PinoyBusiness.ORG – Home

Green ideas of reengineering the home construction industry coming from entrepreneurs are leading towards a Green Economic Revolution. As consumers search for ways on minimizing their cost while helping fight global warming, the revolution is on the pace.

According to those in the constructing company, they are finding ways in designing and locating new buildings that will use new products. The new products to be used are friendly to the environment. These materials are certified by non profit organizations which provide certification to businesses that supports responsible forest management. To deal with the almost daily increase in oil, coal and natural gas, the new buildings are designed to use minimal or zero utility-supplied energy.

A California-based contracting company, founded by Deva Rajan, uses the green method in building and remodeling homes and offices. According to Rajan, who was also a leader of “Going Green,” people take care of the beautiful things that you build and the corner stone of sustainability is durability.

Canyon Construction President Chris Avant had expressed admiration to Deva’s initiative to turn industry toward sustainability. Deva’s had silently influenced the pioneer building codes of California in 1970. He was also to be known as an instrument in the development of a new type of concrete which is from coal-fired power plant wastes known as “fly-ash,” In 1978, due to Deva’s efforts, California has started legislation focusing on building standards that augmented the efficiency of energy.

An example of the third party that provides certifications is the LEED or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It provides certification for buildings responsible for taking care of the environment and meeting the highest standard for energy effectiveness.

According to Avant, “The LEED program is helping the industry adopt where we design, locate, build and retrofit buildings to achieve sustainability in our work and lifestyles.” He also added that a major element of sustainability is infill, wherein it results to a more commute time for more people by clear- cutting land or claiming farms for new construction. He gave an example where they replaced the consumers of CO2- the gas which is the major cause of climate change, like forests and farm plants with establishments that emits greenhouse gases.

The headquarters of Canyon Construction serves as an example of the next generation technology where its roof is made up of solar panel that produces almost 100 percent of the building’s electricity supply. Its 3, 000 foot horizontal thermal-loop, that is both a heating and cooling system, allows the consumption of the earth’s stable temperature to warm or cool the building. This design had put away the necessity of fossil-fueled energy.
And it is not only good for the environment but it also saves money especially in times when the oil prices are shooting up. In addition, majority of the materials used in building this headquarters are from recycled materials, even the building’s insulation which come from recycled news paper.
To address the issue of the quality of indoor air, carpets that do not emit toxins are used and cabinets were built with the use of adhesives that are free from formaldehyde.

Nowadays, the business of Canyon Construction is growing. According to Rajan, there is merging of the “green contractor” and the “quality contractor” that is occurring to provide better to consumers and to take care of the environment.