I don’t know about you, but whenever I find an article about our industry in the mainstream media, the emotions are a bit mixed. This article about green workplaces that appeared in the June 18 issue of Time is a perfect example.
The article is a fairly good primer about various ways office buildings and organizations can use green strategies to reduce operating costs and protect the environment. It also offers some harder to measure reasons why the “business case for green is becoming increasingly clear” — faster lease-up, recruitment tool for top talent, etc. The article concludes by briefly profiling a company that makes solar panels, and that practices what it preaches in terms of using sustainable principles in its own operations.
So on one hand, it’s cool to see a topic near-and-dear to mine and many of our readers’ hearts getting a mention in a widely read newsweekly. It’s exciting that people like Linda Sorrento, who I’ve interviewed before, and who is super nice and an extremely knowledgeable and passionate advocate for green, getting her name in print.
On the other hand, it’s a little frustrating that a piece like this is not more in depth. Why didn’t the writer explain more about the business case for green? Or offer more examples of buildings that have been successful? Or interview more people like Linda who are on the front lines everyday promoting green? And, for the love of God, why couldn’t the writer resist the by now way-too-cliche temptation to relate any kind of green coverage to Al Gore?
After a deep breath, I have to step back and remind myself that a piece like this, while somewhat cursory, is on balance a good thing. It’s like the marketing folks say: Any publicity is good publicity. And for an issue like this, as more people discover the sense it makes, the more people can begin being green for themselves.