Construction in a Meaningful Context

What business is here to empower and share, bring economic justice, and encourage cultural diversity? Carmel Building and Design. Rob Nicely from Carmel Building and Design is with us today to discuss his business philosophy. When deciding how to run his business he was aware that the quality of life of employees was priority, as well as the outcomes for the community. As they expanded he noticed the importance of taking responsibility for all the resources used throughout the building process. How can we honor the materials used? Green building lead Carmel Building and Design to be more efficient, and less resource and energy intensive. They honor the people and the resources involved in the process. In the beginning, Nicely asked himself,"How can we make a meaningful context for doing construction?" The proof is in the pudding at Carmel Building and Design.

Nicely tells us about his work with the chamber of commerce. He began a sustainability committee within the chamber. They have recruited many people to work with them, with a list of solid objectives. "Green" is getting market share, and many businesses are acting in those areas, and the chamber is responding to the various green demands. Nicely read us the mission and vision statement of the sustainability committee, and it is right on! Nice work, Nicely.

Nicely recommends a Leadership Monterey Peninsula class, in which he just graduated from. For his final project they created a Wiki chalk full of Green resources within Monterey Peninsula. Wiki's are databases which can be updated by people who read them. It is an on going, open source format, and therefore as democratic as possible.
Another organization that Nicely is involved with is Build It Green. This organization encompasses all the stakeholders needed to get Green building projects off the ground. It is a residential based certification, and their short-term goal is to facilitate the greening of 10,000 housing units by the end of 2008. Wowza!

Last minute notes from a show full of info:

On the Green Scene: Nicely suggested an Alternative Building Exposition coming up this October in Santa Cruz.

Monterey Bay Sustainability Coalition is trying to create metrics to measure whether or not we have a environmentally and socially sustainable community. This concept, "The Triple Bottom Line" measures success beyond profit. Amen to that!

Take a look at the educational classes offered by AMBAG.

Step Up to Green is an up and coming project Nicely is involved with. The plan is to create a list of guidelines which will recommend things each individual can do to greenify their homes. Check back for updates.

Nicely highly suggests:
The Next Industrial Revolution by William McDonough, and Michael Braungart.

Thank you so much for sharing all of those valuable resources with us Mr. Nicely.
As always thank you to our listeners, and have a wonderful day!

Olana & Deborah