Page 66 - Green Builder April 2017 Issue

FROM THE TAILGATE

New Offerings for the Sustainable Minded By Ron Jones

Mandates and ‘Moving the Needle’

HE CURRENT SPECIAL products edition of
Green Builder magazine has me thinking
about the topic of building products in
general, and an incident that took place
Tat a meeting of the Executive Committee
(now called the Executive Board) of the National
Association of Home Builders a few years back in
Milwaukee.
During a lively discussion about emerging products
and technologies, and how they impact building
codes and standards, a well-known member of the
committee declared that the code development
process has been hijacked by the manufacturers “so
they can force us to buy their new products.”
It was an open meeting and there may have been
representatives of the product manufacturers present.
But no one challenged the assertion and it appeared
that it was met with widespread agreement by most
of the committee because, above all else, builders hate
mandates.
Now, keep in mind that this was a meeting of leaders
of a member-based association, approximately two-
thirds of whom are “associate members.” This means
that they are not classified as builders but rather as a
large number of other types of companies, including
a substantial proportion who produce building
products.
These companies are an incredibly valuable set of members, embraced in the code development process because they offer
providing tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue to the enhanced performance, superior engineering qualities, better
organization. They tender the lion’s share of dues revenue, and they reliability, greater durability and resiliency, reduced material
generate vast sums of financial support for the association through consumption and less waste, or any other number of desirable
sponsorships, participation in demonstration projects to promote attributes, the companies producing them are demonized for moving
the industry, and as major exhibitors in trade shows. the needle.
They also represent a sector of the industry whose lifeblood is If you were active in the industry a couple of decades ago, you
progressive innovation, the creation and application of products will recall the battles fought over low-flow plumbing devices and
that offer new, and presumably improved, solutions to consumer the massive attempts to have regulations governing the amount of
demands and challenges facing the industry. They may very well water these products consumed reversed, in large part because the
occupy the single most-competitive sector of that industry. manufacturers had not yet perfected their effectiveness throughout
Why, then, do they find themselves being used as scapegoats by the various product lines. But the manufacturers came through and
the very customers whose business they are vying for? Builders trillions of gallons of precious water have been saved, one home at
everywhere constantly seek new options to offer to potential a time. Now those requirements are taken for granted. But I believe
customers, ways of attracting new business and increasing their some builders and the trade associations they belong to resent
market share by differentiating themselves from other builders. mandates so much that they would choose to make indoor plumbing
Yet, when these new products, systems and technologies are “voluntary” if they could. GB

64 GREEN BUILDER Special Awards Issue 2017 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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