Environmental Education Some of McDowell’s clients come to him specifically for this green expertise, but others worry about the higher costs of building that way. McDowell has several strategies to overcome their hesitation. He explains that green materials cost more because they’re made more thoughtfully. He gives his clients plenty of green product information (see “In the Bag” ) and personal endorsements. And he educates his clients about tax credits and energy savings they can enjoy in addition to the healthier living environment that green building offers. He believes that when clients have the details they need to decide which products fit their lifestyle, they don’t feel overwhelmed and are less likely to reject the whole idea of building green. There are certain toxic materials McDowell won’t use for the safety of his employees, but he feels he’s succeeded if a client chooses even one green building product. “You can walk the middle road,” he says, “because if everybody does a little something, it’s a great thing.”
Encouraging his clients to make better choices is important, but McDowell saw a chance to do more. He wanted to educate other builders and help them become familiar and comfortable using these products. So he took a giant step to advance the use of healthier, high-performance building products in his home state: He started a new company, Environmental Builders Supply, to make these products easier to source locally.
As a division of McDowell Construction, Environmental Builders Supply stocks only items that have been used repeatedly in McDowell projects (blue jean insulation and bamboo flooring, for example) and that feature myriad benefits for builder and homeowner. McDowell and his staff were already investing a lot of time vetting green products before they’d try something new themselves. They’d call manufacturers to find out how the product was made or talk with other industry pros who’d worked with that product. Once McDowell has tried a product and likes it enough to use it again, he generally orders more of it to fill his supply company’s shelves. He wants his new venture to serve the community as a learning center as well. Builders and homeowners can see and touch the products while asking questions.
Although currently being operated out of McDowell’s office to keep overhead low, the supply company has been successful enough that McDowell anticipates moving it to an independent location in 2008. Current items kept in stock are healthier or environmentally friendly versions of basic building materials. Non-toxic products that don’t emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like BioShield paints and formaldehyde-free Neil Kelly cabinets are top priority. Other offerings follow the sustainable tenets of renew, reuse, recycle: blue jean insulation, reclaimed woods, and recycled glass tiles.
McDowell credits local builders and architects with making his goal to spread the word about sustainable products and techniques easier. They already have an understanding of how elements like sun and wind affect home design, he says. And McDowell believes that’s the biggest hurdle to accepting these not-so-radical methods of working with nature to build smarter.
