Welcome to the course where you learn to launch a new business in the energy, finance, real estate, design, engineering, or environmental sectors, while also helping you create positive environmental and human health impacts around the world. We will integrate tools, trends, and tips from the field of entrepreneurship as a career path for making a difference and generating wealth in the renewable energy and green building sectors. This is not a course about theory. Instead, we focus on real world application, step-by-step advice, and case studies. After completing this course, students will be able to: - Define key business opportunities, challenges, and potential solutions in the renewable energy and green building sectors. - Analyze a successful business in renewable energy or green building. - Identify 2 to 3 problems you might solve with either renewable energy or green building products or services. - Plan for engaging with investors who might finance a new business. - Take real world first steps towards launching a new business or corporate initiative, by applying the 1-page business idea summary template and the Business Model Canvas to generating and refining your own new business ideas.
Green Building Case Study: Cherokee Investment Partners
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Do curso por Duke University
Renewable Energy and Green Building Entrepreneurship
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Get Inspired — The Power of 3: Entrepreneurship + Green Building + Renewable Energy
In this module, you will reviews case studies of three award-winning examples of renewable energy and green building, including onsite videos. We discuss how entrepreneurship is a path for solving big problems that matter. Lectures illustrate that entrepreneurship is NOT just about startups -- it’s also about internal innovation at larger organizations. We also dive into some of the many business opportunities in renewable energy and green building.
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Chris WeddingFaculty
Nicholas School of the Environment. Founder and Managing Partner, IronOak Energy
Welcome back to class. Today our focus is
a case study for the headquarters of Cherokee Investment Partners,
which is a private equity fund,
an angel investor, based in North Carolina.
It's a company where I was an employee for many years and they're
also a client and I still serve as an adviser.
So this particular project was a pet project,
a baby of mine, if you will.
This became a LEED Platinum project and we'll say a few more words about what that meant,
as well to show some pictures of the space.
So at the highest level,
this project mattered to the organization because
our investment thesis - that revolved around environmental categories.
We were an investor in environmentally polluted real estate.
We call them brownfields here in the US.
On the angel investments,
a host of energy and environmental early stage company investments,
as well as solar project investments,
on top of landfills as well.
This was about kind of walking the talk,
if you will; proving this, really,
was part of our core,
not just nice window dressing or greenwashing, right?
A few stats here.
So this building was the first LEED Platinum green building project in North Carolina.
Again, LEED being the dominant third-party certification program in the world,
put out by the US Green Building Council.
It was also one of the first 10 LEED Platinum historic buildings in the world.
Many believe that historic building retrofit and reuse,
or historic rehab - short for rehabilitation,
as it's called - that that is at odds with green building.
The reality is, it's not.
Typically, the goals of the programs are more aligned than not around
things like goals like material - material reuse, let's say.
Some stats on the project.
So 100 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
In part, that was achieved through
roughly 30 percent less energy use for this building compared to other similar buildings.
The other part of that 100 percent was achieved through purchasing
third-party verified carbon offsets from
trusted developers and usually renewable energy projects offsite.
Water use; 50 percent less water use for this project,
which was very, very easy to achieve.
And I would say for many projects,
water efficiency is increasingly easy to do.
And that's because many of the -- I would say perhaps all of
the world's major water fixture-focused companies - Kohler,
Toto, et cetera - that water efficiency is a dominant part of their current branding.
So, you know, trusted products from long-standing companies;
it's easier to find options to acquire.
It's worth noting that 50 percent as compared to a new building.
If you compared our water use to existing buildings in downtown Raleigh,
it's more like 70 percent less water use.
Now this mattered, especially when the project was complete,
because there was a very severe drought in North Carolina.
Let's hop in the building here, as it were.
Let's talk about material reuse and daylighting.
In terms of material reuse, the floors,
ceilings and the standing beams,
those are all original.
So call it, you know, 100 years old or so.
Now, by US standards, that's old.
I realize for some of you watching in other countries,
that would seem like a new project.
The other, if you look at the workstation there,
the wood paneling or siding,
it comes from repurposed old beams in other kind of dilapidated,
forgotten buildings in the area.
As far as daylighting,
the ceiling was intentionally painted a bright white.
That helps to reflect daylighting further,
deeper into the space.
The windows, conveniently, are very large for this old building.
We also chose to put the executive workstations back in the back,
right here, not on the windows as would typically occur.
Because of that, more employees benefited from views to the outside and daylighting.
This is the conference room.
That exposed ceiling you're looking at, it's unique, right?
Not every company would choose that or could get away with that.
However, that industrial focus was part of our business,
therefore it made sense and worked.The table
there is actually made of a bunch of smaller tables joined together,
like a very simple puzzle,
which means it can also come apart when there are larger functions,
say with 100 people, back in this room.
