MODULE 49: Sustainability and “Green” Buildings
Core Module Issues:
• When should a company adopt green practices?
• When do sustainable options become too expensive?
Module Teaching Notes
It is hard to think of many buzz words that show up in the news more often than “green”, “renewable”, and
“sustainable”. Everybody is talking about making the most of our natural resources.
A good opening discussion here would focus on the degree to which students find these ideas important.
Whatever they initially express, make them give examples, and justify their opening points of view.
You might then describe efforts on your own campus. Are there more recycling bins than there used to be?
Do you buy power from a wind farm? Is the engineering faculty at work on new sources of energy?
Putting a “local angle” on the issue should be easy here.
The issue squarely addressed in this module is: how much money is it acceptable to spend on green
practices?
It is an easy call if the green option and the “regular” option are offered at the same price. But what if the
green option will cost an extra 1%? Or 5%? Or 10%? or 20%?
Also, many green options are billed as “cheaper over the long run”. If such a claim is made, how much
evidence must be presented to back up the claim before students would be satisfied?
In the scenario, an executive is presented with 10 different “more sustainable” options for his construction
project. Students will have to rank them, and then decide which to actually approve.
Everyone likes the environment, but some are willing to spend more money than others to protect it. This
exercise is designed to examine everyone’s comfort zone on “green spending.”
1. Rank the ideas presented, from #1 (best) to #10 (worst).
_____ Rainwater collection system ($50,000)
_____ Native landscaping ($100,000)
_____ Packed gravel parking lot ($0)
_____ Solar panels on roof ($200,000)
_____ Contract to buy solar-generated energy ($0 up front, future cost depends on energy
prices)
_____ Energy efficient windows ($400,000)
_____ Upgraded insulation ($200,000)
_____ Local building materials ($300,000)
_____ Bidets ($100,000)
_____ Hand dryers ($150,000)
[THIS QUESTION IS NOT ITSELF FOR DISCUSSION – IT SETS UP LATER
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS.]
2. Focus on your top two choices. What specific fact makes them particularly good ideas?
3. Focus on your bottom two choices. What specific fact makes them particularly bad ideas?
4. If you were Ron (the CEO), where would you draw the line? Which of the ten ideas would
you actually authorize?
5. For this last question, knock two zeros off of every figure in the first question. Imagine that
you are signing a contract to build a home for your family with a “base price” of $150,000. The
upgrades cost 1/100th of the office building prices. So a basic rainwater collection system for the
home would cost $500, native landscaping would add $1,000, efficient windows are $4,000
extra, and so on. Which of the upgrades would you OK for your own home? Did you draw the
line in a different place than you did in the previous question? If so, what is the difference
between the office building construction and the home construction?
A. DREW THE LINE IN THE SAME PLACE – NO NEW EXTRAS FOR YOUR
OWN HOME?
B. DIFFERENT PLACE – MORE OR FEWER EXTRAS? WHAT DID YOU ADD
OR DELETE?