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Green Canopy Homes
Eco-Capitalists

How Green Canopy Homes turns a profit, cuts the same carbon on average as one car permanently off the road, and employs approx. 50 people on each home retrofit.

"We are going to transform the local, maybe the national, residential housing market to consider energy efficiency when homes are bought and sold.” - Aaron Fairchild, CEO Green Canopy Homes

The Carbon Math:  Each Green Canopy Home mitigates the same annual amount of green house gas emissions as the average car produces each year (12,600 lbs CO2 per year according to the EPA). In other words, for every Green Canopy Home completed, it is equivalent to taking, on average, one car permanently off the road.

Stimulating the Economy:  With each home, Green Canopy Home invests in the Seattle housing economy, the local green building labor force, and the national market for energy efficient housing products and materials. The economic benefits are even clearer when considering that approx. 50 people are employed in the process of each home retrofit.

A Niche Market: Green Canopy Homes is creating a niche market within the Seattle housing market. Of the 5,600 homes sold last year, the vast majority (4,700) of them were existing homes sales. Of these 4,700 existing homes sales, only the two Green Canopy Homes were certified as BuiltGreen remodeled homes. In comparison, 35% of new construction homes sold in the city of Seattle were BuiltGreen certified. This represents a large disconnect as the biggest energy use offenders are existing homes, which are typically way more drafty and less efficient than new building codes require.  As a company, Green Canopy Homes forecasts continued growth and a total of 8 renovated home sales this coming year.

Creating Awareness:  With each efficient home, Green Canopy Homes helps it’s future owners increase their awareness and efforts to reduce their energy use and environmental impact. Through this increase in awareness the market for efficient homes in Seattle continues to grow.

Key Players:

Green Canopy Homes - featuring Aaron Fairchild, CEO and Sam Lai, Executive Vice President

Green Canopy Homes has been finding and retrofitting homes since 2010. In that time, three homes have be completed and sold, and another six are in various stages of the process.

Elements of a Green Canopy Home:
•    Pre- and post-construction energy performance scores
•    Expertly installed foam and rigid insulation
•    Upgraded, efficient windows
•    Comprehensive air sealing to keep drafts out
•    Efficient plumbing and electrical fixtures, hot water, space heating and ventilation systems
•    Solar upgrades – available as solar aspect allows
•    Union-built quality

Author Bio

Bobby is former Solutions Stories and Media Manager with Climate Solutions. In that role, he worked to identify and engage new audiences for our programs and campaigns throughout the Northwest, with a focus on the Solutions Stories.

Bobby spent six years as the National Representative at the Save Our Wild Salmon Coalition (SOS), mobilizing support to restore the Columbia-Snake River Basin, a watershed home to some of the world’s best habitat for wild salmon and steelhead in a changing climate.

After receiving his degree in Political Science from the University of Oregon in 2003, he advocated on behalf of working people and the environment. In addition to SOS, Bobby has worked for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU Local 503) and America Coming Together, and volunteered for the Trout Unlimited, Elders in Action, and UNITE HERE.

Bobby hails from central Pennsylvania and has lived in Oregon since 1998. When he's not working, Bobby can be found with his partner Jenny and their cat Jove, playing music with friends, out and about on his bike, or working in the garden.

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