Women and the Green Movement

One innovation highlighted in the presentation, the InSinkErator by Emerson Electric Co., makes built-in garbage disposal sinks that are stylish and energy-saving. Recently featured in the Wall Street Journal, InSinkErator’s sales have boomed in Europe and its popularity continues to grow among Americans for its ability to create less waste in the home and in landfills. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Herzfeld of Carmichael Lynch Spong for Sherwin Williams. Energy Star makes an entire line of energy-efficient household appliances from refrigerators to washing machines. Qualified Energy Star washing machines use at least 41 percent less energy than the federal minimum standard for energy consumption and save households more than $30 a year in utility costs. (See “Energy-Saving Home Appliances” for more information.) “Women value being smart shoppers with all products and services,” Lamia says, and they take responsibility “to be part of the solution [toward saving the environment]” by choosing to buy environmentally friendly appliances. Green Products to Green Building Roberts stresses that women should ideally concentrate on incorporating green building in the foundational elements of their homes for maximizing green living initiatives. “Things like tightening the shell of your home to improve indoor air quality and [creating] natural ventilation to avoid mold and mildew are important,” says Roberts. (For more information about the rising trend in emphasizing healthy homes, read “New Emphasis on Healthy Housing.”) Roberts also warns that women and their families should start their green building initiatives by consulting knowledgeable experts before delegating responsibility to a contractor, even one who claims to be a certified green builder. “There are resources out there that people can go to like EEBA (Energy & Environment Buildering Association), the National Center for Healthy Housing and your local NAHBs (local National Association of Home Builders groups),” she says. Lamia echoes Roberts’s advice and says that consumers should educate themselves before embarking on projects. When consumers ask questions to learn more about green products, she says, industries can then respond and create better frameworks to market their products and expand their initiatives. “When mainstream consumers learn about a certain product that’s good for the environment, it appeals to their egos,” Lamia says , explaining that making an environmental difference starts by learning how to make that difference. “[Their initiative to learn is] making a statement to industries, which creates demand.” She adds that this consumer-industry relationship will help green markets meet the growing demands of what women want in their homes. How the Building Industry is Embracing Demand The “Green Goddess” presentation included products and green building initiatives that are on the rise. One example is the General Electric Energy Monitoring Dashboard, a touchscreen energy monitoring device that keeps track of a home’s energy and water consumption as well as levels of emission so that you can control the home’s heating and cooling systems and, in turn, your impact on the environment. The dashboard can also synch with other home devices such as alarm systems so that when the alarm is set, the dashboard automatically turns off the lights and resets the thermostat to help save energy and money. Transformations, Inc., a residential development and building company that specializes in sustainable development and green building, has developed renewable energy-powered homes in Townsend, Mass., that are built to produce minimal annual energy and carbon emissions. Its main development project, called Coppersmith Way, implemented energy-efficient technologies like hybrid photovoltaic-solar water-heating systems and solar panels to propel efficiency while cutting costs. “It has been incredibly satisfying to design and build a home that will essentially emit no greenhouse gases and cost the homeowner next to nothing for their heating, air conditioning and electrical usage,” Transformations, Inc. President R. Carter Scott says on the company’s Web site about his success with the Zero Energy House (ZEH) Challenge in which his team built a home that produces as much energy as it uses. “If we can build an affordable zero-energy home with adequate heating through the harsh New England winters, can a national movement to ZEHs be far behind?” Both Roberts and Lamia agree that the green building industry has yet to embrace more of women’s demands for environmentally friendly appliances and green building initiatives. Lamia says that the green market industry can start by “marketing green products as smart choices” to the already smart female consumer. “That way, there’s a win-win approach.”

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