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As any association manager knows, trying to get your community associations to "go green" is quite a challenge. Despite the developing trend towards green in the general population, going green takes a unified interest and dedication that is often lacking in community associations. And even though the term "community interest" invites warm and fuzzy connotations, most association members (board members included) don't often see the communal benefit of green repairs and reconstruction techniques, or sustainable energy systems. The issue of cost - both short and long term - is often the halting point, especially under a non-profit model with funds coming from the pockets of owner/members. Add to that, the fact that the average length of ownership of a condo unit is 7 years, and you'll understand why expensive green retrofits of building systems rarely get approved.
So, given these hurdles, can the Community Association Industry "Go Green?" We have yet to tell. Obama's stimulus package provides incentives for individual homeowners and small businesses, but getting access to these for multi-family residential complexes may be difficult, fall short of incentivizing the disparate interests of community members, or simply not provide enough to adequately subsidize costs. Smaller repairs can certainly be conducted in a greener fashion and getting Board approval for these should not be too difficult, but larger repairs and/or reconstructions will definitely require more research and negotiation with vendors to adequately compete with standard "old school" methods and costs.
Of course, larger associations may be more easily able to justify the cost of installing solar or even adding wind systems (especially large suburban planned developments). But smaller associations, and especially those with less than 20 units, may find it difficult to justify the cost of these types of upgrades for many years to come - or at least until the cost of these systems and retrofits comes down significantly, OR until the amount or volume of subsidies increases.
Despite these challenges, we still feel it's incumbent upon associations - both their Boards, their communities as a whole, as well as their management companies - to give Green a chance. To research it, evaluate it, and compare costs against traditional systems and methods WHENEVER POSSIBLE. Only by doing so will the idea of green really sink in. And, perhaps in doing so, one or more green project bids will actually come in at comparable cost (or lower even) than traditional vendor bids. When this happens, there can be no more excuses to going green. And this can only happen if we dedicate fully to moving ourselves and our clients in this direction.
For questions about this post, or for additional information, I can be reached toll free at 1-877-I-BEAM-SF (1-877-423-2673) or via email at allison@ibeamsf.com.
Cheers,
