It’s not easy being green.
It seems you blend in with so many other ord’nary things.
And people tend to pass you over ‘cause you’re
not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
or stars in the sky.

Kermit the Frog used to have it right.  For years “green” was overlooked.  It was dull and lifeless.  Who cared about emitting carbon gases into the atmosphere?  Why think about saving water?  Who wanted square solar panels on their roof?  Homebuyers focused on all things big, flashy and glamorous.  “Green” just didn’t stand out enough. 

My how things have changed. Thanks to an endless amount of environmental media coverage, eco-friendly lifestyles have quickly becoming the hottest trend today.  It appears that, after all these years of leading the carefree, glamorous life, people have just been starved for ways to live green, eat green, wear green, shop green and sleep green. 

Developers and builders have quickly jumped on the “green” building bandwagon.  It seems that everyone is starting to identify their communities as eco-friendly.  But, what really makes a development “green”?  Should only the developments with the highest level of environmental initiatives claim that title?  Here’s my take on it.

“Green” isn’t black and white.  It’s not all or nothing.  Just because Al Gore has a big house that uses more energy than the average dwelling, doesn’t mean that he’s not doing his part to help the environment.  Whether you’re paving your parking areas with pervious materials or your building a LEED certified building, you’re making conscious decisions around eco-friendly practices.  That’s worth a shout-out, no matter how big or small – no matter what your reasons are for doing it.  Let people know about your actions and the value they’d receive from it.

Heed this word of caution though—be careful as to how you position yourself.  The temptation is there to over-promote your community as a leader in the environmental space. The media and the public are both savvy groups.  They know quickly when someone’s overstating their “green-ness” and they’ll immediately discount you if you can’t back up your position.  Also, your offering will be compared to a slew of other “greenies” out there that are competing for potential buyers’ attention, just like you.  If you portray yourself as a leader, but you have far fewer, less complex initiatives than the other guys, you could end up with mud on your face.

So, if you’re doing your part with recycled rubber mulch—say that.  If you decided to do something extra with your landscaping to discourage water run-off, that’s great – let people know.  Embrace the positive step(s) you’ve taken, not just the all-encompassing “green” label.  Portray your community as it is – not as what you’d like it to be.

When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why?
Wonder, I am green and it’ll do fine, it’s beautiful
And I think it’s what I want to be.