Going Green
by Senior Community Manager, Erik Robinson
In countless organizations, clubs and businesses across the world, efforts and initiatives to “Go Green” are being implemented with an eye to the future and the preservation of finite natural resources and energy. Recently, Community Association Institute (CAI) launched their own “CAI Goes Green” program, putting together a huge amount of information for HOA’s to potentially utilize in their communities, and challenging them with a “Green Resolution Challenge.”
If reducing your carbon footprint is appealing to you, and you live in a Homeowner’s Association, Congratulations you have already taken a big step! Living in a community with a number of shared resources is an excellent way to reduce an individual or family’s requirements for landscaping, pools, shared clubhouses and meeting areas, green areas and/or other amenities. For example, many community associations in Arizona, California or other areas with very warm weather have a community pool. Can you imagine the resources saved by having a pool for the whole neighborhood, as opposed to individual owners building, filling and maintaining their own? How about landscaping, generally considered the most taxing activity on natural resources? Sharing common area green spaces, and having the water and irrigation managed by a professional landscaper, can greatly reduce the water and lawn needs of individual homes.
Perhaps just sharing resources with your neighbors and living in a community association isn’t enough for you, and you might be asking, “What more can I do?” This is a reasonable question, and likely much more simple than one might think:
https://www.caionline.org/AboutCAI/Campaigns/CAILivesGreen/Pages/default.aspx
Have Fun and Good Luck Going Green!
In countless organizations, clubs and businesses across the world, efforts and initiatives to “Go Green” are being implemented with an eye to the future and the preservation of finite natural resources and energy. Recently, Community Association Institute (CAI) launched their own “CAI Goes Green” program, putting together a huge amount of information for HOA’s to potentially utilize in their communities, and challenging them with a “Green Resolution Challenge.”
If reducing your carbon footprint is appealing to you, and you live in a Homeowner’s Association, Congratulations you have already taken a big step! Living in a community with a number of shared resources is an excellent way to reduce an individual or family’s requirements for landscaping, pools, shared clubhouses and meeting areas, green areas and/or other amenities. For example, many community associations in Arizona, California or other areas with very warm weather have a community pool. Can you imagine the resources saved by having a pool for the whole neighborhood, as opposed to individual owners building, filling and maintaining their own? How about landscaping, generally considered the most taxing activity on natural resources? Sharing common area green spaces, and having the water and irrigation managed by a professional landscaper, can greatly reduce the water and lawn needs of individual homes.
Perhaps just sharing resources with your neighbors and living in a community association isn’t enough for you, and you might be asking, “What more can I do?” This is a reasonable question, and likely much more simple than one might think:
- Pick up trash around the community and dispose of it in proper areas (recycling, compost, landfill, etc.).
- Contact Energy Trust of Oregon to discuss items you can replace, often at little to no cost, to reduce energy usage.
- Talk to your Board of Directors about potential options for water and energy conservation in common areas/amenities, and potentially even changing water-hungry lawn landscapes into xeriscapes with some drought-resistant plants.
- Investigate credits and advantages to converting appliances to certified energy saving models and look into renewable energy for your home (solar panels, tankless water heaters, etc.).
https://www.caionline.org/AboutCAI/Campaigns/CAILivesGreen/Pages/default.aspx
Have Fun and Good Luck Going Green!