This kind of multi-use space is aligned with green building goals and economic goals,
because you don't need to build extra square footage, let's say,
to house uses in separate spaces;
you instead put them in one shared space.
Tables are also made from a product referred to as MDF, medium-density fiberboard,
which is something like sawdust glued together with a particular glue,
which does not off-gas VOCs, volatile organic compounds.
Here, we're in the workroom.
The story here is about team buy-in.
The tables - what we're going to focus on - those tables look like granite. They're not.
They're actually made of post-industrial aluminum waste,
that is to say it's waste inside of the factory.
Those aluminum shards are bound together by a resin made from old eyeglasses, right?
So this is post-consumer waste.
It's hard to imagine these things until they're actually created.
The story is amazing,
but it's also - the tables are really beautiful.
The piece about team buy-in is this.
As we went around engaging
different departments at the firm about our green building goals,
what was being selected, the accounting team,
in particular, was very excited about these tables.
We love that, of course.
Now it's a bit contrary to stereotypes,
not that stereotypes are worth much.
But look, these tables cost a little more than other tables out there.
This was the accounting team choosing a more expensive table.
My dad's an accountant, so that sounds kind of funny.
Anyway, the point is,
we made this a kind of distributed,
all hands on deck, exciting opportunity as we
recreated this space and it led to a lot more group ownership, if you will.
This image is to highlight the role of culture and communication.
In many work settings,
there are cubicles or walls certainly,
that are taller and more closed - hidden, if you will.
In this case, we chose shorter workstations
with glass to facilitate better team interaction.
The other part of this story is that the workstations have
80 percent recycled content in them,
which when the producers moved in that direction of recycled content,
it was about cost savings,
but that was kind of before green building was cool, right?
Now they're benefiting from greater market pull, right?
Greater market demand for that kind of product.
Some other things you can't see here;
the HVAC system - the heating,
ventilation and air conditioning system - was one of the
most efficient on the market when this building was complete.
You also cannot see the solar thermal panels on top of the roof.
So again, with green building, as we've discussed,
some things you can see,
some things you can't.
Both are important, sometimes for different reasons.
Key conclusions. Most importantly,
green buildings do not generally cost much more,
if any more, than conventional buildings.
This project in particular costs less on a dollars per square foot basis than
comparable buildings for our kind of company in this area in the city.
If asked what the payback period was,
it was instant, it's irrelevant.
Furthermore, there are ancillary intangible, but important,
benefits from bringing in partners,
stakeholders to our space where they feel like we're
a trusted party who really walks the talk here.
Number two there; get team buy-in.
You need a lot of champions.
Bring them into the design process, engage their creativity.
We uncovered ideas I didn't have,
for sure, by engaging the broader team.
You want to create multiple "owners," many owners
of this green building idea and resulting space.
The final one there;
tell others about your experience.
Share lessons learned, offer tours, write articles.
The neat thing is that as you're doing that - while you're spreading the word,
lessons learned, positive and sometimes negative,
not everything is perfect - you're helping to advance the market,
helping to make this easier for someone else to also
advance the green building market growth.
But you're also branding yourself as an expert
and/or your business as an expert at same time.
Finally, questions for you.
Now, as I've mentioned before,
I really want you to maybe put the video on pause,
get your tablet, or maybe even better yet,
get apen and paper and write down answers to some of these questions.
You don't need to write a book, a few bullets would be fine.
This process of literally writing down answers to these questions is how you engage,
retain and grow from this information.
It's true for me, for sure.
That's been my experience.
All right, so the first one.
Is there a building or real estate development that
could use a green building product or service you're working on or thinking about?
Right? Perhaps the building or
project belongs to a family friend or your current employer.
Consider them as a focus group,
or as a potential pilot project partner to test your idea.
The middle one there; what other industries or skills do you want to become more familiar
with in order to be a green building entrepreneur?
Unfortunately, we we can't know everything all the time.
Don't tell anybody, but I don't know everything either.
So what other sectors could those be that relate to green building?
Maybe it's architecture, mechanical or electrical engineering,
construction, marketing, brokerage, or appraisals.
Make a list of a couple. Then pick a number.
Spend two hours over
the next three weeks learning more
about one or two of those additional sectors that are ancillary,
but important to help you reach your goals to speak someone else's language.
The last; what other the credentials can you earn to make
your green building startup or corporate initiative more trusted?
As examples, consider the accredited professional or AP designation,
which I did many years ago, for LEED,
WELL, SITES, or similar third-party certification programs.
Again, pause the video,
take some notes down, come back to it.
With that, we'll see you on the next video.
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