Local sourcing is a local challenge

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Each community has its own sense of place that is historically shaped by the economic restrictions on importing materials from around the globe. With inexpensive and reliable shipping, barriers were lifted at the expense of local jobs and often times entire industries. Adoption of sustainable building practices has the potential to reverse this troubling trend. Green building plans that call for local sourcing aren’t aiming for homogeneity; they are driving for geographically sensitive solutions to the very challenging proposition of buying local products.

It can be argued that certain locations are better suited to produce certain products, but people and talent are extremely mobile, so it is hard to see why that is a limiting factor in new industry creation. Also the business climate can be changed overnight by legislation that encourages whole companies to move from state to state, even temporarily. If this mobility of people and ideas has become so agile, we should be asking ourselves what other challenges remain as roadblocks.

Limits to natural resources extraction: There is a reason why it is called “Italian” marble and there is no argument that it is beautiful. But, due to its origin, it is expensive, hard to procure and difficult to schedule deliveries since it must be put on a freighter and shipped half way around the globe. Additionally, employees are sent all over the world to proactively manage the production of key materials, which is a costly and unnecessary expense. Conversely, these issues do not exist when products are sourced locally; there are no worries about products being held up in customs at the Oregon border. And, as a builder, I would much rather have a personal relationship with a local supplier in lieu of an exotic material.

More advanced or lenient green building codes in other countries: High-efficiency HVAC equipment comes from Japan and composting toilets from Sweden. Why? Because that is where the demand is, driven by the necessity of being more efficient. Here in the U.S., we need to get more creative with our building codes and balance between safety, energy efficiency and common sense. For example, with some of the purest water falling from the sky in ample quantities, here in the Northwest we should have a booming rainwater collection industry, but we have “do not drink” signs over our rainwater-filled toilets instead. There are decades of social inertia at work here, but in today’s interconnected social-media world, it’s now possible to influence hearts and minds faster than any time in history.

Limits to creativity: If a project can’t contain Ipe wood from Brazil, does that stifle the artistic license of the designer? I actually think it demands a higher level of creativity and innovation to come up with an alternative material. And, I have confidence that the architecture and engineering community is rising to this challenge. In the last three decades, they have incorporated ADA requirements, seismic upgrades and LEED has forced the building industry to eliminate materials that were once considered unavoidable. Yet, today’s buildings are just as stunning as those from previous generations. Doing more with less has become the hallmark of this economic time and a shift to local sourcing will make this a permanent mantra.

The best thing about green building and maintenance is that it is not a market-sector based industry. It won’t rust away like the steel mills of Pittsburgh or wilt like Oregon’s “Silicon Forest.”

Every home, commercial renovation or new building requires goods and services that, if sourced locally, produce the best social, environmental and economic returns. The sustainable building movement isn’t about limiting construction. It is about disciplining ourselves to source locally and fighting the tyranny of what is possible by choosing what is best. As a connection to our heritage and a gift to our future, we need to keep our “place” from becoming just “anyplace.”

Steve Clem is vice president of preconstruction in the Beaverton office of Skanska USA Building and specializes in sustainable building. He can be reached at 503-207-2594 or Steve.Clem@skanska.com