The Green Consumption’s Peculiarities
The thesis of the classical economic school that demand breeds supply is directly relevant to the green architecture as a whole, as well as to the green building and green technologies, in particular. That said, despite savvy building automation systems (BAS) and the environmental gurus behind them, without occupant compliance, meeting environmental performance goals is not only impossible, but in some cases, quite contradictory. But also takes on a momentum for green consumption or a green consumerism. Most of it is related to food, but green buildings are now becoming quite competitive commodity.
In the West, the term “green consumerism” is defined as a very democratic strategy of saving the planet by avoiding excessive consumption, purchase only environmentally friendly products and inform each other about their benefits. In summary, this means that each person should have not only the desire but also the opportunity to assess a product, technology or actions with respect to their impact on the environment.
Certainly, there are general trends, such as concerns about environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and so on, but in every country of the world a consumer behavior is rather affected by the special features of its historical development, geographical location and the state of the economy.
In the U.S., with its strong traditions of entrepreneurship, the efforts of private companies and innovations in construction has resulted in a rapid emergence on the market a variety of green products and services. These include a wide range of products - starting with organic foods, which is grown or produced without using the pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, artificial food additives and GMOs, up to environmentally safe building materials.
Initially, these products were offered by small firm or individual manufacturers, but large corporations such as Home Depot, Ford, General Electric, and others seized the initiative and they “sat behind the wheel of a large bus of green consumption.”
Enthusiasts of the environmental movement in the small businesses still exist, but their share has decreased significantly compared to the power of big business. In general, this phenomenon is a positive, because exactly the high-volume manufacturing of green products it makes them available to the various strata of society.
At the same time, and differences between the regions are quite substantial. Thus, the states that are on the northwest, the Pacific coast are more eco-advanced than the others.
Development of green business is also contributed by the environmental legislation, which for the most part is created not on the national level, but at the level of state administration. American shade of green - the most profound, but it is only a part of the global spectrum.
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Text: Vladimir Boldyrev