In a world increasingly awash in “Green” product claims and “Green” programs of all shapes and sizes, it is more and more difficult for well-meaning citizens to identify and understand what Green really means and how they can make informed decisions in their efforts to do the right thing for the environment. As we all work to make better decisions about how to make the most of, and preserve, the things we already have, and what products and services we can buy to meet our personal needs and the needs of our families, while meeting the larger needs of the environment we all share, we continue to look for meaningful signposts and guidance on which path to follow. For a variety of reasons, and in this increasingly complex world, “Green” has become one of the overly simplistic labels our culture has chosen to try and get a handle on our rapidly emerging awareness of our need to become better stewards of planet earth.

In its simplest terms, we would define Green as, “ecological awareness and applied environmental responsibility.” Green is first a state of awareness that we are part of the web of life (our ecology) and, as such, have a direct and/or indirect impact on the whole of our environment with everything we do. The other part of Green, however, is in applying this awareness to the actions we take, the products we make, and how we work together to include the environment as part of the family whose needs must be met when we consider how to conduct ourselves in the world.

In the construction industry specifically, Green Building describes the process of designing and constructing buildings with respect for the health, safety, and welfare of the people who will live, work, and play in spaces we enclose, with equal concern and care for the environment and communities in which these buildings will reside throughout their lives. In this context, Green begins with considerations for the physical location of the building and how the building site and surrounding area will be disturbed, repaired, and maintained in a healthy manner to minimize the disruption to the local environment and how it might actually be improved. The materials that go into the building are also considered with respect to the impact their manufacture has had on the environment prior to their arrival at the site, how they are delivered, assembled, how they will affect the indoor environment for the people who occupy the space, and how will they be decommissioned and re-commissioned at the end of their useful life for this particular structure. Once constructed, the “Greeness” of a building is reflected in how its operations impact the environment with respect to the resources consumed (e.g. energy, water, etc.) and emissions created (e.g. CO2, runoff, sewage, etc.) In short, when it comes to Green Building, the structures we create must be viewed as organisms with a conception, birth, life, death, and decomposition - all of which impact the environment on a personal, local, and global scale.

It is not possible to discuss the concept of Green Building without including the term “Sustainable”. As you may have initially perceived Green is often associated with the idea of “doing less harm”, in recognition that our work does have an impact and that we must strive to lessen that impact with the buildings the world needs. At American PolySteel, we believe that doing less harm is not enough if we are to truly build a better world. The idea of sustainability expands on this notion of Green to include the idea that we must provide for the needs of today without inhibiting the ability of future generations to provide for their own needs. As we continue to hear in the news about the realities of everything from global warming to unfunded Social Security commitments, this idea of Sustainability will continue to rise in the consciousness of your customers as more than simply building Green, and we will address this concept throughout this GreenGuide accordingly.

Taking yet another step forward, we would challenge you and your clients to embrace an even bolder concept that the one of Sustainability - the idea of “Restorative Design and Construction” This is the concept promulgated by the premise of Cradle to Cradle and challenges us to build buildings and create products that restore and contribute to the environment in the same way a tree lives, consumes, and produces elements in a manner that reflects the cycle of life in a continuous and restorative way. With our planet in the condition it is in, this concept is long overdue and we, at American PolySteel are proud to have pursued certification under the Cradle to Cradle evaluation protocol achieving SILVER Certification, and will continue to strive to have our products and our business reflect this idea.

We truly want to live the idea that “We’re Building A Better World”, and we believe that PolySteel can help you and your clients fulfill the same commitment to the environment we all share.