04 Dec Texas Green Building Marketplace Under Construction

The four Texas chapters of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) are banding together to create an online Green Building Marketplace for everything to make green building easy in our great state. Last year they launched a green building directory, now the intent is to have a hub for organizations, companies, events and jobs in the green building space. The site will eventually have four main sections: 1. directory, 2. events & education, 3. career center, and 4. materials exchange. Here's a review of what's currently available on the site:

Directory

The directory is still on the small side and certainly not yet comprehensive. Of the nine main business/organization categories in the directory, four have greater than 15 listings. Energy and professional services have the most listings. The official list of nine categories in the directory is:

1. location/transportation,
2. sustainable sites,
3. water efficiency,
4. energy and atmosphere,
5. materials and resources,
6. indoor environmental quality,
7. art and aesthetics,
8. operations and maintenance, and
9. professional services,

(Note: The transport category includes programs and infrastructure for things like EV charging, biking, carpooling and public transit.)

To get listed a company, or organization must apply and answer a series of questions related to how they “contribute to making green building easy.”

Events & Education

Events are organized by topic similar to those in the directory and by USGBC chapter (Gulf Coast, Central Texas – Balcones, Chihuahuan Desert and North Texas). The events section is up, but has scant content. Of the four state chapters, only the North Texas chapter has an event posted.

Career Center and Materials Exchange

These two are “Coming Soon!” Job postings are always great, of course. The materials exchange will be a fantastic way to reduce waste through posting available salvaged building materials, furniture, etc. for reuse.