Greenwashing: What It Is and How to Avoid It

Lastly, when choosing a real estate agent, it is advisable to look for one who has green home education. Certifications like EcoBroker and agencies like Greenworks Realty are gaining credibility for qualifying agents and brokers to understand and accurately sell green homes and homes with green features. EcoBroker provides education to real estate professionals on green home-related issues, and designates them as EcoBroker certified upon successful completion of the program. Specialty agencies like Greenworks Realty work the green home markets, and stay current on green home features as well as green homes for sale in the area. Even when going through a green-savvy agent or broker, the homebuyer should know what to look for. “Consumers should ask for a checklist of what is in the house,” says O’Brien, including energy and water-efficient products or appliances, as well as any other green features. Kathleen O’Brien’s book, The Northwest Green Home Primer. Photo courtesy of O’Brien & Company. How Builders Can Avoid the Greenwash Builders can also be victim to greenwashing tactics, largely on two fronts. The first concerns the burgeoning green education industry, in which courses, certifications and colleges all purporting to qualify the enrollee as a “green builder” are springing up in states across the country. Professionals in the green building field—including contractors, architects, designers, etc.—would do well to thoroughly investigate a certification course before investing money and time. In addition to evaluating the course curriculum, one should look at the affiliations of a self-described green certification course or college. You should ask for any endorsements they might have, says Andrea Lewis, program manager for the National Sustainable Building Advisor Program (NaSBAP), a nonprofit green building certification program that offers a 9-month course educating building professionals on how to green-up their practices. Endorsements from known entities such as the USGBC carry a lot of weight, and potential enrollees should look to these first when exploring education options. The USGBC ‘s Education Provider Program is a good source of green education for building professionals, as well. Contractors should also be diligent when selecting “green” products to use in their projects. “Third-party testing is a must,” says O’Brien. Often, the marketing representative for the company selling a product as “green” isn’t the best source of accurate information. Instead, the builder should consider speaking to the technical department and ask to see the material safety data sheet (MSDS) to explore the green qualities of the product in question. Where indoor air quality is a big component of green building, the potential toxicity of a product must be taken seriously. Looking for a credible ecolabel is another option. Energy Star, WaterSense and GreenGuard are just a few of the ecolabels one can look for in a product; these three labels designate a product as energy-efficient, water-efficient, or beneficial to indoor as quality, three critical ingredients in any green building system. A longer list of ecolabels can be found at ecolabelling.org, and BuildingGreen.com features a growing list of tested and reviewed green products specific to the building industry. A little education can go a long way in avoiding the greenwashing that is infiltrating the building industries. Professionals and consumers owe it to themselves, the industry and the planet to take proper steps to keep from being a greenwashing victim or villain.

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