Page 320 - The Green Building Bottom Line The Real Cost of Sustainable Building

298 CHAPTER 10

Figure 10.2 Phased evolution of Melaver, Inc.’s approach to green.

tion of this book (Chapters 5 through 7) addresses this phase in detail. Finally, Phase 3,
captured in column C, represents current work for the company, as it tries to reinvent
how a real estate company can remain viable by not only promoting less consumption
but by producing less product. The evolution of Melaver, Inc. over time can be seen in
Figure 10.2, which shows a trend line overlaid on Grant’s matrix.
Each phase, as we will see throughout the remainder of this chapter, carries with it
distinct communications strategies. In Phase 1, the focus was largely on working
within the organization, but at an individual level, to reframe the core purposes of its
business and to enable staff members to become more comfortable with a “less-is-
more” value proposition. In Phase 2, the focus has been one of sharing the company’s
enthusiasm for green with others, entailing educating the marketplace, sharing infor-
mation in a non-proprietary way with any and all, and being as broad and inclusive as
possible in bringing other stakeholders into the fold. In Phase 3, in motion at the pres-
ent time, the focus seems to be on linking forces with a network of change agents
throughout the field to emphasize the strong linkage between green buildings and
practices and notions of sustainable community. Not every company involved in green
will experience this same trajectory. There are not only a million shades of green out
there, but just as many routes to a green marketing strategy. Our long-term work with