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“You as a consumer, I as a consumer have enormous power to make the transformation that we want to see. But one of the transformations as a consumer is selecting the right products because the competitor who is not doing the right packaging or the right product is going to see that they’re losing clients to the competitors that are doing more sustainable product, produce and materials, so he’s gonna change. He’s only going to change because us as consumers are driving the change by purchasing the right or the best materials available for us.” - Denise Braun Denise Braun found her calling for sustainability work after witnessing waste flooding during a storm as a child in Brazil. She was further inspired after reading a book on applying sustainability in businesses while working in human resources. This led her to pursue a career in waste management. Denise founded All About Waste 8 years ago after having a child, encouraged by her husband to start her own business focused solely on zero waste solutions. The firm now provides zero waste certifications and consulting globally to reduce building waste. She leads by example with zero waste practices like composting and using refillable products. She encourages others gently and hosts zero waste children's birthday parties. She also recommends shopping at farmers markets when possible or using services like Imperfect Produce. She also suggests stores like Sprouts for bulk options. In Europe, she noticed less waste from smaller grocery formats and buying daily needs. Her goal is advising political leaders on waste policy. Other resources mentioned: The Natural Step, the book

In the beginning, just because a lot of people, like I said before, a lot of people, they don't know, or they have not conscious of what's going on in the world, and how they can save money and electricity, gas, or the more healthy. A lot of people aren’t sure. So I was a little hesitant in the beginning. I said, how we're going to market this property and to get the price that we want. Because of course, to do those changes, we add more and more budgets, more money for budgets. Now we have to raise the price, the listing price, is no more budget. In the beginning, so we were a little concerned, but everything came out good. - Jenny Acosta Jenny Acosta and I met through Women in Real Estate (WREN) back in 2018 as I was trying to learn more about flipping houses. My motivation was simply to create more green homes that I can sell as a Green Realtor. Jenny is a successful real estate investor, who has been “flipping” homes in Los Angeles since 2015, now in Austin, Texas as well. Over the years, I have talked to Jenny about doing her flip projects “green,” and we finally had an opportunity to collaborate on her most recent project to make a certified green home. This conversation was recorded a few days after we closed escrow. We discussed what we did, some challenges, and the outcome. My debrief presentation deck. Marketing video of this property.

"From the environmental aspect, composing has so many benefits. When you compost your food instead of throw way in the landfill, it gets proper aeration and it has oxygen to properly decompose so it doesn't release harmful greenhouse gasses like methane into the environment. So it's helping kind of the global warming movement on one aspect. And then from another lens, I'm taking AP environmental science right now and my teacher was talking about how one of the main reasons that they're requiring compost in California is because they're running out of landfill space. And so landfill space is obviously really detrimental to a lot of ecosystems because you're displacing those natural lands to put in manmade things like the landfills. And so when we compost our food, we're not taking up those lands and taking those lands away from natural ecosystems. And lastly, composting is known as black gold. And so, compost is really valuable to a lot of plants, and so, when we compost instead of just throwing it away, we create that natural fertilizer, so composting also reduces the use of synthetic fertilizers, which cause so many problems in the ecosystem." Grades of Green is an international non-profit organization, originally founded in Southern California by moms to “educate, empower and inspire students to take action and achieve long lasting environmental impact in their schools and communities.” Special Project Manager, Glenn Arnade, proudly introduced me to a high-school student named Cordelia O’Rouke, who spearheaded a program to get local schools to start composting the food scraps from their cafeterias. In California, the State Senate Bill 1383 enacted in January 2022 requires the food and compostable materials be kept out of the landfill. Empowered by the bill and the support/structure provided by Grades of Green, Cordelia has so far reached approximately 4,000 students at 4 different schools and trained them to engage in composting programs to divert the cafeteria food scraps. Cordelia discussed the benefits of composting and how it can help the environment by reducing greenhouse gasses and landfill space, and also shared tips on how to compost, including adding more brown waste and finding the right composting method based on individual goals and living situations.

