Who Cares About “Green” Home Building?
What do oversize homes, energy efficiency and women all have in common? Sustainability implications. That’s why the following three things all came together so pointedly for me: a conversation I had with Suzanne Shelton of Shelton Group Inc., a Wall Street Journal article about how the television show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” is beginning to see the error of its huge house ways, and another WSJ article about women as new home customers. Together they answer the question who cares (women) and whether they care about “green,” or something else altogether, when it comes to home building.
Here’s the path I took to my conclusion:
First – Extremely Huge Makeovers: Though I tend to not watch a ton of television, Extreme Makeover is one I catch more than others. It’s a guilty pleasure, indeed. I love home building problem-solving, and the emotion around helping a family in need gets me every time. However, I’ve certainly noticed that the “made over” homes (a.k.a. complete tear down/re-build) always end up being “extremely” over the top. So, reading Dawn Wotapka’s WSJ article about the show’s decision to scale things back was not a surprise. After all, it’s a bit tough to tout energy efficient appliances (from you surely know where – if you’ve EVER watched a few minutes of the show) in a house with very high ceilings, huge kitchens/living spaces and a bedroom for pretty much every last being. Argh. The last episode I watched resulted in a middle school-sized home for an admittedly incredible, adoption-embracing family with nine kids! Remember those long ago days when families of 5+ regularly lived in 1000 square foot or so structures, sharing bedrooms and emphasizing not indoor television watching, but outdoor – use the whole neighborhood – entertainment? Where is residential building/development headed now? Consumers demand walkable neighborhoods, interaction with neighbors, and energy efficiency (more on that later), and are now starting to be more willing to take that in a smaller package.
Second – Not “Green” but EE: I had a quick call with Suzanne Shelton the other day in preparation for another piece I’m writing on consumers and energy. One thing she pointed out during our conversation very strongly resonated: consumers do not go for “green” as much as they go for “energy efficiency” (EE). Interesting subtlety in word choice, isn’t it? Those of us who have been writing about sustainability know that “green” is a loaded word, and, according to Shelton Group research, consumers are equally suspicious when they hear the term. This is not so with energy efficiency – a phrase/label that reflects smarts, wisdom, and seems to stir up a competition factor to which many a human responds (“my home is more efficient than yours!”). Plus, EE just seems p-r-a-c-t-i-c-a-l, and not pie-in-the-sky. Energy efficiency, not “green,” is the thing to tout in the home building industry.
Third – women-centric = design smart: Finally, and, as is so often the case in my work, it all gets back to women. The recent WSJ article by Alyssa Abkowitz presented the “news” (my emphasis) that women are the key market for today’s home builders and developers. No huge surprise, that. But, here are two sentences that got to the real point – smarter design:
And even woman-centric builders acknowledge that men are just as likely as women to crave roomy closets or sleek countertops. “Much of what we propose is smart design,” admits Design Basics exec Paul Foresman.
Women have long demanded aesthetic and practical details, but the male-dominated/oriented building industry took a while to learn. Yet, they have trained builders toward smarter (gender neutral) design that takes into account things that women seek and men also appreciate (in addition to the roomy closets), such as good security and low maintenance. To that list I’d add – energy efficiency (as per the above point). June 2009 research by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner found that women, in fact, were the primary decision makers on energy, and business women lead the way. 98 percent of women business owners have cut their electricity use at home and 77 percent have done the same at their businesses.
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My take on “marketing to women” has always been that the way women buy is key not because women are so amazingly different and difficult to serve. My contention is that the women’s market is important because it indicates the ways that your toughest customers (male or female) will be making their purchase decisions. Women “represent” the core thinking in the consumer market for many a good or service. As such, how they think, are influenced and make decisions will continue to be hugely important in the sustainability realm.
So, who cares about “green,” I mean energy efficient, homes? No one. But, women do take the lead in looking for smaller footprints (take note Extreme Makeover), “energy efficiency” and other smart design details. Serve their ways, and what you have, my friends, is a more sustainable way of building, living and serving ALL consumers.
