Green home improvements and renovations can be another slippery moss covered slope in the real estate mountain of considerations. With so many options and calculations for materials and systems its critical to identify what your goals are.
Who will occupy the property? The owner or a tenant? Are you looking strictly for ROI (Return on Investment) on the resale and operations side? Then consider your time-line for that ROI and if the payback is there. Is the green upgrade more about comfort, or health or your own personal ethics for helping the environment while saving energy and resources while reducing CO2 emissions? What's your budget?
Once you've identified your goals, then consider which product or system is the best for your needs. Then you'll need to consider the footprint of that chosen product. For example is it being shipped from thousands of miles away? Is that green? Maybe what you originally thought was a great green product will never give you the ROI you had hoped for and you need to let go of that plan for a less glamorous system or solution.
There's also the question of getting your property certified. Is it worth it and why are you going after the certification? Is it a renovation for resale and you think the certification will attract a buyer willing to pay a premium? Or is it for the bragging rites?
Have you even considered the social aspects of the green conundrum? We all know how hip being green is in certain social circles. Have you considered that while you're greening your property with premium products and materials, perhaps those dollars could be better spent contributing to a local non-profit developing a green community project that benefits many more people and saves many more resources?
I don't claim to have all the answers and I do have a lot of questions. This is a new and exciting time in the infancy of our transition from a fossil fuel based economy to ....???? Let's be cautious and smart as we work together to create a better world for future generations. Green real estate is a piece of a very VERY large puzzle and I bet we are still missing some of the pieces.
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