The building trades industry and related businesses will find future profits closely tied to the ability to offer clients green building, green products, and green services.
Roofs leak, furnaces break, families grow and age, and everyone is interested in energy efficient updates. Even with a slowdown in building starts, there is a continued need for renovation, replacements, and energy efficient up-grades in homes and businesses. Green and sustainable products are the new way to “keep up with the Joneses,” and consumers are educating themselves.
Home owners and businesses are conscious that wise improvement expenditures need to be spent on green products. Green products, by definition, take less energy to produce and operate, last longer, and provide better resale value. Even if a green product is slightly higher in price than its non-green counterpart, the difference is usually recouped within the first three years of use.
The action of building green covers all aspects of construction and selection of the building contents. In its checklist of environmentally responsible design and construction, BuildingGreen.com
lists design, land use, materials, equipment, and protection of the job site as aspects of the green building process. Additionally, LEED credits are added to locally produced products and subtracted for those requiring more transportation.
Illinois strongly supports green building, and all state construction projects must meet energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly guidelines. The guidelines and other related information is available at the Illinois Capital Development Board 
website.
For further reading on the topic of green building and sustainability, please review the following information.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization providing leadership within the green building and sustainability movement. It was responsible for the development of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system. Their website is a useful tool to learn more about green and sustainable building, policies, and LEED certification.
The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center at University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign provides the Green Development and Construction Program. Their goal is to offer assistance and education to Illinois builders and developers.
The Chicago Center for Green Technology provides a mega resource site for Illinois businesses and residents with information on the following topics and much more:
- Green Building Financial Incentives
- US Green Building Council Chapter – providing LEED Credit educational opportunities
- Illinois Green Building events, lectures and classes
- Resources for building professionals and individuals
The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Bureau of Energy and Recycling provides the Building Industry Training and Education Program to foster implementation of energy efficient building, operation, and management practices. Please access their website for 2009 updates and program application forms.
The University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign’s Business Instructional Facility is LEED certified and provides valuable visual and statistical information about the green building process .
The Environmental Magazine provides informative articles which cover the following topics:
- Financial rational for building green
- Health improvement in green buildings
- LEED rating system
- Environmental impact of large footprints
- New construction vs. repurposing and renovation
If your business is able to provide green or sustainable products and services, include this in your advertising. Make certain your claims are legitimate as interested customers will do their research. Ecopreneurist offers thoughts on advertising green products and services.
If your business is interested in up-grading your product or service to become certified as a green building component, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Employer Training Investment Program should be your first stop.
Green Options provides a job board for green building related occupations.