We were honored to participate in the 2022 Built Green Conference. Every year, it provides valuable and cutting-edge information on green building and sustainability. Green Canopy NODE’s Co-Founder Sam Lai was invited to moderate the panel Partnerships for Delivering Sustainable Affordable Housing. “The point of convening today is to come with humility and listen. The group of people in this space is amazing. I hope every one of you can leave this room having learned one or two things that you can apply in your work,” he said.   

In a nutshell, panelists were clear on a generalized goal: residential real estate projects need to be increasingly community-led. Unhelpful structures need to change. That change can be hard, painful, and sometimes even feel impossible. But if the brave people in the industry continue to gather and partner, willing to look at problems, racist structures, or blind spots – within our communities and organizations – everything is possible. 

We want to share the key insights from each of the panelists on creating partnerships to help ensure real estate development meets community needs. 

South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity – “When someone tells me something is impossible, I am more motivated to do it and partner with smart people that will help me accomplish it. We need to plan different types of housing for all people at all income levels," said CEO Carly Colgan. Habitat for Humanity builds affordable homeownership opportunities for current and future generations. Each home is built closely with the future homeowners, so they are part of creating a better life for themselves and their families, developing strength, stability, and independence in the process. 

Africatown Community Land Trust – “Do developers impact communities in the way the latter would like them to do? It is only by working together that we can bring about a new paradigm in which communities are fully taking part in developments,” explained Muammar Hermanstyne. Africatown Land Trust works to acquire, steward, and develop land assets to empower the African diaspora in the Greater Seattle Region, fostering civic participation and equity.  

Artisans Group Architecture Planning – “We feel a strong call to action from our industry: we need to address racial equity and affordable housing. We should all be fighting for something,” shared Tessa Bradley, Principal Architect. Artisan Group Architecture Planning is a women-owned firm committed to artful design and building science for a better world. The firm currently works 70 percent on Passive House and 30 percent on affordable housing, partnering with South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity, Homes First, and other actors in the process. 

Homestead Community Land Trust – "Too often we are given a forced choice to either build for affordability or sustainability. It's urgent that we build more affordable housing. It's urgent that we address climate change. We must reject this false choice. We must do both now," urged Kathleen Hosfeld, Executive Director. Homestead Community Land Trust preserves and advances access to affordable homeownership to create thriving, equitable and inclusive communities, empowering individuals, families and neighborhoods in the Greater Seattle and King County area.  

Washington State Housing Finance Commission – “There is more need for resources than we have resources to provide. How do we prioritize which projects to finance? Through a community-based approach and partnerships informing a scoring criterion to distribute resources,” shared Lisa Vatske, Director of Multifamily Housing and Community Facilities Division. The Commission is dedicated to expanding housing access, safeguarding racial equity values, and committed to actively dismantling structural racism in the housing industry. 

City of Seattle – “The growth strategy in Seattle has been almost the same for the past 30 years, that is, concentrating most new developments –apartments and townhomes – in the same areas,” explained Senior Urban Planner Nick Welch. “We are now in the exciting phase of rethinking that; addressing the historic underproduction of housing and creating more opportunities in affordable and income-restricted markets,” he added. As prices rise and economic and racial segregation continues, Seattle’s Land Use division strives to shift these issues by rethinking how to distribute housing opportunities throughout the city. 

Building Communities 

There are many ways to go about including communities in real estate projects. The spectrum ranges from ignoring or merely informing groups to collaborating, co-developing, and even delegating responsibility for different parts of the project. Collaboration allows for creating the housing that communities want, and future generations need.  

Green Canopy NODE has long recognized that to build sustainable homes for everyone, we cannot work in isolation. Building partnerships is key to creating a better future where good homes are affordable, communities are resilient and inclusive, net zero carbon homes are the norm, wild lands are preserved and impact investors earn profits.  

Interested in exploring a partnership opportunity to deliver more sustainable and affordable housing?  

Developing a residential real estate project is a huge endeavor. With so many tasks, contractors, and workflows to coordinate, it’s easy to overlook the community in which you’re building. However, engaging neighbors in a timely manner makes a significant difference when it comes to the success of residential projects. 

At Green Canopy NODE, we consider ourselves neighbors in the communities we work, especially given our mission to build homes, relationships, and businesses that help regenerate communities and environments. After all, we become part of their homes’ surroundings and impact their day-to-day lives. “Part of the protocol in our own development projects is to have a community meeting to notify neighborhoods even before we start city permits. We typically do this prior to land acquisition as neighbors’ input is a key component of our feasibility due diligence,” explains Justin Hooks, VP of Construction at Green Canopy NODE.  

Recently, our team hosted a meeting with Grow Community on Bainbridge Island, with the goal of continuing dialogue about the construction of the project’s final phase.  “It was great to see so many neighbors turn out. They had a variety of concerns about the new construction and how it would affect their day-to-day life at Grow.  The Green Canopy NODE team, Jeff Bouma – the landscape architect —, and I, answered a range of questions from what the homes will look like, how parking is being managed to how the landscaping would blend in with what is there now,” shares Jonathan Davis, Architect at Davis Studio Architecture + Design and Grow Community resident. 

Community relations are rewarding – we want to share our takeaways to develop strong relationships and ensure the success of your project.

1. Be proactive about communicating – Don’t let neighbors wake up one day with unexpected construction sounds and dust. This will harm the project’s ability to organically become part of the community and your company’s reputation for future business – real estate is significantly about relationships! 

2. Listen – Neighbors’ concerns vary from construction timelines and working hours to path accessibility. Most of these questions can be addressed by supplying an FAQ with project information. Neighbors can also flag things you should be planning for but overlooked.  

3. All petitions are worth considering – Some requests may not be possible to deliver, given the project’s budget and timeline, but in others, you may find opportunities.  For example, neighbors asked how we could contribute to the care and expansion of community areas. Our team found an alternative: instead of discarding the construction waste from leveling the project’s land, we will repurpose this soil to improve the center park, a community hallmark where residents enjoy summer concerts and other activities. This was an opportunity to implement a circular economy approach that benefits neighbors and aligns with our sustainability goals. 

4. Leave the door open – A great deal of maintaining relationships is an ongoing effort to manage expectations and communicate throughout the project. As construction moves forward, neighbors will have new questions. Be mindful to establish how these can be shared with the team, for example through resident portals, emails, or future community meetings.  

In essence, our greatest takeaway from this experience is that investing time and effort in developing community relations is a great way to create excitement about construction, learn from one another by active listening and build trust. During the Grow Community meeting, “neighbors had some tough questions” shared Green Canopy NODE’s Marketing Manager Emily Butterfield, “but the team addressed them, and it was clear that they appreciated and valued that we took the time and effort to ‘show up’,” she adds.  

Contact us if you’d like help in developing your multi-unit real estate project!

Follow us to keep updated on our projects and learn more about our impact.

This past Sunday morning the Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church held a special, Beloved development Service. The Church, with members of the Nehemiah Initiative, launched an inspirational endeavor to empower the African American community by re-developing community land owned by the Church for affordable and sustainable housing. Black churches combined are the largest African American community landowners in Seattle. The epidemic of displacement has often forced them to sell their assets. The Nehemiah Initiative is a Beloved and inclusive initiative helping advocate for the retention and renewal of land owned within the African American community.

On behalf of the Nehemiah Initiative and the Goodwill Baptist Church, we would like to say thank you to those of you who joined the Facebook livestream of the Service! If you would like to watch the full service you can do so here. We have also recapped the service below.

Sunday Service at the Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church

The morning was a moment of wholeness and coming together on behalf of the African American community and Goodwill Church. The service began with the Praise Team soulfully lifting our spirits in preparation for a message of empowerment and purpose (Facebook Live minute 2:26)

Nehemiah Initiative Members each shared their perspective on the importance of the work

• Donald King, president and CEO of Mimar Studio | FB Live minute 23:34 | Full Text

  • Spoke on the Black church as “key to building our community and empowering and sustaining it.”

• Dr. Mark Jones | FB Live minute 30:27 | Full text

  • Spoke about Beloved Community and the importance of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words.

• Kateesha Atterberry, CEO Urban Black | FB Live minute 37:30 |Full text

  • She shared a deeply powerful story about a Black woman leader and the role of the church.

• Aaron Fairchild, CEO Green Canopy | FB Live minute 46:02 | Full text

  • Made the invitation to join this inclusive effort, to take one step towards wholeness, and asked for contributions to the pre-development planning effort (x2!)

• Bishop Garry Tyson, Pastor | FB Live minute 1:15:00

  • Gave a Sermon on Purpose

Thank you to everyone who was able to join the Sunday Service and to those of you who have already contributed to the pre-development planning efforts. We are pleased to share that as of today, we are just over halfway to our $50,000 goal!

If you haven’t already, we would like to invite you to join us by contributing to the Goodwill Church’s Building Fund.

Development site rendering

Development site currently

We will continue to share more about this project and the work to regenerate our communities in the weeks and months ahead. Thank you for joining us on this journey!

With Gratitude,

The Members of the Nehemiah Initiative that spoke at Sunday’s Service.

