One of the themes of the University Center and TLED is bridging gaps and making connections. Two groups in the area that might be of particular interest in efforts to increase green building practices are the local chapter of the US Green Building Council and the local chapter of the National Association of Home Builders, the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association. The local chapter of the US Green Building Council can be an important resource and co-advocate partner. Additionally, it would be important to seek to complement rather than duplicate their efforts.
I think MNCBIA is particularly important because it is an industry trade group. There has been an effort by its membership to examine green building--there is a green building committee, and environmental design awards are given. Additionally, there are national efforts through the NAHB that the local chapter points towards. An interesting potential niche would be local, custom and craft builders. Many of the large builders have corporate offices outside the region, but local small and medium sized builders might be more amenable to introducing greater green content. An important function might be to introduce them to some of the "low hanging fruit" of available options to green their building practices--they may not realize how easy it is to make some changes that produce more sustainable practices, and they may not realize how easy it could be to provide green options to their customers. Additionally, if part of our effort is to promote entrepreneurial green building, an important link could be between local builders and entrepreneurs. Local builders may not know the opportunities, and connecting local green building entrepreneurs could drive market demand.
MNCBIA:
http://www.mncbia.org/
NAHB Green Program:
http://www.nahbgreen.org/
US Green Building Council:
http://www.usgbcncr.org/resources/
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