For years, the conventional wisdom has been that one "green" comes at the expense of the other. In other words, environmentalists believe that corporations often make their profits while trashing the planet, and businesses feel that being ecologically friendly is cost-prohibitive.
For years, the conventional wisdom has been that one "green" comes at the expense of the other.
In other words, environmentalists believe that corporations often make their profits while trashing the planet, and businesses feel that being ecologically friendly is cost-prohibitive.
Dru Meadows and Charles Bell disagree with that assessment. As founders of theGreenTeam Inc., a Tulsa-based environmental consulting firm specializing in architectural and developmental issues, they want corporations nationwide to realize that many environmental practices can add to the bottom line.
"We know that if it doesn't have a payback, it's not going to happen," Meadows said.
But she and Bell have made it happen, again and again. They said that in 2004, their efforts saved their clients a collective $37 million in energy costs and $88 million in productivity, in addition to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 358,000 metric tons.
The pair, who are theGreenTeam's only full-time employees, have attracted clients such as DuPont Co., Pepsico Inc., Albertsons Inc., Nestle SA, Lowe's Cos. Inc. and multiple branches of the federal government.
And their expertise has become known almost entirely through word-of-mouth.
"Our best marketing is done with our existing client base," Bell said.
Meadows and Bell met while working at BSW International Inc., where they were part of a design group specializing in green buildings. Seeing the great potential in environmental design and guidelines, they formed theGreenTeam in 1998.
"Back then it was a niche market, but now it's getting mainstream," Meadows said.
The most visible component of their business comes through green building design. Meadows said she and Bell like to work behind the scenes as part of their clients' architectural teams, making suggestions rather than taking over.
"We could be seen by some people on the team as challenging their jobs, so there's some diplomacy involved," she said.
Though what they contribute is influenced by the needs of their clients, the two usually enhance existing architectural styles.
"People think we'll make buildings out of old cans and garbage, but our buildings don't look unusual," Meadows said.
For example, one of their first projects was the First Green Post Office in Fort Worth. The building uses natural lighting with prominent windows and shaded overhangs to reduce glare, and is equipped with sensors to switch off lights when a space gets enough sunlight.
And, like all buildings theGreenTeam helps design, materials are carefully chosen to keep employees from developing substance-based illnesses.
"The materials are low-impact and the finishes are nontoxic, so the air quality is much better," Bell said.
For Nestle plants in Stanwood, Mich., and Cabazon, Calif., theGreenTeam helped construct adjacent wetlands for on-site water treatment.
"You can operate cost-effectively without contaminating water," Meadows said.
Unlike many environmentally oriented architectural firms, theGreenTeam also develops policies, programs, guidelines and standards for companies and governments.
Not to mention the entire federal government. Meadows and Bell are working on the final draft of the Federal Guide for Green Construction Specs, an environmental compliance guide based on federal statutes and presidential orders that will be used by all federal agencies for construction of new buildings.
For example, the guide calls for a minimum amount of recycled components in a variety of materials, and energy-efficient heating and air conditioning units. It even contains specifications for bat houses, because bats can cut down on the insect population.
"Small brown bats can eat over 3,000 mosquitos in a night," Bell said. "They're pretty amazing at pest control."
The firm has also helped develop environmental goals for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the city of Los Angeles and the International Organization for Standardization.
Though theGreenTeam assists on projects throughout the nation, Meadows and Bell do help out in their own back yard. For example, they are board members for the Oklahoma State University Environmental Institute.
"We're collaborating with a team of local architects, and we just got onto a team contracted with the Oklahoma National Guard," Bell said.
Their work isn't as simple as plugging in what they already know. The pair said the range of knowledge in their field grows constantly, and that to best serve their clients they spend more than 20 percent of their time keeping up with the latest research.
Meadows often takes home reports to study.
"Nothing is static," she said. "What we know changes on a daily basis."
She and Bell said one of the bigger developments in environmental science is coming through the study of DNA. Now that the human genome has been mapped, scientists are discovering how common substances affect individual genes.
Still, old ways of thinking die hard. Despite theGreenTeam's success and growing reputation, Meadows and Bell said some new clients still expect them to show up looking like, well, old hippies.
"When we go to meetings, board members are often surprised to find that we're wearing suits instead of tie-dye," Meadows said.
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Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