• Bishop Garry Tyson, Donald King, Dr. Mark Jones, Kateesha Atterberry, and Aaron Fairchild*

*Green Canopy is grateful for the opportunity to join members of the Nehemiah Initiative in advocating for Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church.

For Contributions by Check or Donor Advised Funds:
Name: Goodwill Baptist
Purpose: Building Fund
Attn: Bishop Garry Tyson
EIN: 91-1249502
Address: 126 15th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

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For further recommended reading:

-   McKinley Futures Nehemiah Studio Book (download PDF)

-   Learn about the importance of the Black Church in the African American community and the reason the need is profound.

-   Building Beloved Community While Working to Decarbonize Buildings

-   Green Canopy’s blog on Wholeness.

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Full Livestream Recap Text:

Donald King:

First meetings with Bishop and Aaron and the founding of the Nehemiah Initiative – it was more than a project opportunity; this is bigger than that

Project goals and guidelines – to be designed on this nearly blank canvas thru participation of the Beloved Community to embed these qualities:

HUMILITY – Modest , but elegant

HUMANITY – An example of being a shepard of God’s people and stewards of their environment

HISTORY – Expressions of our African origins and our people’s resiliency

Primarily, the design is about the juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary. Green design as a spiritual responsibility and representative of Bishop Tyson’s declaration that:

“Goodwill will no longer be just a church in the community, it will be a community church”

The design of the structures and provision of spaces is and outward manifestation and integral with the mission of the church for Beloved Community.

In closing, I’d like to say that:

All lives matter

All communities matter

All churches matter

However:

Black lives have been in jeopardy and under threat in this hemisphere of the world since 1619 – Black lives matter

Black people didn’t build communities to be separate from others, they were legally segregated for over a century – Black communities matter

The traditional Black church was key to building our community and empowering and sustaining it – in these challenging times, Goodwill, with these projects is delivering on that legacy of the community church and we seek your support to help us do that

Thank you and God bless you.

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Mark Jones:

Genesis 4:1 [Cain and Abel]

God asked him where his brother was. Cain answered, “I know not; am I my brother's keeper?”

When you build Beloved Community, the answer is “Yes you are."

Matthew 40 (NIV)

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"

In June 1957, in a speech on Beloved Community entitled “The Power of Non-Violence” Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King replied:

The aftermath of violence is bitterness. The aftermath of non-violence is the creation of Beloved Community, so that when the battle is over, a new relationship comes into being. The end is reconciliation. The end is redemption. This is the love that may well be the salvation of our civilization.

Nehemiah Initiative

Nehemiah Initiative is not just about erecting buildings:

It is about Building Beloved Community(s) that transform oppressive behavior (“Othering”) into “Belonging”

It is about Building Beloved Community(s) that create safe and supportive environments within organizations, neighborhoods, and communities.

It is about Building Beloved Community(s) where YOU are Consumer-Producers as residents, property-owners, business owners, and investors — not renters and wage-based employees, and customers

It is about Building Beloved Community(s) where YOU can depend on your Brothers and your Sisters to create and sustain a just economy that allows you to thrive

It is about Building Beloved Community(s) where YOUR life overflows with Mercy, Love in the form of Joy, and deep Compassion for yourself and for others

Conclusion

Let me repeat Dr. King said:

The aftermath of violence is bitterness. The aftermath of non-violence is the creation of Beloved Community, so that when the battle is over, a new relationship comes into being. The end is reconciliation. The end is redemption. This is the love that may well be the salvation of our civilization.

Research Briefings

• Briefing 1

• Briefing 2

• Briefing 3

• Briefing 4

• Briefing 5

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Kateesha Atterberry:

1.  Importance of Black Institutions

1.1.    History of Black Church

1.2.    Institution of Faith, Fellowship, Healing & Hope, and Economic Safety Net

1.3.    Dismantling of the Black Institution; loss of Legacy

2.  Black Leadership & Black Women in Leadership

2.1.    Black Women are at the helm of change and innovation

2.2.    Showing up in 90%+ in voting, leading Seattle Police depts, building corporations, or ascending to the highest position in the land as Vice President.

2.3.    We make things happen. But it’s not easy

3.  Story of a Black Woman in Leadership

3.1.    Horrific car accident Thanksgiving week of last year;

3.2.    Underwent brain & skull surgery, along with face reconstruction; 20 neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons, ENT doctors, nurses, and physical therapists.

3.3.    It was the church that saved her and these kids. The Body of Believers. An institution.

3.4.    That woman was me. Now, let me return the favor.

“Behold! I will do a new thing

Now shall it spring forth; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert

The beasts of the field honor me, the jackals, and the owls,

Because I provide water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert

To give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself

That they declare my praise.” – Isaiah 43:18

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Aaron Fairchild:

My Name is Aaron Fairchild and I am so honored to be up here to make an ask. But before we get into that all the rest of it I have a couple, few people I would like to recognize and thank.

Thank you to the Goodwill Baptist membership. While our first meeting down in the fellowship hall was at times tense and uncertain, what has never felt uncertain since is your commitment to living into your faith on those Sundays when you open your arms to my children, my wife, and me to join you in this sacred house of worship; the very beating and living heart of this community. You have opened your hearts to me and I am so grateful and humbled and I will be forever blessed. If it weren’t for all of you, I would not be here today advocating for your pastor and this community. None of us would be here. You have blessed me and all of us, and in so doing we share a blessed space.

I would also like to thank the members of the Nehemiah Initiative. You have been steadfast and committed. Meeting Tuesday after Tuesday, month after month and year upon year. The Pastors! Thank you for your participation in this journey of renewal – Pastor Noble, Broughton, Ransford, Maize and so many more, thank you. Without all of you we would not be here today.

I would like to thank the folks at the UW, starting with Renee Cheng the Dean of the CBE who caught the vision of the Initiative and its potential and championed it within the University creating the Nehemiah Studio. Al Levine, Rachelle Berney, Brandon Borne and of course Donald King thank you for your inspiring energy and passion for the effort you put into curating an amazing quarter of field work and discovery. And of course the students who poured their hearts and minds into the work that we are now building off as the catalyst development project at Goodwill begins to come to life. You all have been so inspiring to me and certainly without your efforts none of us would be here on this stage today. And of this Nehemiah family, I would especially like to recognize, Anne Stadler, our soul sister. You are an amazing force of positive energy and a well of deep wisdom. When you speak, everyone stops what they are doing and we listen, because what you bring adds so much value. Thank you Anne.

I would finally like to say thank you to Bishop. Bishop Tyson, my pew walkin’ preacher friend. What to say… what to say? I have been thinking about this conversation a lot over the last few days and my mind and my heart continue coming back to you. Over the last few years I have known you, you have demonstrated amazing courage and humility and at times the gifts of a fighter. But more often I see on displayed the gift of grace, love, and patience and understanding for those around you. You have trusted and remained open to me, your congregation and your community, and to our Nehemiah members - never forcing things. Rather you allow a heavenly energy to flow and guide you in a methodical and meditative manner. You are following flow my friend. With love and acceptance you invited me, all of us on this stage and many others to join you on this inclusive journey, and we will do whatever we can to not let you down and to be deserving of your love, patience, trust and understanding. Thank you, brother.

So now we can get into who I am, and all the rest of it…

So, who am I? My name is Aaron Fairchild and I am a PnW boy, and I run a company called Green Canopy. I came to my work through an earnest and sincere desire to help resolve the dichotomy between our civilization’s behaviors and the environment of which we are called to steward. However, along my journey I continue to learn more, and become more aware of the multitude of issues our civilization is facing that perpetuates this dichotomy. The most significant of these I believe is our inability to compassionately come together and to be whole.

In this historic year as we look out into the world it can often seem so dark. Recession, illness, voter suppression, death, and hardship seem to abound. This makes us feel anxious and at our worst, helpless. The system we live in is so massive and can feel crushing. In our little corner in the PnW, I know many of us are asking what can I possibly do that would have any impact on the unrelenting and often cruel march of world events? And so often the answer that we come to is, nothing. “How can I change the course of history for the better?” And so we reside back within ourselves and our privileged ability to join the largest majority in the world; those that acquiesce. Believing we are helpless and unable to positively change the world for the better, we hand our power to the powerful and the structures they control that then go on to act in our names. And so the world continues its brutal march, with those of privilege and power putting their beliefs into action – and more often than not those actions are destructive and designed to maintain powerbases of privilege and they work to separate us from each other.

We live in a time that the call to vulnerable, active, and critically aware citizenship could not be more urgent! A time where much needed inspiration has the ability to invoke in us the courageous, yet powerfully simple act of that little child who yells out in a mind numbed multitude, “but the emperor wears no clothes!” Often when a simple yet courageous action such as that is taken, it can have transformational power. However, when we yield to that feeling of helplessness, and say or do nothing, we conspire with cynicism and despair. When we yield to helplessness, we strengthen the hand of those that seek to hold us down and separate us for their own power. But when we take back our power and choose to see the healing possibility for renewal and transformation, we open up with greater clarity and our creative energy swells up and flows outward as an active force for good in the world. In this way, we, in our small and tucked away lives here in the PnW, can become powerful agents of transformation in an American culture that is broken and in a dark time. We need to counter this current culture with a movement of wholeness.

