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WE’VE GONE
GREEN. Our name will of course still be “Blue Dog,” but the
additional color refers to our intent on building in a sustainable manner.
This means, amongst other things, using FSC certified lumber, formaldehyde free
products and developing ecological solutions for your particular project.
Green building is rapidly becoming a vital way of reducing the
carbon footprint of any community. Buildings account for almost 80% of all
greenhouse gas emissions and making them not only more energy efficient,
but also built in a more sustainable manner goes a long way to reducing
Global Warming.
How can we reduce the carbon footprint of a
building?
We can start by building using local materials. Large quantities of
energy are used to transport natural stone or quarried tile imported from
abroad. Using regionally grown lumber instead of wood imported from other
states or other countries.
Ensuring good insulation values and double glazing
Using insulating materials which are waste products such as denim
material off-cuts, easy to grow materials such as hemp derivatives or
other forms of insulation that don’t have the high production energy
coefficients of standard items such as glass fiber.
Increasing renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind power. What does
FSC certified mean?
In many forests around the world, logging
still contributes to habitat destruction, water pollution, displacement of
indigenous peoples, and violence against people who work in the forest and
the wildlife that dwells there. Many consumers of wood and paper, and many
forest products companies believe that the link between logging and these
negative impacts can be broken, and that forests can be managed and
protected at the same time. Forest Stewardship Council certification is
one way to improve the practice of forestry. Does building green cost
more?
In a word, yes. But it doesn’t have to be much more and
the costs can be recouped, in some cases many times over. Depending on
your goals, we can build green and still stay within budget. Ask us
how!
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