Eco-Unit Army

Right here is Charleston is the Eco-Unit Army, a home improvement green business. They go around advertising their service of refurnishing homes to virtually cut down utility costs up to 40%. That should be enough to capture someone right there, but what they do is even more fascinating. They do projects such as window coating, green fiber insulation and rain water collection systems on new and old houses. The workers are highly skilled in working on old houses to keep the antique culture of Charleston while making them energy star "green" certified.

They also know how to market themselves well which I feel like is a huge issue in the green industry. They know that stating that their service will give your house a competitive advantage will draw people in. Last year at the green fair my sorority participated in marketing their service to the public, we had over 200 people sign up for more information and so far they have improved homes in the entire Charleston area including Isle of Palms. Marketing their product to the right target market in the most appealing way makes a huge difference and the fact that they have an advantage with knowledge of the historic houses sets them apart from the rest.

http://www.eco-unit.org/index.htm

Green Builder Directory

For those that haven't already seen the press release or heard about the directory that was discussed by Niall Cytryn at the most recent Green Business Networking event I'm posting it below. On a similar note, due to the popularity of green building we will focus the next event on the topic. More to come soon.

The Sustainability Institute Introduces Green Building Directory

A one of a kind innovation for South Carolina, a new service that illustrates the growing green building industry throughout the state, is here. On March 7, the non-profit, North Charleston-based Sustainability Institute began accepting entries for the South Carolina Green Building Directory. This is the first online resource of its type in the state allowing instant access to information on sustainable products and services. The directory will be fully operational in April, and is available free of charge to businesses and non-profit organizations who register with the site.

Three South Carolina state government agencies – the Department of Health and Environmental Control, Department of Commerce, and Department of Energy – are supporting the Sustainability Institute project through grant funding. The Institute has designed the online service to help create markets for green building materials and services within the state. The web site has space for hundreds of companies to exhibit information on their products and services, creating a virtual free market for the regional building industry.

“The Sustainability Institute and its state agency partners are proud to offer the Green Building Directory as a cutting-edge tool to the building industry,” says Bryan Cordell, Executive Director of The Sustainability Institute. “We believe that it will become a valuable tool to building industry professionals across South Carolina and the southeast region. The Directory will connect customers with companies offering sustainable products and services in a unique way that stimulates green commerce.”

“We owe a great deal to our Project Manager, Niall Cytryn, and our Web Developer Laura Addis, who have contributed to making the Directory a reality,” adds Cordell. Sustainability Institute staff and consultants maintain the site.

The Institute is emailing electronic postcards to prospective participants. A news release will be sent to the media during the week of March 17 targeting homebuilders associations, chapters of the US Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects, professional industry associations, and individual businesses.

Cordell believes the Directory is a boon to companies seeking to showcase their products and services to prospective clients and contractors. Information on companies can be viewed for free, with links and summaries on each company and non-profit listed on the site. According to Niall Cytryn, The Institute’s Project Manager for the SCGBD, “For building professionals, the Directory will offer the highly-sought after ability to search for products by type, applicability to LEED credit, CSI Division, and proximity to site location.”

Cordell concludes, “We envision that the use of this directory will result in much greater utilization of sustainable products and services throughout South Carolina and the southeast.”

For more information on the South Carolina Green Building Directory (SCGBD), contact the Sustainability Institute by phone at 843-529-3416, email: info@scgreenbuildingdirectory.org, or online at www.scgreenbuildingdirectory.org.

Green Contracting Guide

Yes, I've been negligent this week in posting on the blog. So as a quick attempt at reconciliation I'd like to offer this guide on Green Performance Contracting (pdf). From the Greener Buildings website:

This guide from the Leonardo Academy addresses how all interested parties can bring sustainability into performance contracting. It looks at how building owners can bring green issues into contracts for upgrades and also how contracting services can include sustainable measures in their offerings.