One of the counter-culture gurus of the 1950s and 60s – Gary Snyder, who is still alive today in his 90s, once said…

To resolve the dichotomy of the civilized and the wild [the environment we are called to steward], we must first resolve to be whole.

Gary Snyder

This is what I am talking about! This is what Black Lives Matters is talking about. The simple and courageous desire to be whole. When we know that something isn’t right, and we feel helpless, we aren’t whole. But here is a pathway to wholeness… Luke Chpt 15, the parable of the lost sheep! Jesus says, when you have 100 sheep and you lose one, don’t give into helplessness and say, “well at least I got my 99!” No, he instructs us that it is really quite simple. It requires just one foot in front of the other and the courage that true compassion inspires to take that step and walk out into a dangerous world and lift up the sheep that has been left behind. Not because the 99 don’t matter! But because the one life left behind matters. And we are not whole until we come back together.

The story of how Bishop and I met is for another time. But I will share that when we met, he invited me to join him on a journey that is counter to this current ‘gotchya’ culture of separation; I would like to invite you as well. It is a journey that Bishop Tyson began 27 years ago when he answered God’s pastoral calling, to go from one coast of this country to the other with love, compassion, patience and tolerance and to inspire within all of us, and those that have been left behind, the courage, born from compassion, to have faith and to not give into to our sense of helplessness, but to join him in a Beloved journey of empowerment.

Within the broad and inclusive approach the Bishop has taken to develop this community’s land is an opportunity for us to share wholeness. It is an opportunity for all of us, to take one compassionately courageous step and join this effort by committing ourselves and our money to see this vision through. So please, this is important, projects like this are important for healing. And they don’t come around very often! When they do, they point the way for others to counter this current culture. When a great body of people such as us come together in love and compassion to demonstrate what we can build together, it has the ability to create a great wave of love to wash over others and inspire them to throw aside their helplessness, to take that first courageous step forward, and to lift up those that have been left behind and be whole. Please join us by contributing whatever you can afford… X2! J Go to the Church’s Givelify site and give. Write a check and mail it to the church. Call me or Bishop or someone you know associated with this community and take one step closer to being whole by giving to this community. Thank you.

The Future of Homebuilding is here - And it’s Powered by 100% Clean Energy

An alarm was sounded again last week by young people around the world demanding action and change towards addressing our climate crisis. “Systems change not climate change,” marchers’ signs read – a call for not just individuals, but for governments and businesses to shift behaviors and policies. Although the streets have since been emptied of climate strikers, Green Canopy is still marching alongside many who are actively doing the hard work to bring about a new paradigm and new behaviors towards systems change.

One new behavior that we are excited about is Seattle City Council’s recent step towards passing legislation that would remove natural gas from new construction buildings in the city. Green Canopy fully supports this movement beyond fossil fuels, and we have been voluntarily been selling all-electric homes since the sale of our first home in 2010.

“We’re proud of our Seattle Council members for identifying that this is the right thing to do - and the market is ready for this as evidenced by the hundreds of electric homes that we have sold.”

— Aaron Fairchild, CEO

Why does Green Canopy choose to build all-electric homes?

We cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels
Fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas are currently the world's primary energy source – but they are finite resources and cause irreparable harm to the environment and our communities. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the burning of fossil fuels was responsible for 76 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2017 — It is time to make the shift and build a clean energy future.  The gas we use to cook with and heat our homes is often fracked gas, a significant source of carbon and air pollution. When faced with the choice, building all-electric homes that run on 100% clean energy – sometimes even powered by the sun – is a no-brainer.

All-electric homes are better for your health
The dirty secret of the gas industry is that what is delivered to our homes to heat our homes and cook our food is toxic to our health and our children’s health. When heating our homes or cooking food for our children, we breath in toxins such as carbon monoxide and formaldehyde.  Studies show that this increases the risk of respiratory illness like asthma, especially in children. With our homeowners’ health in mind, we put induction cook stoves into all of our homes. While we know change is sometimes uncomfortable, induction takes advantage of the latest in technology to help you cook faster, with more precision, and the best yet – healthier.

More power costs less
We live in an advanced technological age where increasingly obsolete technology is being replaced by the latest and greatest. Appliances powered by natural gas are an inevitable relic of the past, especially as more powerful technologies already exist and are commonly used. The induction stoves and electric heat pumps in our homes are far more efficient than their gas counterparts, meaning they not only perform better, but save our homeowners money as well, allowing them to spend their money where they want to – not on their energy bills.

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Recently, we partnered with Climate Solutions and Van Wyck and Porter to showcase one of our latest all-electric homes. With pie in hand from 314 Pie, we gathered with our community to demonstrate the benefits of the technology, design, health, and comfort of our all-electric homes.

““We know seeing is believing and highlighting what’s already happening in all-electric home building makes it easier to scale and accelerate solutions to the problem of building emissions. Building emissions are a big focus in addressing climate change and it’s exciting to see how businesses like Green Canopy are leading the way in making all-electric buildings a more accessible reality for communities across Washington State”

— Stephanie Noren, Climate Solutions

Check out some of the photos from our event!

Every year since 2013, Green Canopy has hosted the Green Genius Broker Awards at the Built Green Conference. The awards honor Real Estate Brokers who have excelled in marketing and selling certified Built Green homes in the Snohomish and King Counties. The Green Genius Awards judging panel is made up of experts in the building and real estate industries who look at both quantitative and qualitative data on the brokers including:

- The number of certified Built Green homes sold on the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS)
- The number of Built Green homes with the certification documents uploaded to the NWMLS
- The number of Built Green home benefits included in the marketing remarks on the NWMLS
- The level of knowledge and focus on Built Green building displayed in external marketing platforms like the broker website and social media

This year, there were four awards given: 2018 Listing Agent of the Year Award, 2018 Listing Office of the Year Award, 2018 Selling Agent of the Year, 2018 Selling Office of the Year. This year's winners:
​
GREG STAMOLIS | LISTING AGENT OF THE YEAR

Greg Stamolis, Managing Broker at Windermere Ballard, sold 16 certified Built Green homes with all listings including the certification documents on the NWMLS. Greg is a Seattle native, has been a licensed Real Estate Agent since 1990, has a business degree from Central Washington, continually gives back and helps expose the benefits of green building and lifestyle practices on his website. Outside of selling homes, Greg enjoys climbing mountains, is a husband, a parent and nature-lover.

WINDERMERE CAPITOL HILL | LISTING OFFICE OF THE YEAR

The Windermere Capitol Hill Office sold 36 certified Built Green homes the past year, three with the certification documents uploaded to the NWMLS. Owner, Pat Grimm says,"I see green building and sustainability as an extension of the values that I hold dear and do my best to promote in the office... another consistent, reoccurring theme as to how my values show up is respect. I love the respect that green building and sustainability demonstrates to our community and future generations."

TUSHAR GARG | SELLING AGENT OF THE YEAR

Tushar Garg, Owner and Broker at Flyhomes, sold eight certified Built Green homes, two with the certification documents uploaded to the NWMLS. Tushar is excited about sustainability and green homebuilding as he fell in love with Seattle because of the surrounding nature. His business, Flyhomes, is unique in that the brokers and team members come from all different backgrounds helping to find different solutions and generate new ideas.

REDFIN SEATTLE | SELLING OFFICE OF THE YEAR

The Redfin Seattle office sold 24 certified Built Green homes this past year, with all 24 NWMLS listings including the certification documents. Redfin continues to move the needle forward both in their business model and in green real estate. They've blogged about "The top 10 Neighborhoods for Green Homes" and continue to highlight the benefits of Built Green homebuilding.

Congratulations to all of the 2018 Green Genius Award Winners!

The 2018 Green Genius Awards were presented and made possible by:

Green Canopy had the pleasure of being a part of the 2018 Annual Starbucks Sustainability Fair. This year’s fair was an opportunity to introduce the 6,000+ Partners working at the Starbucks Support Center to community resources aligned to the Partners For Sustainability mission: to educate, engage and empower Starbucks Partners to make sustainable change. Here are a few Partners we got to meet at the Green Canopy booth:

"I’m a bit of an eco-enthusiast... I was intrigued in talking about the ways that architecture impacts home temperature and how the local climate, the lot and the orientation of the structure on the lot can be leveraged to reduce a home’s carbon footprint." — Brian L.

"I'm a project manager for Starbucks in the Design & Construction Services.  I love the idea of a zero energy home, especially in our region of the US.  When utility bills can vary so hugely, it's nice to know that not only would I be keeping them steadier for our month-to-month energy costs, I would be helping to sustain resources and working against a large ecological footprint." — Nicole M.

The Green Canopy Crew enjoyed meeting so many thoughtful Starbucks Partners while finding new and old friends who are using business as a force for good in the world. Here is just a snapshot of those we met:

• Washington Wild

• International Living Future Institute

• Be Zero

• Zero Hour Seattle

• Carriage Houses

• Seattle Zero Waste

• Lime Bike

• The Works Seattle

• Washington Green Schools

• Seattle EcoWomen

Green Canopy introduced the Company’s first Net Zero Energy Homes in Portland by holding a class with valued partners in the movement. New construction “Net zero” or “zero energy” homes are highly-efficient home powered by the sun and typically built to a higher certification standard — in this case Earth Advantage Platinum. With less than 10 ever transacting on the Portland Regional Multiple Listing Service in the last 20 years, zero energy homes are very unique. Real Estate Brokers and buyers are learning more about what zero energy is apart from the apparent solar panels. Benefits like: healthier, allergen-free air quality; comfortable, evenly-distributed heating and cooling; and smart, cost-saving technology.
 
