• Meet The Trainers: Scott Kelly and David Johnston
  
• We Want To Hear From You!
  
• Spotlight On: York College of Pennsylvania Engineering Innovation Center
• 2008 Tax Deduction Supports Commercial Green Building Practices
  
• Green Advantage in the News: Certification Benefits Building Professionals
  
• Welcome to GA's New COO and General Counsel
  
• Announcing Green Advantage's New Director of Certification
  
• Green Tip from Matthew Wylie of Texas
  
• Green Advantage at GreenBuild
  
• California Adopts Green Building Code
  
• Making a Difference: GreenFleet!
  
• Green Advantage Success Story: D.C. Chapter of NECA
  
• Upcoming Green Advantage Training Opportunities
  

Green Tip from Matthew Wylie of Texas - Change the Culture

The construction business is awash in the green building movement. As clients become more aware that green building is a legitimate economic initiative, more are gravitating to what was previously viewed as a movement of tree-hugging philanthropy. Meanwhile, the public is bombarded with green media, making green buildings, and green business viable marketing strategies for organizations

For individuals, living green is a lifestyle shift. Likewise, organizations must make a deliberate change in their culture to most effectively take advantage of their green opportunities.

This culture change doesn’t have to be dramatic or swift or come in great leaps of progress but must be embraced by leadership and grounded in education. For our organization, this began with bringing Green Advantage into our office to provide training and certification to 20 members of our team, including every role from field operations to estimating to marketing as well as the company’s owners and several directors.

The results of that day of training have been surprisingly far-reaching. Conference rooms are dark when not in use. We’ve encouraged all employees to switch their lights off when out of the office for any length of time. Two of the four light fixtures in my office haven’t been turned on in months. We’ve made sure that the contents of individual recycling baskets are actually ending up in the recycling bin outside and not mixed with other trash. As Directors, we’re making efforts to bring our coffee in mugs or use the “common” ones here instead of grabbing for styrofoam. Plans are even in the works to develop outdoor workstations and recreation facilities.

On the business side, we are currently in pre-construction on our first LEED facility and, thanks to our GA training, have been able to help steer the client through the maze of information and options needed to get certification on this project as well as several more that are to follow in this building program. We directed this client to a LEED consultant we’d met through Green Advantage, and the consultant has been retained by this client to guide the entire program development.

Business leaders are responsible for defining the culture of their organization. By embracing the dual benefits of environmental stewardship and simple economic responsibility, today’s business leaders have the ability to make a world-changing impact on the culture of the organization they build. We CAN save the Earth one coffee mug at a time.

Matthew Wylie, GA-C
AUI Contractors
Fort Worth, Texas
www.auigc.com

Matthew Wylie, GA-C, is the Director of Commercial Construction at AUI Contractors. Twenty employees of AUI earned commercial Green Advantage ® Certification; 16 Certified employees continue with AUI. Matthew is also in the process of becoming LEED certified.

top of the page