Your home is most likely the largest investment you’ll make in your lifetime. It is also one of the largest contributors to your environmental footprint. When you consider the quantity of resources it takes to build a house, maintain it over time, and use it as intended (to keep us warm, give us easy access to water and food preservation, and efficiently do away with our waste), this shouldn’t be surprising.
In 2016, the World Economic Forum recognized that “the real estate sector is responsible for more than 20% of the world's carbon emissions and for other environmental impacts, including waste production, pollution, use of water and consumption of other natural resources.” That’s right: one fifth of our negative impacts on the environment stems from how we build, maintain, and live in our homes.
Younger generations (millennials and Gen Z) have strong expectations for greener building features and are already directing the path toward sustainability. Energy-efficient appliances, effective insulation, water recycling and energy-efficient lighting are all desirable home features for anyone concerned about their carbon footprint.
Local government has taken some mindful steps in housing policy. Time of transfer requirements on septic systems, enacting EPA standards when making home improvements, and creating standards around appliance disposal and wood-burning all help protect our local environment.
Individual homeowners and investors can take their carbon footprint reduction a step further by installing solar panels. Even here in the cloudy Pacific Northwest, solar panels can generate a significant amount of energy for a home. Here in Thurston County, homeowners who might not want to incur the expense of solar panel installation have another option.
Olympia Community Solar is a clean energy cooperative that partners with local organizations that operate out of facilities with large roof space to crowdsource solar panel installation. The Hands-On Children’s Museum is home to Olympia Community Solar’s first fully funded solar panel installation, The Hummingbird Project, unveiled on October 2. Their program allows anyone without the means or inclination to install a solar panel system at their home to offset their carbon footprint in a cooperative format that also benefits vital community centers.
A 2019 article from Forbes states: Sustainability can no longer be considered a niche. We only get one planet Earth. If we want our children’s children to enjoy the same conveniences and comforts we do, we have to start making our ways of life more sustainable. There’s no better place to start than at home.
To start a conversation about buying or selling a home, contact me directly at 360-508-2800 or kwoodford@kw.com.
Kristy Woodford is CEO of Holistic Home Group, which is affiliated with Keller Williams South Sound. She has over ten years of experience as a broker of residential real estate in Thurston County and leads a team of realtors experienced in serving local buyers and sellers.
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