The event was held in one of the two Green Canopy Net Zero Energy Homes. Introductions were given by Debbie Chase of First American Title who welcomed brokers with bites from Elephants Delicatessen. Green Canopy Cofounder, Sam Lai, explained the mission of the company and the desired outcome of regenerative communities. And Chris Dawkins and Brian Schmidt of Lightbox Portland shared stories about their lessons learned from building their zero energy project that sold last month in Northeast Portland.
 
To begin the class on zero energy, Peter Brown of Earth Advantage — green building certifier — divulged details on what makes up a zero energy home. For this certified Earth Advantage Platinum Zero Energy project, Earth Advantage visits the project site several times to audit the quality of building — something that is not done for code-built homes. It is tested on a range of performance metrics like efficient water and lighting fixtures, structural integrity, and the energy consumption versus production. Brown also explained that the performance of zero energy homes is dependent on the lifestyle of the occupant — a household of 8 would likely consume more energy than a household of 2. A lively discussion ensued about the accuracy of energy certifications when home occupants have significant impact on the energy consumption of the homes. One remark was how a car’s Miles Per Gallon may not precisely reflect a car’s performance due to user differences like the number of passengers in the car or a different driving styles.
 
Green Canopy Construction Program Manager, Ryan Nieto, answered questions on the home the group was sitting in. Brokers remarked on the simple design qualities that they appreciated like the high windows allowing natural light in while providing privacy from the street. Nieto discussed how living in a net zero or zero energy home is not a sacrifice for sustainability but rather a convenience and the way of the future: “Net Zero Energy is a lifestyle choice. We’ve built high quality, energy efficient, and healthy homes that empower homeowners to embark on their personal journey towards Zero Energy, without sacrifice comfort or livability while adding durability and value.” 
 
The class adjourned and attendees were invited to walk through the home with the green building experts. Interactive “tags” were placed near distinctive features for attendees to learn about the features and their respective benefits for homebuyers.

At Green Canopy, we believe living in a net zero energy home goes hand in hand with a zero waste lifestyle. Partnering with Seattle Zero Waste, Zero Waste Washington, Eco Collective Seattle and Seattle EcoWomen in welcoming zero waste activist, Bea Johnson, to Seattle was an honor. 
 
According to research outlined in Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming, “Over the course of a century, methane has 34 times the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide. Landfills are a top source of methane emissions, releasing 12 percent of the world’s total.”
 
The Zero Waste Movement has been an important piece in the pursuit of greater sustainability and reducing our landfills. In 2002, The Zero Waste International Alliance was formed to tackle waste management issues globally from the front end and defines zero waste as, “designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them.” They believe that by “implementing Zero Waste we will eliminate all discharges to land, water or air that are a threat to planetary, human, animal or plant health.”
 
Bea Johnson — a French native living in California as a mother of two — took this concept, and applied it to her everyday life and decisions. Johnson’s blog, Zero Waste Home, that she started in 2008, shows how to create less waste in a practical and cost-saving way.
 
Since 2008, her family of four has only been producing enough trash to fill one small jar every year. In the process, she’s found that a zero waste home has simplified her lifestyle and afforded her family more time together, with a priority on creating experiences and memories together.  Bea has inspired a global community of Zero Waste bloggers and lifestyle adopters. Her bestselling book, Zero Waste Home named after the blog, has been translated in 20 languages, she’s given 200+ speeches in 30+ countries and been featured in publications and TV Shows around the world. The New York Times, the Today Show, BBC Breakfast.

Johnson spoke to a sold-out crowd of about 200, centered around her 5 Rs:
 
Refuse
Refuse what you absolutely do not need — and especially disposables or plastics.
 
Reduce
Reduce what you do have. Look at what you have and ask yourself, “Can I do with less?” Can I donate this or give it to someone else that needs it more?”
 
Reuse
Whatever you cannot refuse or reduce then you reuse. Make the things that you do purchase, long-lasting re-usables and not single-use items. This can also look like reusing the compostables you’ve bought as many times as possible as Johnson will freeze the discarded pieces of vegetables from cooking to make vegetable stock. 
 
Recycle
Whatever you cannot refuse, whatever you cannot reduce, whatever you cannot reuse — then you recycle. Sending back the products and materials that wear out to the initial supplier or a local recycler to be turned into something else. If you absolutely cannot refuse using a laptop and it breaks, recycle it at a local business or mail it in if needed.
 
Rot
Whatever you cannot refuse, reduce, reuse or recycle, then you allow to rot in the compost. This is the last of her R’s because it is the last resort and typically a very small amount leftover after going through the first four Rs.
 
The most impactful part of Bea Johnson’s talk for me, was hearing how implementing a zero waste lifestyle has shifted her family’s focus towards giving gifts of experience instead of things, allowing for more memories and bonds to be made. Instead of new toys for Christmas, her son got to go skydiving for the first time and still talks about it.
 
After the presentation, Green Canopy’s Director of Investor Relations and Impact, Susan Fairchild and Zero Waste Washington’s Heather Trim, kicked off happy hour by asking, “what is the next step you want to take in living zero waste and how can you make it happen?”

It's time to clothe my dreams in reality, to create a home for wanderers who cannot bow before the traditions of a single dwelling and a fenced yard. Who look beyond marriage and blood to gather brothers and sisters bound by more than custom and umbilical cords. Generous minds and loving hearts, laughing eyes and simple tastes who know that serenity at sunrise and peace at sunset are worth more than the treasuries of kings and IRA security. It's time to clothe my dreams in reality, to gather together kindred spirits. Who look beyond what is and was to understand what can be, who know that love and compassion, joy and peace are our birthright stolen by a culture's madness and to band together the manipulations of frightened lives, wise minds, and bruised hearts, daring souls and brave spirits who know that love is worth the stars and friendship does not hide it's private anxieties behind sophistication and steel symbols. It's time to clothe my dreams in reality, to move beyond jealousy and possession, isolation and imprisonment. To confront boredom and loneliness, sadness and lovelessness, to make known my secret needs and reveal my hidden yearnings, to risk self exposure as the only path to final freedom, to surround myself with the energy flowing from the earth's core, the passion of rivers and resilience of trees, and thus to clothe my dreams in reality! —James Kavanaugh | It's Time

​Green Canopy is feeling happy and empowered from Empower Happy Hour this month— thankful for all presenters, sponsors and stakeholders who came together with us to celebrate Sightline Institute: a local, independent think-tank, who envisions an economy and a way of life that is environmentally sound, economically vibrant and socially just. Here are some highlights from the presenting impact organizations:

Keynote | Ryan Honeyman | Lift Economy
Ryan gave a synopsis of his background including his start in psychology and criminal justice and a passion for "reforming the criminal justice system and prison reform." While reading some of his brother's Environmental Studies books, Ryan grew excited by the idea of using business as a force for positive change.

Lift Economy began by "wanting to help existing companies scale their impact." Ryan explains... "We started to realize that while it's great to do consulting work with companies, many companies are categorically excluded from access to capital— and especially women and people of color."

The Force for Good Fund created by Lift Economy, is a fund that is investing in women and people of color-owned enterprises. "How can we create an economy that works for the benefit of all life if we don't put more women and people of color in charge?"

Petra Franklin | Dwehl
"The Dwehl founders came together to solve a problem that has a massive impact upon America's future, home ownership... and in the process we realized this was a prosperous business opportunity, that was better for all stakeholders...

In America, there are more people renting today than anytime in the history of the US census. And, as it turns out, renting is not working in their favor. The average net worth of a renter is $5,000 whereas the average net worth of a homeowner is $225,000. In addition, renters can expect to spend 30–50% of their income on rent, whereas homeowners can expect to spend 15–25% of their income on their monthly payment. The GenX and Millennial generation have come of home-buying age. They have jobs and they pay rent. In fact, they pay $535 Billion dollars in rent annually and Pew Research says that 72% would prefer to buy a house than continue renting, but they do not qualify for traditional home financing...

We see this as an opportune time to reinvent residential home ownership and we want to ensure this solution is better for all the stakeholders. By verifying three years of rental history and using that number as the basis for a home ownership payment, we are able to offer ownership of highly desirable homes with no downpayment and 5% financing.  Equity starts accruing immediately!

The mission of Dwehl is to grow the net worth of our customers but what we realized was Dwehl also presented us with an extraordinary opportunity to upgrade America’s housing stock to net zero efficiency!”  

Kevin Bayuk | Force for Good Fund
"Lift Economy has been working with 100s of different social enterprises, mostly small-scale enterprises, trying to reinvent the economy— organizations that are trying to provide needed goods and services, but do it in a way that are non-compromising in terms of their potential social and environmental impact. These types of enterprises are chronically underfunded, under-resourced." 

