Transparency & the Built Environment
I was originally going to write a post titled “Entrepreneurs Need Friends that Will Smack Them” today, but I’m tired, and I’m going to write that tomorrow. Instead, I’m going to dump some thoughts I’ve been having about the lack of transparency in the building industry. One of my goals with this blog is to develop and refine rough thoughts and ideas that have to do with my professional life. This is the first post to that end, and you’ll likely see these thoughts pop up on the GreenKonnect blog in the not too distant future.
On to the point, the industrialization of the world has done some amazing things. To me, one of the most amazing things is the advances in materials. (Disclaimer: My background is in Materials Science & Engineering, so I’m a little biased.) The ability to actually synthesize and manufacture new materials has allowed us to transform the world virtually overnight. (The invention of plastics was especially important in this transformation.)
Part of me loves the advances that we have made. Part of me is bothered that we’ve been irresponsible about the way we’ve used resources that cannot be replenished any time soon. The part of me that I want to address now is the my concern that these advances have also created significant health problems.
Today, if you say asbestos, people freak out. No one will step foot in a building that has it and for good reason. What many people fail to realize is that there are many other materials which are dangerous to our health. The list of hazardous materials is continuously growing.
PVC, which is widely used and previously believed to be safe, is definitely not safe. New carpet can aggravate allergies. Old carpets can harbor allergens. Many paints release unhealthy levels of VOCs. It is estimated that as many as 30% of the buildings we live and work in are “sick”. (The study is from 1982, but there is no reason to think it is better today.) Sick buildings are due to two things: bad materials and poor maintenance.
We spend the majority of our time indoors, yet, we know hardly anything about what we’re being exposed to in these buildings. You wouldn’t move to a new city without researching crime statistics. You wouldn’t take a prescription drug without knowing the potential side effects. (At least I hope you wouldn’t do any of these things.) We like to know what we’re getting into. Why shouldn’t we know what we’re stepping inside of?
LEED is a fantastic label, but it does not adequately addresses this issue. If you expect me to step into a building, I ought to be able to find out how it was built, how it is maintained and what it was built with. Building labels have been talked about for the past decade, but those will not be useful until building owners and operators are willing to share this info. Even if they were willing to share it, most of them would not be able to find it. This needs to change. This info should be available for every building we live and work in.
Today, the only thing transparent about buildings are the windows.