Building up benefits before expertise

How Wisconsin's construction industry should sell
itself in an increasingly eco-conscious climate

By Caley Meals

Claiming to be green and being green are different things.

Badger State Inc. is being green.

The Eau Claire-based plumbing, piping and HVAC contractor uses a solar-powered water heater in its new headquarters, which opened in October. The system, which employs two types of panels, demonstrates to customers real-time functioning and output results.

Tim Klingfus, a Badger State project manager, stands with one panel of solar evacuated tubes at the company’s headquarters in Eau Claire. The tubes are one technology the plumbing contractor uses for its solar-powered water heating system. Photos by Jeff Thompson

Fred Gardner (left),president of Badger Stateand John Ebert, director of developmentstand in front of the company’swater-heating system.

David Niles, a principal with Productive Knowledge Inc., an Elm Grove public relations firm that offers specialized green marketing services, said companies looking to attract eco-conscious customers need to be green like Badger State, not just claim to be green.

“These days, you see news releases every day about companies making claims to be green,” Niles said, “and it seems that there are plenty of companies that are putting out green claims just to get on the bandwagon.”

In a world where seemingly everyone declares their greenness, Wisconsin’s commercial construction industry must take marketing efforts beyond the proclamation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.

Consumers interested in green companies and green products are skeptical and have the ability to research any assertions.

Niles said green advertising can draw attention, but to land new customers, he said companies need to prove real benefits to the sustainability measures being implemented.

“The key thing is: Sell the benefit,” he said. “We tell people, ‘Green attracts interest, but benefits are what sell.’ So when you’re marketing a green product, what are you marketing? Green might come up, but you’re really marketing the benefit of the product for the person buying it.”

John Ebert, development manager for Badger State, said the firm installed an on-site solar hot water system to prove real benefits to potential clients.

Ebert said Badger State felt output data provided by the manufacturers of solar panels was insufficient and decided to build a demonstration platform to collect real data applicable to the Eau Claire area.

Two solar panel technologies, flat panel and evacuated tube, heat the water stored in the system’s tank.

Badger State closely monitors output from each technology and makes the information available to interested companies.

“(The information) allows the customer to evaluate the separate technologies without the pressure of marketing and sales bias,” Ebert said of the system.

Badger State began looking into solar technology about two years ago as a way to see how it could “contribute to a better society as a whole, and in the process, do some good work and make some money,” Ebert said.

“Solar is a very, very attractive alternative,” said Tim Klingfus, project manager and HVAC estimator for Badger State. “It’s not an instant payback; it’s a long-term commitment to energy conservation. (It’s for) people and companies that are looking at long-term energy reduction schemes.”

Klingfus said solar technology can reduce energy usage up to 70 percent for residential customers.

“That’s energy that will never cost you more, no matter what happens,” he said. “Electricity (prices) could quadruple, natural gas could go up by ten times — that energy will never inflate.”

Niles said actual benefits, like cost savings, are exactly what companies should emphasize when marketing green options.

But the ability to market experience in sustainable building will be crucial as well, he said.

“Green building is still a small segment of the overall market for commercial building, but it’s growing rapidly,” he said. “So the businesses that are learning to do it now will have an advantage because they’ll have the experience with how to build a green building.”

Josh Arnold, a principal with 360GREEN Inc., a Madison-based sustainable consulting firm, agrees experience will be an important factor for companies hoping to benefit from the green trend.

Arnold’s firm helps companies interested in exploring green options avoid some of the mistakes lack of experience can bring.

Options such as what site to choose, how to finance the project and assembling the right team need to be done from the start, he said. Otherwise it can make trying to go green more difficult in the long run.

“It’s really an exciting time here in Wisconsin,” Arnold said. “(Green building) is really gaining momentum.”

Ebert said solar technology is just the beginning for Badger State. The firm, he said, believes an expanding emphasis on green technologies will improve its value to clients and its bottom line.

“We are excited about our opportunity of improving lives in a meaningful manner (and) affecting the environment in a positive way while continuing our long tradition as a plumbing and heating contractor,” Ebert said. “It’s a wonderful, exciting new era.”

How it works

Badger State Inc. designed its own solar-powered water heating system to track data and better inform potential clients. Here’s how it works:

Badger State Inc. uses two solar-panel technologies, evacuated tube (left) and flat panel, to capture sunlight to heat water.	Heated water moves to the system’s storage tank.
Each solar-panel technology has a drain-back tank where water flows at night to prevent the water from freezing inside the panels.	Each solar-panel technology has a thermometer (above) allowing Badger State personnel to monitor the systems separately. A digital readout provides more precise output data for both technologies.