Kevin went on to explain how Lift Economy saw a gap that needed to be filled, and thus created the Force for Good Fund as a way to fund B Corps who are seeking to model a more diverse and  inclusive ecomomy. 

"It's not traditional to be able to invest in the type of enterprises that we're prioritizing, wth the type of fund that we have."

Bec Chapin | NODE
"We're building radically-sustainable homes and we're delivering them through an effortless customer service process. And we're doing it because of climate change."

"75% of the buildings that we're going to be using in 2050 don't exist today. So right now, we're building the stock of that... and we have the chance to shape the future."

"We think this is the answer... It's buildings that give back more to the environment than they take. Buildings that become ecosystem services, not just extractions. They're regenerative."

"A company that benefits everyone is the only company we can see ourselves being a part of."

Aaron Fairchild | Green Canopy & Cedar Fund
"Imagine with me, if you will, a future where all of the energy needs in all of our homes, come from the sun...  where net zero energy homes are the norm. Imagine a future where issues of sustainability and poverty are inextricably linked."

"We have this impression that deep green, net zero energy homes are available only to the upper middle class and to those that can afford them. And these same homes (that are actually more affordable to own and operate through the energy savings) are not available to those that have the greatest need in our society...

Imagine a world where these good homes are affordable. Imagine a future with me where our wild lands are not fragmented by development... but rather our cities, through thoughtful design and density are the key to preserving our wild lands for all of life to thrive...

A future where we're not building regulatory walls that separate us— zoning and regulatory land use walls that create neighborhoods that are exclusive to only those that can afford to move in and have access to those amenities... 

A future of love and empathy for one another because we can see ourselves in the other. Because we live together. We're co-mingled and intermingled in diversity and by the way, we need that diversity of thought, history, perspective to be applied to finding solutions for that future that we envision... a future where our communities are resilient and vibrant because they're inclusive.

Imagine with me.. if you will.. where the hard-earned income that you generate through your labor, that you invest in your children and their future,  does not work at crosspurposes to that future that you envision. Imagine a future in which your hard-earned capital could accelerate and activate the future we envision and earn profits...

The Cedar Fund was designed to address these four issues: resource scarcity and global warming, the housing crisis of access and affordability, urban sprawl, and quality impact investment opportunities not reliant on direct government subsidies."

Bettina von Hagen | EFM
"Everything we need to do to combat climate change... is right in front of us...

It's not just about the climate. It's about social equity, it's about distribution of wealth, it's about how we relate to each other...

The good news is that climate change could be the stimulus, not just for addressing the climate, but for addressing the fundamental ills of society that we know and that we recognize...

Strategies that we employ in forests, changing the way that we manage them, can double the carbon storers while at the same time yielding this broad range of benefits...

We have the most amazing solar factory in the world, right here in our forests. The needles and leaves are solar receptors. The trunks and the branches are the batteries. These batteries last forever... for hundreds of years."

Alan Durning | Sightline Institute
Alan, the executive director at Sightline, touched on how the housing crisis today is a housing crisis of "cruel musical chairs... The only way to stop the rise of prices and of rents, displacing those with the fewest resources, is to provide enough chairs. We need more houses of all shapes and sizes...

The question is not, 'can we end cruel musical chairs?' The question is can we do it without sprawling... well, you can." Alan goes on to show how Tokyo, the biggest city in the world and more than 10 times the size of Seattle, has accomplished this by building more dwellings in the city. Vienna was another example cited by Alan.

"In every city where housing is affordable, the lesson is exactly the same for us in Seattle— you have to build enough housing for everyone who wants to be here."

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All photos by Reagan Ashley and videos by Kyle Porter of Porterworks

On December 5, 2017, the Master Builders Association (MBA) awarded Green Canopy and CEO, Aaron Fairchild the 2017 Built Green Moving the Market Award at the Master Builders Association Awards & Gala. Aaron and Green Canopy were chosen “for taking the step to build only net zero energy homes.” Founded in 1909, the MBA is the “nation’s oldest and largest local homebuilder’s association” and continues to move the industry towards greater innovation and sustainability.
 
“I’m extremely honored to represent Green Canopy’s team, owners and stakeholders in receiving this award from such an established and reputable organization as the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties.” -Aaron Fairchild, CEO, Green Canopy Homes
 
“Aaron is an inspirational force in the Puget Sound area residential home building industry. He and his team continue to push the limits at the intersection of sustainability and business in new and exciting ways. I commend Aaron and Green Canopy for all they do for our association, our communities, and our region,” states Aaron Adelstein, MBA Director of Programs and Products. 

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The MBA featured CEO, Aaron Fairchild, in the Master Builder Winter 2017 issue in the article, “The Man in the Green Hat.” Here is some of what they had to say:
 
“Aaron’s drive to transform the market is indicative of not just his desire to align business, community, and sustainability but of the work and thought that he puts into this effort. He is truly a leader in the regard, constantly innovating and aligning actions with his words. Aaron is a collaborator, mentor and leader all at the same time.” -Leah Missik, Built Green Program Manager
 
“The positive culture Aaron has cultivated resonates throughout his company, the Master Builders Association, and our region.” -Cameron Poague, Master Builders Association
 
“Aaron is the type of person who is actively changing home building for the better” -Cameron Poague
 
Also included in the article is a quote from Green Canopy Co-Founder, Sam Lai, “Aaron can seem enigmatic to some because he’s difficult to pin down. He is a disciplined business mind– as fierce and pragmatic as you would expect from a third-generation banker and Foster School MBA grad. Yet his unwavering passion for social and environmental justice seems counterintuitive… like the trucker cap on his head and Wendell Berry poetry on his lips. One way to understand my friend and CEO is that he is true to his heart and that’s what drives him. He has a vision to make the world a better place and the grit to execute a business plan to make that vision a reality.”
 
Green Canopy continues to be a leader in the housing industry, and in our city.

“Our changing climate means we must reshape the way we grow and build to enable all people, both now and in the future, to thrive. For the building sector, this means dramatic and ambitious solutions including rapid market transformation for a net-zero carbon built environment…We need courage from all sectors of the industry to be radical, strategic and collaborative to reach our shared goals of carbon neutral(ity)… You are part of the solution.” -Rose Lathrop | Green Building and Smart Growth Program Manager, Sustainable Connections ​

AUTHOR | SAL LAI, COFOUNDER
What makes me thankful? Despite my concerns with our society’s trajectory, I am encouraged to see entire communities centering their lives around purpose and community­— doing the courageous work to reverse global warming and fight social injustice at the same time.  When I witness this, it reminds me that I do believe we are moving toward a more generous, integrated and regenerative way of living on this planet. This makes me thankful. 
 
I had the pleasure of seeing evidence of this movement at the 2017 Sustainable Design and Development Conference in Bellingham, Washington. The theme for this year’s conference was “Transforming the Market to Carbon Neutral” and the strategies presented during the day were both challenging and exciting:
 
Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable | Patti Southard, Program Manager, King County Green Tools
In the opening keynote Patti Southard, Program Manager at King County Green Tools, addressed a room mainly full of white designers, architects, builders, consultants and researchers. Patti challenged us to question whether our projects (in an industry responsible for 45% of the Green House Gas emissions in the built environment) contribute to social justice in our communities for all people. She reminded us that we should exercise land use planning “as if people mattered” and informed us that in the ten years between 2007 and 2017, our African American population within the city of Seattle declined from 13% to 7%. Our society is only getting more economically stratified with minorities moving out of the city and Caucasians rapidly moving in. However; In King County, there are more languages spoken than any other city in the entire US except Los Angeles. By 2022, the population of American children will become “minority majority” for the first time. So, what does it mean for us to plan as if people mattered? Homeowners must focus on the value of diversity in our neighborhoods— to advocate and draw on the deep well of love and connection, rather than fear or anger. As homebuilders, we need to increase the affordability and accessibility of resource-efficient homes.
 
Building the Decarbonized Future | Vincent Martinez, COO, Architecture 2030
“In the wake of the US’s intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, it is clearer than ever that change in the building sector will come from the bottom up.” Vincent Martinez, COO of Architecture 2030, spoke about the importance of private-public partnerships (rather than public-private) to decarbonize the built environment in cities. Business and grass roots community groups will play an integral role in transforming our housing sector from the ground up. Many think tanks and research studies indicate that urban density is a primary, necessary strategy to decrease our carbon output while maintaining the infrastructure needed for another 1.1 Billion people in 15 years (the equivalent of a brand new, New York City built every single month). Are we willing to acknowledge and embrace the fact that our cities are growing and guide the momentum to a better outcome?
 
A special thanks to these other industry leaders for bringing these discussions:

Passive House | Alex Boetzel, COO of Green Hammer
“Reducing energy use – and consequently, CO2 emissions – of buildings, is an instant and continued action on climate change.” Alex Boetzel, COO of Green Hammer provided practical, actionable insight on energy use reductions of 65-75% using passive strategies so that buildings can become net-zero-energy and subsequently carbon neutral. Green Hammer has built homes in the Portland area receiving certifications including: Passive House, LEED Platinum, FSC, Earth Advantage and Living Building Challenge.
 
