Truseal Takes a Look at Green Windows During Popular Seminar

In addition to its green seminar, Truseal's entire booth was focused on the environment, green products and energy efficiency.

Truseal Technologies sponsored and conducted a seminar during last week's GlassBuild America called "World Going Green: What Do Homeowners Want in Environmentally Responsible Windows?" During the seminar, a panel moderated by Ira Blumenthal, president of an Atlanta-based consulting company, CO-OPPORTUNITIES Inc., took a look at both what it means to be "green" and how consumers view green products. Panelists included Nathan Good, a LEED-accredited professional; Corinne Asturias, vice president and consumer strategist for Iconoculture's Baby Boomers and sustainable living advisory services; and Bill Shireman, chief executive officer for Future 500 and a long-time environmental activist.

One topic, which has been popular of late, was, "what is green?" Panelists debated where it is simply passive, environmentally friendliness or whether it requires an action and a deeper commitment to the environment. Likewise, panelists warned it's important to avoid buzzwords (often known as "green-washing") and to be careful to advise consumers how a product is environmentally friendly-rather than just calling it green.

The next question considered was, "How green are you willing to be?" Panelists discussed how much consumers are willing to pay for environmentally friendly products, and the fact that, no matter how green many wish to be, personal benefits often still come first.

Energy-efficiency also was a hot topic. Panelists debated, does energy efficiency make a product green? The consensus was that while these two ideas may equate among window manufacturers, consumers don't always see it that way, and need to be educated as such, and must understand that if a product can save them money on their heating/cooling bills, saves raw materials, carbon creation, etc., ultimately it's both environmentally friendly and energy-efficient.

This led to another important topic-the debate over how to show consumers that windows are energy-efficient and educate them on quantifiable ways to calculate these benefits. Data has to be there, though, panelists warned, for the calculations to be credible.
Lastly, the group took a look at how to sell green by establishing credibility with consumers, understanding energy codes and tax incentives, and being able to show consumers personal benefits of purchasing "green" products.

In summary, the group agreed that it's important to do the following to achieve all of these goals: define your product/company by its ability to save energy with labels, numbers, data and validation.

CLICK HERE for full text of seminar handout.

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