther King’s best quotes as my mantra: “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”

I look at the world around me, and I see madness everywhere.  Fear is in the air.  A new level of hatred has been unleashed.