Building Product Manufacturers Speak Out about Green Building

Successfully designing and building a green home requires cooperation throughout the supply chain – including architects, dealers, builders and product manufacturers. Three manufacturers offer their perspectives on the role suppliers play in green building, and how the current market is influencing the ways manufacturers support sustainable construction.

[1] Brad Loveless, Simpson Door

[2] David Helmers, iLevel by Weyerhaeuser

[3] James Hodgson, Premier Building Systems

Participants:

James Hodgson, Premier Building Systems
Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), www.pbssips.com [3]

David Helmers, iLevel by Weyerhaeuser
Engineered wood products and specialty lumber for structural framing, www.iLevel.com [4]
Brad Loveless, Simpson Door
Wood interior and exterior doors, www.simpsondoor.com [1]

HousingZone.com: How has your approach to improving the sustainability of your products changed as a result of the drastic declines in the housing market?

James: As we’ve all witnessed, green building has been one of the few bright spots in the otherwise dismal housing market. For us, we’ve always had a strong green story to tell. The market decline and emphasis on green hasn’t forced a change in our products, but has underscored the need for us to highlight the environmental attributes of SIPs even more.

More builders and homeowners are open to advanced building techniques like SIPs in today's market.

With the current market conditions, we’re seeing a shift in the way builders and homeowners think of new construction. More of them are open to advanced building techniques like SIPs. This was underscored recently when the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA) announced that in 2008 SIP-built homes passed the one percent threshold for the U.S. single-family housing market – that’s twice the market share SIPs had during the height of homebuilding in 2005.

David: Although we’re in a tough market now, our approach and commitment to sustainability hasn’t changed. As part of Weyerhaeuser we’ve been focused on sustainability for over 100 years, and finding more efficient ways to use resources isn’t only good for building green, it’s also good for business.

Sustainability and green building continue to be growing areas of interest for our dealer and builder customers. We see it as an opportunity to educate them on how wood products benefit the environment, and how the solutions and software we’ve developed help optimize the structural frame and reduce jobsite wood waste.

Brad: While the market decline has impacted sales, it hasn’t altered the way we approach the sustainability of our door products. Offering an environmentally responsible product is something we’ve been doing for decades, and will continue to do.

HousingZone.com: What green issues are you emphasizing to builders?

James: Energy efficiency is a key focus. Beyond market forces, there’s also a legislative drive toward greater energy efficiency that’s having a large impact on how homes are being built. For example, California’s Title 24 mandates that all new residential construction be zero energy by 2020. Builders will increasingly need to be looking at next generation methods like SIPs to meet those very stringent requirements. To this point, the building technologies director at the Dept. of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory notes that of the houses they’ve monitored, the SIPs structures are the closest to zero energy, significantly outperforming other framing methods.

David: Structural framing accounts for one of the largest volumes of materials used in home construction. The choices a builder makes about the materials they use and the way they use them plays a key role in building an environmentally responsible home. For example, better upfront design of a home can help builders reduce waste. This not only helps builders reduce the environmental impact of their homes, but can also help improve their bottom line. In tough market conditions, this is very appealing to our customers.

Brad: We’re proud to be using a renewable natural resource – wood – that is unmatched by other building materials in its abilities to conserve energy and address global climate change. Nature gives us this incredible resource to work with and we are conscientious to make the most of it in our manufacturing processes. We purchase lumber from responsible suppliers that subscribe to sound forest management practices, and use engineered door components to ensure we utilize the most of our resources.

Our core policy is to be a good steward of the world around us, and we are continually reviewing and improving our manufacturing and purchasing practices to meet the changing needs of the market and the environment.

HousingZone.com: What are some of the green-related tools or supports you’re providing?

James: One way is we redesigned our Web site to provide more tools and resources for building professionals and homeowners interested in SIPs, with a highlight on green factors such as energy savings, waste reduction and indoor air quality. Because energy efficiency is so big, we included an online tool that allows builders, architects and engineers to estimate heat loss for a typical home or building versus one built with SIPs.

David: We’re focused on creating tools and solutions to help builders build more efficiently. Our Javelin structural frame design software allows builders to look at the home from all angles and solve problems before construction starts. It also helps ensure the correct amount and type of material is specified. Going a step further, we also work with our dealers on solutions and support for pre-cut and labeled framing members and panelized floor and wall components.

HousingZone.com: What role do manufacturers have in ensuring integrated green building solutions?

James: The way homes have typically been designed and built makes it very difficult to be truly sustainable. Until recently, being green meant using building products like low VOC paints, recycled materials and energy efficient appliances without much consideration for how everything works together as a whole.

As product manufacturers, it’s not enough for us to simply produce green products and expect design professionals and builders to do the rest. It’s our responsibility to work closely with them to help make the most of a product’s green attributes. Education and detailed design and specification information are critical.