More Affordable Sustainability | Bec Chapin, Cofounder of NODE
“As gatekeepers to the change we want to see in the world, we have an opportunity to change the way we think about (home)ownership.” This transformation should allow more people to prosper in our quest for more affordable housing and sustainability in the built environment. Bec Chapin had the crowd pair up to actively share stories with one another, getting strangers to engage at a heart level and making her session the loudest and liveliest.
 
Shannon Todd and Don MacOdrum | TRC Solutions
On behalf of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, Project Managers, Shannon and Don shared their vision and strategy for partnerships between local governments, certification programs and utilities to make green building an obvious and cost-effective choice for all builders. Their conversational style allowed us to understand the important “boots on the ground” work and how TRC is leading to break down the cost and system barriers to green building. Thank you for your hard work.
 
A few quotes from this presentation:

• “What if our homes could represent the values that we are evolving into?

• “What if we could build homes that were purpose-driven, balanced, community-focused, warm, generous, integrated, regenerative.

• “We came together to start Green Canopy under this vision that the homefront was a leverage for transforming the way in which we live in our environment and we still believe that today. The tactics and our strategy has changed but the mission has stayed the same... we want to transform the real estate market."

Contributed by Alexa Ashley
Green Canopy's first net-zero energy home is now available on the market. This home is the first of it's kind in Magnolia with only a handful being listed on the NWMLS in the last 20 years. Green Canopy's Accounting Manager, Jen Trujillo remarks, "I didn't realize how few houses like this there are." The Company has been building a diverse range of homes (including single-family, townhomes, rowhouses, net-zero ready houses) in Seattle since 2009 and this project is their first net-zero energy home, which includes solar panels. 

Green Canopy believes that net-zero energy homes are the future and will become the standard for new construction since they are more sustainable, comfortable and resilient. Project Manager, Wilson Deaton explains, "It's exciting because net-zero is really the pinnacle of green building... you can build as green as you want but until you get to a place where you're not using any energy in a house, then you haven't quite gotten there. If you can build a house that uses no energy, then you've completely switched the math when it comes to how much pollution you put out and how much carbon goes into the atmosphere– and that's the goal."

In the past, net-zero energy homes have been more expensive than similar homes, but Green Canopy has been able to offer this home within the normal market range by staying on budget (1.8% budget deviation compared to the industry standard of 13%) and implementing strict quality control checklists. The project manager, Valeriy Korol, who carried this project to completion says, "I think as a company we have a pretty good strategy (as to) why we're building the house. It's not about money, we're Green Canopy. We're trying to improve the world. We're changing the world. So... it's a small step overall, but it's a step to save energy, to think about the future of your kids and the future of the world."

The high-performing ventilation systems in these homes also provide a more healthy indoor environment as Deaton explains, "you have ERVs (energy recovery ventilators) and HRVs (heat recovery ventilators) so you can change the air and make sure you get enough fresh air... not to mention when you build Built Green 4 star or 5 star you're always using building materials that have less chemicals in them. Less harmful chemicals."

The project was recently listed, with it's first public open house and class to help brokers and buyers understand the benefits of net-zero and solar power. When asked why this project is exciting, Chief Financial Officer, Andy Wolverton, responds, "It feels like the next step. In the last few years... our quality has improved, our process has improved but what we're building hasn't changed all that much as it relates to our mission and this is evidence of that. Going another leap forward."

Thank you to all of of the Green Canopy partners who have helped make this leap possible including but not limited to: Northwest Electric & Solar, Van Wyck & Porter, Evergreen Certified, Performance Insulation,  Built Green, and Tesla.

f you have questions about this property, would like to schedule a showing, or be informed of upcoming Green Canopy projects, email info@greencanopy.com

This home features:
- Soaring views with expansive rooftop deck
- Built Green 5 Star certification
- Clean lines with open spaces
- Lots of natural light
- 5 bedrooms
- 4 bathrooms
- 3,643 square feet
​
as well as net-zero technology which includes:
- Energy recovery ventilator to properly ventilate while providing highest air quality
- Solar panels that have the ability to fully power your home and eliminate energy bills
- Sense energy monitoring system which allows you to see how your energy is being used
- Ducted mini-split heat pump with AC for comfort
- High-performance weatherproof construction
- Smart home technology
- Induction range
- EV-ready

MLS #1211653

The last two weeks has been a whirlwind of intentional conversations with like-minded, social purpose organizations. The B-Corps Champions Retreat and the following week of SOCAP17 were both intense conferences of shared themes and desired outcomes. A couple things linger in my mind from these social impact conferences:

• The short distance the social impact investment community has traveled to date and where it is on the arc of its lifecycle trajectory.

• The emphasis on personal improvement.

So how far have we come? My first year at SOCAP was 2009. That was the same year when I first learned about B-Corps companies at the Sustainable Industries Journal forum from Stephanie Ryan of B-Lab. It was directly after SOCAP09, in November of 2009, that Green Canopy bought its first project and our work to build the company began full-tilt and relentless. The first years of Green Canopy were about survival and getting the organization right. Today we have the capacity to expand the scope of our community beyond the Pacific Northwest region. In 2013, we certified as a B-Corps, but my first B-Corps retreat was two weeks ago. This was followed up by SOCAP17, my first year back since 2009. In the eight-year span between first learning about B-Corps companies and SOCAP, and today, this community has grown significantly and become a legitimate investing force and philosophical approach.
 
When looking at the lifespan of contemporary impact investing in the SOCAP17 booklet, the movement is younger than many of us, just turning 40 years old. If we are investing for this generation but also for generations to come, then we are in the infancy of a multigenerational movement determined to continue to grow, learn and transform global society and economy. We are on the early side of the impact investment lifespan for sure. We have a long way to go and the urgency of the issues we are addressing with our labor and capital create impatience on behalf of just about everyone in this community. Throughout both conferences it felt like most people were understandably feeling the impatience of our youthful movement. Like we just want to be older and more mature than our short 40-years will allow.
 
And then when we couple our youthful impatience with the urgency our work demands, impatience compounds. Which, perhaps, is the reason so many conversations at both conferences discussed the importance of personal, emotional, and spiritual growth in the practice of social entrepreneurship and impact investing. If the antidote to anger is patience, then the lack of patience leads to anger. The importance of love in our work requires patience, yet patience decidedly lacks urgency. Perhaps in order to productively hold this dichotomy through the transition to a new paradigm, a focused determination that allows for grace and patience when organizing with a sense of urgency requires each of us to develop increased mindfulness within swirling storms.

Celebrating our collective “wins” and taking stock of our successes happened throughout both conferences as well, and from my perspective there is a lot to celebrate in the progress we have collectively made in just the last eight years. When I first learned about B-Corps companies in 2009, there were 205 certified B-Corps, in 28 states and in 54 industries. Today there are 2,310 certified B-Corps, in 50 countries and in 130 industries. SOCAP has tripled in size and become an international affair. It is drawing investment firms representing more capital than most people seemed to think possible just a few years ago. Bringing values into our investment analysis continues to seem obvious once seen; like suddenly being able to see a number hidden within the page of little colored dots. The more people’s eyes identify that opportunities to make money work for positive change are hidden in plain sight, the more obvious it becomes that when we direct our resource toward changing the world for better, the world indeed gets incrementally better.
. 
I am entirely grateful to be part of this community and movement, and I look forward to continuing with the dual edge of graceful patience and urgency, toward building and investing in the future we believe in.

"Transparency, accountability are no longer fringe ... We are seeing a surge of leaders who want to have a platform to influence the greater good." -Bart Houlahan, B Corporation | SOCAP17

by Aaron Fairchild, CEO

At the September 14 Built Green Conference, I moderated the panel, Exclusionary to Inclusionary: How can we make our region inclusive, resilient, and vibrant, with Seattle mayoral candidates, Jenny Durkan and Cary Moon, as well as City Council candidate Teresa Mosqueda, and Sightline founder Alan Durning. It was an honor to moderate this discussion. It was made even more poignant by the passing of my father the night before after nearly a 10-year struggle with Alzheimer’s. He would have been proud to see me moderating a discussion with such a powerhouse group. I did my best during the discussion to channel the thoughtfulness he demonstrated throughout his life. I would like to thank the panelists for their time and contribution, and for helping to make an otherwise difficult day, one of inspiration! ​

Here are a few thoughts I took away from the conversation. 
All the panelists agreed that up-zoning or at least allowing townhomes, duplexes and triplexes, and row-houses onto our exclusively zoned SFR lots within the city is something that should be pursued. I also learned there was broad agreement that the permitting process at the city should be streamlined and explored for greater efficiency in processing permits. The last thing that became quite apparent was that: 

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“we all agreed that our vibrant city will only remain so if we can maintain income diversity where it currently exists within our neighborhoods and bring it back to our city’s more desirable and “exclusive” neighborhoods. ​”

— Aaron Fairchild

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I don’t typically endorse candidates, however, given the conversation, I would like to humbly offer my thoughts on these candidates and on Alan as a panelist. ​

Alan Durning was a Vesuvius of knowledge; bright, red hot and over-flowing with intense clarity and of course, humor. 

Jenny Durkan exudes focused energy aligned with her past and progressive vision of Seattle’s future. Seattle would be well served with her as mayor. 

