http://therealstoryblog.com Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:21:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 en hourly 1 Colleen Edwards no Colleen Edwards brooke@emccreative.com brooke@emccreative.com (Colleen Edwards) EMC Creative The Real Story with Colleen Edwards http://therealstoryblog.com/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://therealstoryblog.com EMC CreativeBusiness/Management & MarketingNews & Politics http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRealStorySustainability/~3/f_pzC305fxs/ http://therealstoryblog.com/2011/11/green-buildings-cost-to-value-radio/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:30:16 +0000 Colleen Edwards http://therealstoryblog.com/?p=5353 One of the best insights about green building for tomorrow comes from a builder who has been focused on quality building for decades. Chuck Schoenberger, Senior Vice President of Operations for O’Brien Homes, could write the book on quality homebuilding. So it’s not too much of a stretch to see O’Brien Homes take on a leadership role in the green building movement as well. Chuck talks this week about participating in focus groups with prospective homebuyers to understand how a homeowner perceives “value” in different aspects of green building. Surprisingly, most of the prospective buyers couldn’t name a green feature after [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheRealStorySustainability/~4/f_pzC305fxs" height="1" width="1"/> http://therealstoryblog.com/2011/11/green-buildings-cost-to-value-radio/feed/ Fusion,Green building features,green construction,O'Brien Homes - One of the best insights about green building for tomorrow comes from a builder who has been focused on quality building for decades. Chuck Schoenberger, Senior Vice President of Operations for O’Brien Homes, could write the book on quality hom... One of the best insights about green building for tomorrow comes from a builder who has been focused on quality building for decades. Chuck Schoenberger, Senior Vice President of Operations for O’Brien Homes, could write the book on quality homebuilding. So it’s not too much of a stretch to see O’Brien Homes take on a leadership role in the green building movement as well. Chuck talks this week about participating in focus groups with prospective homebuyers to understand how a homeowner perceives “value” in different aspects of green building. Surprisingly, most of the prospective buyers couldn’t name a green feature after solar panels and tankless water heaters. Given the enormous undertaking of researching and selecting construction vendor partners who understand the materials and have the installation know-how, Chuck wants to spend more time educating the new home buying community about the kinds of things that can make a house healthy, and more energy and cost-efficient. “Today’s buyer equates saving energy to saving money,” he says. Yet in a new home community, like O’Brien’s “Fusion” neighborhood in Sunnyvale, which has been built in excess of Build It Green’s 50-point checklist, the homebuyers—mostly first-timers—also have an opportunity to live a greener lifestyle by bicycling to work and using community-designed recreation and gathering areas instead of driving around town. “Human behavior will work itself out,” says Chuck. But in the meantime, Chuck sees cities like Sunnyvale leading the charge for the change to green. Next week, The Real Story talks to Chuck about the economics of green development in a recession, and how green construction translates into dollars in the consumers’ pockets.  You can download this interview on iTunes or listen in on Facebook. Colleen Edwards no http://therealstoryblog.com/2011/11/green-buildings-cost-to-value-radio/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRealStorySustainability/~3/hKNpQ4n0fGU/ http://therealstoryblog.com/2011/08/lesson-learned-don%e2%80%99t-tell-homeowners-how-to-live/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:22:06 +0000 Colleen Edwards http://therealstoryblog.com/?p=5268 Quick: describe the American homeowner. If you’re stopped by the sheer enormity of the task of consolidating the wants, needs, and household formation—as well as the ages, geomarket and financial wherewithal—to come up with a consumer profile, you have an idea of what a homebuilding company faces every time its leadership decides to build a new model complex. Now add to the profile of a zillion parts the acceptance of green, or sustainable design and building practices. Is it a hot button or a ho-hum? Does it sound wonderful when it’s called a healthy home, and even better when it’s packaged [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheRealStorySustainability/~4/hKNpQ4n0fGU" height="1" width="1"/> http://therealstoryblog.com/2011/08/lesson-learned-don%e2%80%99t-tell-homeowners-how-to-live/feed/ consumer trends,green building,Meritage Homes,Sustainable home design - Quick: describe the American homeowner. If you’re stopped by the sheer enormity of the task of consolidating the wants, needs, and household formation—as well as the ages, geomarket and financial wherewithal—to come up with a consumer profi... Quick: describe the American homeowner. If you’re stopped by the sheer enormity of the task of consolidating the wants, needs, and household formation—as well as the ages, geomarket and financial wherewithal—to come up with a consumer profile, you have an idea of what a homebuilding company faces every time its leadership decides to build a new model complex. Now add to the profile of a zillion parts the acceptance of green, or sustainable design and building practices. Is it a hot button or a ho-hum? Does it sound wonderful when it’s called a healthy home, and even better when it’s packaged as a way to reduce and control energy consumption? CR Herro, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for Meritage Homes, says he has learned that one size does not fit all when it comes to designing homes, and that it’s more important to figure out how the buyer wants to live than how cheaply a home can be built. His guideline for action? “Listen. Take criticism. And learn.” In a recessionary market, he says, builders can choose one of two paths: the commodity, a “box of shelter” that stands on its price and competes with foreclosures and short sales, and the “be something better” path of creating something new, something that exceeds buyer expectations and keeps the company moving ahead. The Real Story completes its conversation with CR this week. Take a listen today, or download the podcast at iTunes. Colleen Edwards no http://therealstoryblog.com/2011/08/lesson-learned-don%e2%80%99t-tell-homeowners-how-to-live/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRealStorySustainability/~3/7dn6m5ynGSE/ http://therealstoryblog.com/2011/08/its-not-easy-being-green%e2%80%94or-is-it/#comments Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:50:20 +0000 Colleen Edwards http://therealstoryblog.com/?p=5262 Here’s a news flash: new home smell is bad for you. When you walk a new home, and get a big lungful of the fresh paint, varnishes and carpet, you may be inhaling way more than you bargained for. According to CR Herro, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for Meritage Homes, among the worst things you can breathe in are emissions from new paint, varnish and carpet. Over at Meritage’s corporate headquarters in Scottsdale, CR tells us that he is constantly checking on “tester waffles”—new products and programs that he can follow close to home, and roll out on a country-wide [...]<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheRealStorySustainability/~4/7dn6m5ynGSE" height="1" width="1"/> http://therealstoryblog.com/2011/08/its-not-easy-being-green%e2%80%94or-is-it/feed/ energy savings,healthy air quality,Meritage Homes - Here’s a news flash: new home smell is bad for you. When you walk a new home, and get a big lungful of the fresh paint, varnishes and carpet, you may be inhaling way more than you bargained for. According to CR Herro, Vice President of Environm... Here’s a news flash: new home smell is bad for you. When you walk a new home, and get a big lungful of the fresh paint, varnishes and carpet, you may be inhaling way more than you bargained for. According to CR Herro, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for Meritage Homes, among the worst things you can breathe in are emissions from new paint, varnish and carpet. Over at Meritage’s corporate headquarters in Scottsdale, CR tells us that he is constantly checking on “tester waffles”—new products and programs that he can follow close to home, and roll out on a country-wide basis as favorable results roll in.  He is excited about the many ways that the home-buying consumer is looking at green built homes—from the aspect of reduced utility bills (almost always the leader in conversation) to the overall comfort of a home without hot spots or cold areas to healthier air quality and a safer environment. The cost, he says, of integrating the new green building standards (which vary from state to state) is offset by the substantial improvement in how a home lives. This week’s interview with CR Herro is available here, or as a download from iTunes. Keep listening; we have some wonderful interview topics coming up in the next few weeks. Colleen Edwards no http://therealstoryblog.com/2011/08/its-not-easy-being-green%e2%80%94or-is-it/ Colleen EdwardsnonadultThe Real Story with Colleen Edwards