How green design supports the local economy

• Encourages the use of local/regional building products to reduce fuel consumption in transport
• Supports local livelihoods within the Indianapolis region and the State of Indiana
• Keeps the money exchanged for the goods in the region

One of the main components of green design is to utilize building products that are manufactured and harvested locally. Why? To reduce the environmental costs and energy consumption tied with transportation. Transporting materials over shorter distances reduces fuel consumption and pollution.
Most green-building programs that utilize rating systems encourage the utilization of local or regional building products. The LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System®, a national standard for developing sustainable buildings, specifically provides credits for utilizing local and regional materials. The LEED rating system awards points for specifying that a minimum of 20% of the building materials are manufactured regionally within a radius of 500 miles, and additionally for specifying that a minimum of 50% of the regionally manufactured materials are extracted, harvested, or recovered within 500 miles. This stands as a great reduction in the thousands upon thousands of miles that most products travel prior to their final destinations.

Therefore, when you buy a product locally so that it benefits the environment, it is also good for the local economy, because buying locally supports local livelihoods and keeps the value of goods within the area. Buying anything locally places consumers and producers in closer contact with each other, encouraging a sense of community and an understanding of each other’s interests. Buying building products that are manufactured and harvested locally, in addition to helping the environment, helps the local area to more competitively participate in the construction industry.

For a list of Indiana companies,go to Resources