At 30 years old, Nick Mueller is, shall we say, a bit green. But the construction industry wunderkind who wasn’t even born yet when Jimmy Carter famously installed solar panels on the White House roof is not ashamed of his youth nor any of his other “green” hues – namely his LEED AP and Green Advantage certifications; his key contribution to some of The Boldt Co.’s greenest projects, including ThedaCare Physicians Darboy Clinic and Lawrence University’s Warch Campus Center; and his role in creating the tracking process for Boldt’s LEED building certification.
In March, the Manitowoc native, who has spent his entire eight-year career at Appleton’s Boldt Co., was elected president of the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance (WGBA) after serving as secretary of the board of directors for two years.
A nonprofit, educational organization that promotes sustainable construction practices, the WGBA aims to “create an existing and future built environment that is socially, economically and environmentally regenerative.”
We caught up with Mueller to get his take on the current state of green building in Wisconsin as well as the future of sustainable construction.
Nick, to what extent are companies moving beyond the low-hanging fruit of green projects and into real, strategic, large-scale energy savings?
With the economy struggling the last few years, the issue of sustainability has been clouded a little bit because people are just having to make financial decisions that are in some cases keeping the doors open and in other cases are just the best way to continue their organization on an lean, mean path. I would say that when forced to be economically sensible about where you are spending dollars, you’re forced to do the most with the least, and that in itself is a sustainable or green path. …
I see owners focusing on the enclosures of their buildings more so than green technologies. Not that green technologies aren’t embraced and aren’t used. It’s almost the supplement to a high-performance building. So the way I see it, there’s more attention paid to how you insulate the walls, how you weather-tight them, and then I think as green technologies continue to evolve, become more mainstream, become more cost-effective, hopefully at some point in the future we can supplement some of the traditional energy providers with green technologies.
With respect to the economic efficiency of some of these things, do you think the recession has caused people to re-evaluate sustainability and the economic advantages of going in a green direction?
Yeah, I think it has, and those who haven’t evaluated their situation as a whole are probably struggling. Businesses have looked at what’s economically viable and how they can put themselves in a better market position, and I think sustainability plays into that with how you allocate resources, and how you allocate resources not only in the bricks-and-mortar part but also people and your processes.
What general trends do you see in green building, either currently or on the horizon? Do you see green building growing exponentially or just incrementally?
I think it’s still strong. I don’t believe it’s as booming as it was a few years ago. I think the focus has turned to really doing things you’re already doing but doing them in an efficient manner, being really skillful in how you execute. I talked earlier about building envelopes, and the execution of that I think is a lot better. There’s all sorts of technologies out there, but you really need to find one that fits your purpose, and like any new product out there, time is the ultimate judgment of whether the product is successful and eventually works into the mainstream.
Where do you think Wisconsin ranks when it comes to green building in general?
I think as a whole, in a lot of ways we’re a leader, we’re a leader because we have a great manufacturing state that finds itself having to be innovative. … You hear a lot about the types of new technology in Wisconsin and people embracing them. I would caution, though, with the positive things that are happening that folks not be too nearsighted and not put their blinders on to what other opportunities are out there on the horizon. And again, I think that the political climate that we’re in tends to be divisive in our state, but sustainable ideas are not right or left; they’re good business, and given a chance to work, I think that both sides can see that.
What would you like to see in terms of policy changes? Is there anything in particular that your organization is lobbying for?
We’ve long supported the addition of some type of sustainable ratings system into the building code. And I think that that’s important. The USGBC LEED rating system is an actual earning system, but there are also other rating systems out there. To not embrace anything means you’re comfortable with the status quo, and that’s not where I think we should be looking. The intention is not to force any entity or municipality to expend additional dollars. It’s just the opposite. It’s to spend fewer dollars through sustainable practices. So I think, again, if given the chance to really evaluate the technologies, evaluate what the ratings systems are, owners will see that. So I, and the organization, would strongly support the addition of a ratings system into the building code.
As president of the WGBA, how do you plan on promoting ecologically sustainable practices in the construction industry? Do you have any plans to take the organization in any new directions or move beyond the status quo?
Well, we certainly hope to not maintain the status quo. The building industry as a whole is evolving, and for us to think that we could remain stagnant is shortsighted. So our goal would be to utilize the strength of the partners that we have throughout the Wisconsin building industry, as owners and constructors and manufacturers, and continue to foster relationships. But the organization right now can benefit in refocusing its membership toward what the status of the organization really is, which is a 501(c)(3). So we’re geared as a trade organization, but more so we are not-for-profit, and we need to activate members not only on the corporate level but also on the single-member level. I think that’s something that we need to better organize, and we’re working within the organization to do that.
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