David: Manufacturers play a key role in providing builders with integrated green building solutions. For green building to be successful, it’s important to have all parties talking with each other and looking at the house as a whole system. Suppliers can’t sit on the sidelines, but must jump in and offer ideas on how our products can better tie in with other materials. Otherwise, we risk becoming irrelevant. The mantra up and down the supply chain is “what can we all do to build faster and greener without losing quality.”

Brad: To help ensure comprehensive green building solutions, manufacturers need to consistently evaluate and improve products in terms of how well they work with other building materials and contribute to the overall green building goals and performance of a home. One product or process alone doesn’t make a home green. It takes the effort of manufacturers, building products dealers and builders working together to make sure the best materials are used in each phase of a home’s construction.

HousingZone.com: How do you support a systems approach to green building?

James: As manufacturers, we must be willing to look beyond our own products and anticipate how they will perform with other materials being used. It’s classic systems thinking – looking at where one’s own product interfaces with others installed before and after it in space and time, and evaluating how it might reduce or enhance the performance of non-related products.

In the case of a SIPs home, the architect, builder and manufacturer ideally coordinate early on to not only figure out how the panels should work with other interior and exterior framing and foundations for a tight envelope, but also what the potential is for reducing HVAC system requirements.

Manufacturers need to anticipate how their products will perform with other materials being used in construction of new homes.

David: One way to support the systems approach is providing support tools and services to help builders better work out solutions among different parts of the home. That could be through clear specifications and product information or through software that enables a more cohesive design.

For the structural frame, examples for a more comprehensive approach to green building include reducing the number of boards and panels needed, making sure the framing and insulation work well together to avoid gaps, and providing pre-drilled framing members that enable straighter utility runs.

HousingZone.com: Do you think manufacturers should take a role in helping homebuilders achieve green certifications like LEED for Homes or the NAHB National Green Building Standard?

James: Absolutely! It comes back to the systems approach to building homes. Manufacturers, builders and designers can no longer remain in our own silos and expect that sustainable construction will just happen. We must all look at the home as an integrated, well-functioning whole, rather than separate components, and work together to deliver that vision.

That’s where green building programs like LEED for Homes and the National Green Building Standard can be so powerful. They help all parties consider the full range of environmental issues a home must address.

David: Yes, manufactures are the product experts and builders look to us to provide them with all the information they need to successfully use our products, including in green building.

The manufacturer plays the critical role of making it easier for builders to understand how a company’s products contribute toward points in green building programs. One way to do this is through the NAHB Research Center’s “Green Approved” products program. Products are evaluated by the Research Center and then issued a certificate with information showing the specific sections of the National Green Building Standard under which a given product can earn points.

Brad: The products used to build and furnish homes play an important role in the achievement of green building certification. While green building programs typically provide a rating for the building overall and not a rating for individual materials, points can be earned for the use of certain building products. As manufacturers are responsible for making these products, there is an obligation for us to educate homebuilders on their features and benefits as well as green characteristics and how they can be used to earn credit in these programs.

HousingZone.com: What additional ways can manufacturers support builders interested in green building ratings?

James: We can help educate builders on the green attributes of our products and how they can potentially earn points under the major rating systems. This can include concise fact sheets, checklists, or other tools that clearly explain which rating categories a product or building practice may help earn points toward.

We can also encourage builders who may be on the fence with going green by showing them ways they can incrementally adapt their building practices. This can include providing examples of how others have solved similar challenges, and providing insights on ways to start small and expand as they grow in green building knowledge and skill.

David: Building green is about more than just being able to check off points for what a product is. While focusing on the potential number of points their products can earn, manufacturers may overlook the bigger picture—how their products are used in a home. For example, a builder could earn points for using certified wood, but addressing material inefficiencies, jobsite waste and other factors are also part of green building. In iLevel’s case, we can work with the builder through our dealers to efficiently frame the home by using framing design software and pre-cut or pre-assembled components. Both the NAHB standard and LEED for Homes include various point categories for advanced framing practices.

HousingZone.com: Any final thoughts?

James: We see green building as an opportunity for continuous improvement, rather than a fixed destination. Sometimes the most innovative ideas come from outside sources. Manufacturers may be able to offer design and building professionals with insights they haven’t thought of, and likewise, those on the frontlines of using a product may have great ideas on ways to improve its composition, design or how it’s used.

Brad: Manufacturers also have the responsibility to offer honest data to homebuilders and owners in regards to their product. Not every product is fully sustainable or able to qualify for points in green building programs, but this doesn’t mean they don’t have a role in green homes. Green building programs offer different levels of green ratings, giving builders the opportunity to choose what level to strive for and what products to incorporate for points. The ultimate goal is to work toward products that are beneficial to the environment.