[This episode is from a short video about Adam's project. Best to watch on HomeGreenHomes YouTube channel.] Adam, a long-time construction professional, and his family were experiencing health issues when they found their “property” in Redwood City, California. What they wanted was a place where they felt healthy. Yet the property was in such disrepair that his first thought was to demolish and rebuild. Instead he chose to “heal the house and the land that the house was sitting on” in the same way that he wanted to heal the family’s wellbeing. Thus Adam took on a challenge to change the construction process, which is typically very extractive, disruptive and wasteful, into a regenerative process to have a positive impact not just on the environment but also to the local community and local economy. The project touched on the Five Roots of Regenerative Real Estate®: 1) Health and Wellness; 2) Sustainability; 3) Community; 4) Ecology and 5) Spirit, which also relates to the concept of “Eco-chaplain.” (Those who work to establish people in a healthy, compassionate, and mutually supportive relationship with each other and the natural world. - Sati Center of Buddhist Studies) As a result, he was able to accomplish his Vision of truly regenerative project and indeed be an eco-chaplain for himself and his family, the property he turned into his family nest, the people who worked on the project and the surrounding community.

We are not looking to be orthodox about our ability to create low carbon footprint and green homes. We’re looking to educate people and let people know that this is possible, and you can do it beautifully, economically and have impact. Greg Roth is the senior designer for CarbonShackDesign, a branch of Home Front Build, an architectural firm. CarbonSharkDesign offers a holistic approach to green building design, integrating high performance, low impact materials with refined aesthetics, to create homes that respond to the way we live today. As a soup-to-nuts sustainable design-build company, they view every aspect of design and construction as an opportunity to shift the way homes are built today, towards minimizing our impact on the natural environment. From simple moves, like selecting touchless faucets or installing window shades, to more systemic applications, like upgrading insulation or installing solar panels – every decision you make about your home construction project can be viewed through the lens of its carbon footprint. And CasaZero is the case study house they designed and built to expand the definition of “green” to include the entire life cycle of a building and also one that examines the interconnectedness of our choices with the environment. See what else they have to offer at: CarbonShackShowroom, and SustainableBuild.

“I’d like to describe what we do as wellness integrated living. That is actually the foundation and inspiration behind our book. Since it is so difficult to disseminate this information. A lot of people shot at Whole Foods, but they don’t even know or think about the house, “Is my house healthy?” like it’s just not something that’s on top of people’s mind yet. So I think that’s really going to be hopefully pivotal as far as educating people, which is part of our mission.” With so many building materials out on the market, it's hard to know what's going into your family's home. JS2 Partners Healthy Home Builder is doing something no other builder is doing. They are creating better living through healthier building, using exclusively non-toxic construction materials and design methods in our custom homes. Jen and Rusty Stout share their story about how they came to recognize that each homeowner has their own needs and unique sense of style, how they came to specializes in healthy home building & design in the Austin, TX area and surrounding Central Texas Hill Country region, and how they ended up writing a book, Healthier Homes, to spread the knowledge.

“Chefs don't like it. It’s not gourmet way to cook. … I won’t cook on gas any more. And in my private chef life, I literally bring my induction hub to my fancy clients’ kitchen if they don’t already have induction because it cooks better, faster and more accurate.” Chef Rachelle Boucher (a.k.a. “The Appliance Whisperer”) of Kitchens to Life is a celebrated national cooking appliance trainer, private chef, influencer and event expert with over twenty years of experience creating custom training programs, activities and hands-on workshops for appliance brands, architects, designers, developers and end users to help them choose, use and enjoy modern cooking appliances and technology. After an adventurous career as a top private chef for celebrities such as filmmaker George Lucas, rock band Metallica, legendary sports celebrities and many other luminaries, Rachelle was recruited into the home appliance industry. She quickly became a celebrated corporate chef, trainer, and consultant with Monark Home, Sub-Zero & Wolf, Miele U.S.A. and many others working to showcase cooking technology such as convection, induction, speed cooking, steam cooking and more. This experience grew into a passion for electric cooking appliances which inspired her to become a leading advocate for electric kitchens and home electrification. Chef Rachelle has exceptional local, national, and international relationships with cooking appliance manufacturers, vendors, dealers, architects, designers, builders, influencers and industry groups including ASID, AIA, NKBA, NARI and experts in related fields. She is working tirelessly to bring electric kitchens to the forefront with her partner Robert Roth with their new venture, “Kitchens to Life” whose mission is to “Elevate the electric kitchens conversation, engage stakeholders with today’s inspiring cooking options and facilitate the adoption of kitchens electrification for performance, people and planet.” Rachelle recently joined forces with Building Decarbonization Coalitionto further the movement to electrify kitchens where abundant resources for electrification is available.