Taking Advantage of the Green Residential Market

When you look around, it's amazing to see what is happening all over North America when it comes to the environment. Publication after publication now has an annual Green issue or, like The Economist, an ongoing section discussing just about everything environmentally preferable. For many of us that

This is increasingly the case in residential construction. For instance, most of the new condominiums and apartments now being constructed in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles are designed with Green in mind. They have energy-reducing HVAC systems, heat- and motion- activated lighting wherever possible, low-flow faucets and shower heads and they are constructed using Green-certified building products and paints with low levels of volatile organic compounds - all making for healthier living.

This is occurring not just in large cities but all across North America. Green residences are gaining in popularity, and becoming Green is taking all forms. For instance, recently a manufacturer of Green roofs introduced a DIY (do-it-yourself) Green roof system that takes a homeowner about an afternoon to install. Green roofs help insulate buildings, reducing cooling and heating costs as they also filter air and turn carbon monoxide into oxygen - part of natures air quality control system.

Additionally, Greening residential properties is proving to bring in the "green" for developers and landlords as well. At the high-end Solaire Tower in New York, Michael Gibbens, the Resident Manager, says that because the building - which is 27 stories and has 292 apartments - is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified and includes a variety of Green features, he has absolutely no problem renting any of the units. "When someone moves out, there's a waiting list to get in. They want to live here because of the [improved] air quality and indoor environment. Even the products we use to clean the building - it's all Green."

According to Stephen Ashkin, a leading advocate for Green cleaning in the professional cleaning industry, "If a tenant is looking for a condo or apartment to rent and has a choice of two comparable buildings right next to each other, the one that is committed to a healthier [indoor] environment is going to get the tenant. It's a powerful marketing tool."

Costs involved

Initially when constructing a commercial facility such as an office building, developers estimated that the Green components, such as Green roofs, energy-saving devices, low-flow/no-flow urinals and toilets, and other items would add an additional 20 percent or more to the facility's construction. It's believed this amount would apply to residential construction as well.

However, the added cost to build an environmentally preferable building has declined considerably, especially in the past few years. Some building professionals now estimate the added cost is closer to five percent - and possibly even less.

One reason this is happening is because of the greater demand for Green buildings and the costs of materials to construct a Green building have declined. It's just as with flat-screen TVs; at first, few were manufactured and demand was low due to their high price. As more were produced, the cost of the electronic components came down, as did the price tag. Soon, demand soared.

What does this mean for the Jan/San distributor?

Except for a few items, such as commercial vacuum cleaners, selling Green or any commercial cleaning products to individual home owners or even small apartment buildings is rare. However, providing Green Jan/San supplies to a 27-story apartment building such as the Solaire is entirely another story.

Although residential buildings usually use fewer cleaning supplies than an office, a school, or other comparable facilities, distributors marketing Green cleaning products to residential facilities should realize that this is becoming a major growth area, especially now that so many more of these environmentally preferable buildings are being constructed.

However, more sales effort may be involved for distributors that work with residential buildings constructed long before the Green trend, according to Mike Sawchuk, General Manager and Vice President of Enviro-Solutions, a manufacturer of Green cleaning chemicals. "The biggest challenge is educating property owners and managers on the reasons why converting to Green cleaning is valuable," he says. "For many owners and managers, they have not yet realized how much a Greener and healthier indoor environment can translate into better health and improved profits."

Sawchuk adds that many distributors that have been selling Green cleaning products and equipment for some time have been down this road before. "There is always resistance to change, and even when building managers want to transfer to environmentally preferable cleaning products, we often encounter resistance from the cleaning workers," he says. "Time, persistence, education, and a discussion of the health benefits for everyone usually bring the resistance to an end."