Swinterton Inc. is the leading commercial construction company dedicated to the issues of environmental stewardship and sustainability. In fact, they were voted "Green Builder of the Year" by the San Francisco Business Times. We sat down with Grant French, the Corporate Sustainability Manager at Swinerton, to see what insights he could offer the average business owner looking to green up his or her office.
What are your credentials/certifications?
Grant: Bachelor of Science in Human Studies
Master of Science in Construction Management, with a Sustainability emphasis
Why did you start working in the green building field?
Grant: I realized I wanted a career in green building back in 1999, when I heard William McDonough speak in Portland, OR. Twelve months later, I was working in his office in Charlottesville, VA. Listening to Bill, I understood that while the need to think green would impact our industry 
first, over time it would impact all business sectors due to emerging global influences, such as a Climate Change and a narrowing energy supply.
Why should people start building green?
Grant: To me, the beauty of green building is that it harnesses the power of the marketplace. Simply put, building green is building smart. Building green confers a competitive advantage compared to conventional design and construction and the data is now emerging to confirm that green buildings yield a better return on investment over time.
What's been the biggest challenge for you since you started working at Swinerton?
Grant: Staying on top of information that is both current and accurate is a constant task. While there is no shortage of green talk these days, not all the information out there is accurate.
What trends have you noticed in terms of sustainable building practices?
Grant: Green building is definitely becoming main-stream. Before too long, rather than asking, "is your building green?", the question will become "how green is your building?" There is a growing understanding among owners, designers and builders that the underlying drivers of green building - cost of energy, recruitment and retention in a shrinking workforce and climate change - will all remain in effect for many years to come and so we need to anticipate a world where green is the norm.
What advice do you have for a business owner who might want to make their existing building greener?
Grant: The best approach is to implement a step-by-step process to assess whether retrofitting green is the appropriate strategy. The goal is to be able to make an informed cost-benefit decision about investment options for your existing building.
In 2008 we formed the Enhanced Building Performance Group (EBPG) to address this exact question. EBPG is designed to provide building owners a snapshot of their existing building's performance, a gap-analysis of what it would take to convert it to a high-performance building, and a cost-benefit analysis for the green retrofit. EBPG is a collaboration between Swinerton, Simon & Associates and BuildingWise and our services range from an initial building assessment through to achieving LEED certification.
How about folks who want to apply sustainable practices to their business in general?
Grant: Start today! There are many excellent resources readily available to help you get going. No matter your line of business, you should be asking yourself how to reduce waste and improve efficiency.
