Specialty contractors work in the trenches of green building, performing the hands-on tasks that make sustainable buildings a reality. High-performance systems installed by workers in the field are critical to green goals, but not everyone recognizes the role of the trades in sustainability. New training programs aim to change the mindsets of specialty contractors, while familiarizing them with the emerging systems and techniques in green building.
“Some of the big myths are that [trade contractors] don’t matter in green buildings; that they only build from drawings; that they are a cog in the machine,” says Russell Unger, executive director of the Urban Green Council in New York City. “The truth is, they make decisions every day that impact the performance of a project.”
Within the burgeoning green education movement, much of the initial focus has been on designers, but an increasing number of green training and certification programs aimed at contractors have launched in recent years. In January, the Urban Green Council set out to tackle the issue with GPRO—a comprehensive training program that focuses on the people who build green projects. Initially established by Urban Green Council in New York, the program is already spreading nationally, adding programs in New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado, and Texas.
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