Teresa Mosqueda was a power provider, articulate, earnest and buoyant. I can whole heartedly endorse her candidacy and sincerely hope that Seattle will benefit from her leadership in the near future. 

Cary Moon is heart and meaning and brings unassuming positivity together with pragmatic approaches for progress. Seattle would be well served with her as mayor. ​

When doing a quick read on Wikipedia about Bertha Knight Landes (October 19, 1868 – November 29, 1943), I discovered she “was the first female mayor of a major American city, serving as mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1926 to 1928. She is to date Seattle's only female mayor.” 

These three powerful women candidates honor Ms. Landes’ memory and life through their current and future efforts. I am looking forward to seeing the last line in the Wikipedia page updated to read, “She was Seattle’s only female mayor, until 2017.” 

You can watch the condensed footage of the discussion on the Built Green website. 

Green Canopy relies on Built Green to provide rigorous green building standards. Green Canopy utilizes their standards to certify our homes as Built Green Certified. On an annual basis the Built Green Conference provides builders, developers and real-estate agents cutting-edge information on green building and sustainability. Thank you Master Builders Association and Built Green! 

Photo Credit: Built Green and Alabastro Photography

Green Canopy is looking forward to the Built Green Conference 2017! CEO, Aaron Fairchild will be the moderator as well as a panelist alongside Co-Founder, Sam Lai and Vice President of Construction, Justin Hooks. Seattle mayoral candidates Jenny Durkan and Cary Moon and Seattle City Council candidate Teresa Mosqueda will join keynote speaker Alan Durning for an exclusive roundtable discussion, as well.

The conference "has been occurring annually for a decade with the aim of providing valuable and cutting-edge information on green building and sustainability. The conference will cover a variety of topics related to green building, ranging from building science to policy, from post-occupancy research to discussions on equity, affordability, and community issues.  This content will be covered throughout the day, which will include a keynote address, a variety of sessions to choose from, and lunch, all followed by an awards ceremony and reception."

The Green Genius Award winners will also be announced and recognized during the reception & awards ceremony. Come meet the leading professionals in the green building and real estate industries!

Register before prices increase tomorrow!

We're looking forward to hosting the 6th Annual Green Genius Awards Ceremony at the 2017 Built Green Conference this year. The Green Genius Awards are the region’s first and only awards to honor real estate brokers who are helping to transform the residential housing market. By listing, marketing and selling homes that have an ecological and social impact in Seattle neighborhoods, these agents are educating a generation of homebuyers and disrupting the status quo of homebuilding. They are helping to change the paradigm of how real estate is valued in a growing city and working to build a more sustainable community. ​

The judging committee will be awarding one listing agent, one selling agent, one listing office and one selling office this year based on how many certified Built Green homes they've sold and how much they've promoted green building and the green movement in the past year. Here are this year's Green Genius finalists:

​SELLING AGENT FINALISTS
Angelo Ongpin | Keller Williams Downtown Seattle
Michael Carnovale | Keller Williams Downtown Seattle
Melissa Harris | Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Northwest

LISTING AGENT FINALISTS
Van Wyck & Porter | Windermere Capitol Hill
Tom Skepetaris | Keller Williams Downtown Seattle
Ravi Dewan | Real Property Associates

SELLING OFFICE FINALISTS
Keller Williams Downtown Seattle
Coldwell Banker Bain
Windermere Wall Street

LISTING OFFICE FINALISTS
Berkshire Hathaway Northwest
Metropolist
RE/MAX Metro

To find out the winners, attend the awards ceremony with the top green agents and green building experts in Washington State, register here.

The Green Genius Realtor Awards and Education Program are made possible by:

When Green Canopy began, our region was in the grips of a housing crisis. Streets were filled with “for sale” signs that wouldn’t budge. It seemed as though everyone wanted to sell before the market dropped further, and that no one really wanted to buy a home. Green Canopy’s solution was to acquire existing homes and deeply remodel them as certified Built Green Remodels for sale. The Company’s mission is, and has been since that time, to inspire resource efficiency in residential markets. Remodeling existing homes using sustainable methods and materials and certifying the home Built Green, was at the time the most viable and sustainable method for accomplishing the mission during the last housing crisis. However, as the market began to shift, Green Canopy began feeling the symptoms of a new emerging market crisis. Today’s housing crisis is a result of a shortage of supply and there are more people looking to buy than there are homes to acquire. The market economics have changed, making it no longer viable to buy homes, remodel them to a rigorous green building standard and remain in business. Rather than bemoan the current market, Green Canopy can now lean into its mission with a greater sense of purpose.

Green Canopy’s homes are nearly three times more energy-efficient than the average Seattle home.
It is difficult to achieve the same efficiency in an older home that you can when building a new home. A Green Canopy home includes energy-saving appliances, optimized heating and cooling systems, and is built with air-sealing, insulation and a design that helps to properly regulate the temperature of the home. Even if an old home is renovated with the same benefits, the efficiency of the remodeled home cannot match the efficient structures of a new Green Canopy home.
 
Building more homes on each lot is more resource efficient and helps to preserve the bioregion around us.
By optimizing each lot in the city, we can slow down the rapid expansion and sprawl that is inevitable as our cities continue to grow in population. By keeping our housing dense within the cities, we can continue to enjoy the beauty of the landscape around us and survive on the resources that it supplies us with. Shy of this, the metropolitan area will more rapidly sprawl and it will be harder to preserve the surrounding natural resources that we rely on. Adding density is simply one of the most resource efficient things Green Canopy can do. ​

Making the most use of each build-able lot helps to offset the negative impacts of gentrification and displacement. In a very short period of time we have become acutely aware that there are not enough housing options to equitably support our population. An emphasis on increased density is intensely important given that demand is forecasted to continue growing relative to supply.  A sustained increase in demand will likely continue to drive prices up, and moderate- and low-income households further out unless we build more housing in all areas of the city. Building more homes on each lot, allows us to offer more resource efficient and well-built homes to a broader variety of occupants.

 
The previous structures that Green Canopy deconstructs, is salvaged and repurposed.
Although the Company no longer exclusively remodels existing homes, most of the existing structures that are deconstructed get to live on in other projects within the community. In 2014, we began a deconstruction company to learn what it takes to manage responsible deconstruction of existing homes. After training the team and taking apart three projects piece-by-piece, the team learned that it was simply not cost effective to continue in that manner. , As a result, the Company worked to build lasting relationships with local organizations to selectively harvest reusable material from existing homes. By adding only one or two more days to the process, the materials include embedded infrastructure like floor and wall-framing members, not just old door nobs, or cabinets. Today, the company works with groups like Ballard Reuse and 118 Design to recycle, reuse and repurpose materials from existing homes.
 
118 Design is a part of Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission; their program works with young men (ages 13 — 26) in the Rainier Valley to decrease gang membership in Seattle.  The young men in the 118 Street Outreach program transform broken and discarded lumber into quality, urban inspired, one-of-a-kind furniture.
 
Their Street Outreach program offers:

• Internships

• Technical job skills training

• Workplace environment education

• Business and entrepreneurial classes

• Leadership and role model opportunities

• Mentors and counseling services

• Accountability and drug testing

 
Additionally, Green Canopy can occasionally offer the neighbors of an existing home an opportunity to claim items from the home to reuse and repurpose before these other organizations gain access. A few items that neighbors have been excited to reclaim have been: kitchen cabinets, a farm-house sink and vintage light fixtures, etc.

Where Exactly Do Our Deconstruction Materials Go?
Taken from a sampling of three of our projects, this is where we have donated and diverted waste from the landfills to (see individual waste diversion reports here):

•    Asphalt Shingles: Evergreen Shingle Recycling, CDL
•     Construction Debris: Clean Scapes, CDL
•    Crown Molding: Ballard Reuse
•    Washer Dryer: Ballard Reuse
•    Lath: 118 Design
•    Clean Wood: 118 Design
•    Siding: 118 Design
•    GWB: New West GWB, Resource Recovery
•    Metal: Recycling Depot, Seattle Iron and Metal, CDL
•    Wood: Ballard Reuse, Port Townsend Paper
•    Windows: Habitat for Humanity
•    Brick: Dirt Exchange
•    Concrete: Renton Concrete Recyclers
•    Cardboard: CDL
•    Land Clearing: Dirt Exchange
•    Rock and gravel: Dirt Exchange

We continue to inspire resource efficiency by salvaging architecture and have taken the necessary steps to get even better at it. When we started, it looked like remodeling; now it needs to be mindfully crafting more well-built, eco-friendly homes for a vibrant and diverse city. 
​

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Learn more about how to Recycle Construction & Demolition Materials
Summer is just around the corner and that means the building season will soon be in full swing. Do you know how to properly dispose of the waste materials from your projects? Please join us on June 29th to hear from two speakers who will provide strategies to manage construction and demolition materials sustainably and legally. Kinley Deller from the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks’ Solid Waste Division will talk about existing and forthcoming codes regarding recycling and disposal of these materials, and Justin Hooks, Vice President of Construction Planning at Green Canopy Homes, will offer tips for reaching a 100% recycling rate in your projects. The event is sponsored by the King County Department of Permitting and Environmental Review.

When: Thursday, June 29th  11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where: Snoqualmie Falls Room at King County Department of Permitting and Environmental Review office, 35030 SE Douglas Street, Suite 210, Snoqualmie. 
Who: This event is open to the public and will be especially helpful to contractors
Cost: Free & lunch is provided

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By: Krystal Meiners, Director of Marketing

What are the most impactful personal or business choices I can make to fight climate change? And is it my responsibility to do so?

As Green Canopy gears up for our first Empower Happy Hour of the year – I’ve been thinking about Forterra’s question of the evening. What are the most impactful personal or business choices that I can make to fight climate change? And is it my responsibility to do so? The second part always resounds with a bright, assertive “Yes!” in my mind. However, the other part of this question flutters and lands throughout my workday, across my desk, in and out of meetings; with answers both big and small. What are the most impactful personal or business choices that I can make to fight climate change?

My internal responses tend toward the personal solutions; challenges to buy local, volunteering for park cleanup in my community, reducing my consumption, eating more vegetarian meals, meditating on the power of fresh air, spending more time with my family outdoors connecting to nature. Beyond the personal, though, what are the business solutions that I can lean into to fight climate change?

In our Energy Performance Guarantee Program at Green Canopy, we have the opportunity to influence and incentivize conservation behavior with our homeowners. This guarantee amplifies our impact and empowers our homeowners to be able to live more efficiently and with a smaller carbon footprint than the average Seattle homeowner. We guarantee that each home that we build will perform as it was modeled by our third-party energy audits, or we will reimburse our homeowners the difference.

For the past two years, we have collected energy performance data through this program with surprising results. What we learned was that the majority of our homeowners were not buying into the program, and that the ones that did admitted that they did not understand their building systems well enough to operate their homes efficiently. Nearly two thirds of the claims that were submitted to us were showing overages beyond our 3rd party energy models. The average deviation from all of our claims was a 966kWh overage against the model. While that number is not a lot considering the average Seattle home consumes over 28,000kWh in a year, we still believe that this program is an incredible opportunity to influence, inspire and educate our homeowners. We want this program to be able to drive efficiency in our product in order to create real impact in our fight against climate change.

That is why our team is actively working to improve our process, educate our homeowners, and collect more data in order to achieve greater effectiveness. At the end of the day, we do more than just build homes. We want to live into our mission to inspire resource efficiency. The Energy Performance Guarantee is simply one business solution that we have that empowers our homeowners to live better, more efficiently and closer to the planet that we share. 

Stay tuned for more ideas in our upcoming blog series "Mission Metrics: Case Studies on Impact."

With the annual Built Green conference is only five days away, we’re getting increasingly excited to gather as a community of green building professionals to exchange ideas, connect and honor those among us who have done an outstanding job this year of bringing people into Built Green homes. Before heading into the weekend, we took a minute to get to know one of our Selling Agent of the Year finalists – Daniel Burton of Redfin.

AN INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL BURTON
GREEN GENIUS SELLING AGENT OF THE YEAR FINALIST

Now that the green building movement has become more mainstream in Seattle, what are the most relevant value propositions that make homebuyers choose green homes over a code-built conventional homes?
 
People don’t always realize that sustainability is more cost effective in the long run. The process of real estate development is already so complicated; to raise the bar on the quality of construction and integrating all of those green features says a lot about the product that you’re buying into. While it does take more advance planning, time and thoughtfulness, it’s so worthwhile in the end. The final product is not only built better, but it was done using non-toxic and renewable-sourced materials. You know that it’s not just thrown together, which can happen with a lot of new construction projects.
 
When people make the connection and actually see the numbers add up, not only in the short term but in the long term life cycle of the building, they see that you can save thousands and thousands of dollars if you just make a few smart choices upfront like focusing on high energy-efficiency appliances, improved ventilation, LED lighting, and capturing natural daylight whenever possible.
 
How can we push the green building movement forward? 
 
I think the best way is to brag about it – to promote it more. People don’t always know what they want until they know it’s an option. Once they understand they’re options and are educated, they’re like ‘Yes, this is definitely what I want’. The more we do that, the more the industry will feel pressure to accommodate those demands. In a sense, consumers vote with their dollar. Employing visuals that can incorporate the data, like infographics, so that more people can actually see the differences in Built Green homes, which could help make green standards the new normal. It’s one thing to read about it, but a visual that puts it all together for you really helps the ideas click.

What does sustainability mean to you?
 
Sustainability to me means a comprehensive, holistic, and thoughtful approach to how human initiatives impact our world now, and more importantly later. It also involves an identity shift to thinking about ourselves as global citizens who think globally and act locally. A collective effort to pursue a Triple Bottom Line mindset where people, planet and profit are taken into equal consideration is essential as well. From a real estate perspective, we have to think about how our buildings effect the people and animals that live in or around them, health-wise, cost-wise as well as how our built environment impacts its surrounding natural world. 

Why do you think the Seattle area is national leader in the green & sustainable building movement?
 
We were one of the first cities to make it illegal to not recycle and implement standardized compost. That kind of ‘granola’ culture has been part of Seattle's natural fiber for a long time; since that was already here, it was a really good place for this kind of movement to take off. A lot of people are already mindful of these types of things. The Native American history that is woven into our region may have also played a part, especially concepts like the Seven Generations principle – the idea that anything you’re doing today needs to be thought of in terms of how it will impact, not just people today, but seven generations from now. I think that captures the spirit of the green building movement, because it’s not just about saving money now, but also being really serious about how our actions will impact the planet seven generations later.
 
The landscape and regional locality of Seattle is also really important to consider. We’re so incredible lucky to have nature all around us. We’re positioned between two major mountain ranges, in a beautiful valley of vegetation with water surrounding us. All of that is definitely something that is propelling the sustainability movement. We can’t not think about it, because it’s all around us.

What do you like to do to enjoy the PNW summers?
 
Some of my favorite summer activities are hiking and camping in the Cascades and the Olympics, as well as taking an annual trip to Lake Chelan.

What is your favorite place on Earth? 
 
It might sound cheesy, but it’s Seattle. I’ve done a lot of traveling, especially all over the U.S., and after visiting so many different states I feel really lucky to be in Seattle. This is where it’s at.

If you could be an Olympic athlete, what sport would you want to compete in?
 
It would have to be snowboarding. My fate was sealed by having the same last name (Burton) as such a popular snowboarding brand!

Leah Missik - The new Director of Built Green talks to happy hour guests about the Built Green program.

Last month we had the honor of hosting Greendrinks with a fantastic group of organizations. The Youngstown Cultural Arts center was buzzing with folks from Built Green, Sustainable Seattle, Green Canopy and the Washington State Housing Finance Commission; all there to answer one question for the happy hour attendees - "How can we make green homes more accessible to first-time homebuyers?"

Promoting green building in the retail, real estate market is a paradigm shift in the way we have traditionally shown and sold homes in the past. Value in real estate has always been determined by location, price, amenities, neighborhood, school districts, etc. with little thought given to long term investment in things like utility bills or walkability.  However - as we see the Millennial generation step into the homebuying arena - a generation known for their values-based consumerism -  we can and should expect these individuals to be more interested in long term savings from resource conservation, healthier and local materials that benefit the local economy, and access to amenities in walkable locations that will keep them out of their car. It's not just the Millennials making these decisions though. Today, the typical homebuyer is tech-savvy and non-traditional. They tend to research more or their own and, while decisions still weigh heavily toward cost and location, energy efficiency is topping the charts on the "Must Haves" list for new buyers.

That being said - there are still not a lot of resources to help first time buyers get exactly what they want from the traditional real estate market - and certainly not many incentives to help aid in that decision to go green. Speaking from my own home buying experience, you tend to throw your values out the window when things start to get competitive!

Greendrinks was a perfect opportunity to explore the ideas and programs that are currently at the intersection of the market and values. Folks left the following comments on our interactive ideas board - and conversations circled many of these topics and solutions all evening.

• More education - many people do not know where to start when it comes to homebuying for the first time. Green homes can quickly become less of a priority as bidding wars heat up the market and first time buyers are forced to keep searching when product is scarce.
  

• Incentivize green building - making it worthwhile for builders to actually build green product is a huge part of the equation. Programs like WSHFC's Energy Trust and Built Green - make it easier for builders to finance projects and adapt green building practices that make an impact in our market.
  

• Incentivize green home purchases - Green mortgage loans and new products like WSHFC's Energy Spark program are paving the way for buyers to experience real financial relief on their mortgages for purchasing a green home. Additionally, programs like Green Canopy's Energy Performance Guarantee give buyers the peace of mind that their home will perform as it was modeled. This 3 year guarantee means the builder will pay any utility bill that exceeds the amount modeled in the Energy Performance Score.

As mentioned above - the Greendrinks event was an opportunity to talk about a new program from Washington State Housing Finance Commission that was launched just this month. We were especially excited to be alongside WSFC as they revealed Energy Spark - a program that works hand in hand with their down payment assistance program for first time buyers. This incentive comes in the form of an interest rate reduction for mortgages on energy efficient homes. You can learn more about it in this short clip from Kiro News.