The demand for sustainable properties is growing. Homebuyers are considering the long term savings associated with purchasing a "green" home and the health benefits to their families. Buyers are beginning to ask more questions about sustainability and are expecting Realtors to have the answers.

The National Association of Realtors responded to this rising consumer demand by creating the NAR's Green Designation in 2008. NAR created the green accreditation for real estate professionals who want to gain a comprehensive understanding of sustainability. It enhances their ability to guide and educate buyers who are looking for homes with green features.

Home sellers can benefit from hiring NAR Green specialists as well. They can help sellers take advantage of tax credits and incentives, create a cost benefit analysis of implementing green features before selling a home and provide accurate marketing advice. Basically, a broker has to understand your home in order to market it. Not every Realtor will understand the value of a LEED Platinum Certified home!

Gia Marshello, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker in Dallas, is one of the handful of agents who have acquired the new designation.

"One of the builders I work with, Jeff Dworkin, suggested I take it," Marshello said. He pointed out the fact this designation would make her more competitive among her colleagues."

"I thought it was a great idea and would complement my Historic House Specialist designation," she said.  "I think knowledge is power and with the market the way it is, you need every marketing advantage you can have."

Environmental Summit in Dallas

Lakehill Preparatory School is hosting its first annual Environmental Summit on February 23. Founded in 1971,Lakehill is a private K through 12, fully accredited college preparatory school in east Dallas. Last September the school opened The Alice and Erle Nye Family Environmental Science Center, a LEED Silver certified building. The new center backs up to 43 acres of Dallas flood plain and will allow students to study plants and wildlife, build trails and explore nature.

"The Alice and Erle Nye Family Environmental Science Center is truly an amazing facility and the Environmental Summit is a wonderful opportunity to share this resource with small business owners and members of the east Dallas community," Roger Perry, Lakehill Headmaster, said. "We want to help bring people together to exchange information and learn from each other."

The first event, "Going Green with Your Business" is geared towards small business owners. Sponsored by Lakewood Women in Business and Park Cities Women in Business, the summit features three speakers including EcoTuesday's own Anna Clark!  Anna is president of EarthPeople a consulting and communications firm that help companies bolster their brands through profitable green strategies. Her book, Green, American Style will be released in April. Anna will speak on " Ten Reasons to Green your Small Business and Five Ways to Do It."

Donna Bender and Susan Morrow will speak on "Looking at Your Business through Green-Colored Glasses." The Donna Bender Company specializes in creatively building brand awareness and establishing a public image for both individuals and corporations. Susan Morrow APR of Marketing Symphony has more than 25 years of experience in public relations and communications management.

Tom Kemper will speak on "Profitability through Sustainability." Kemper is the founder and President of Dolphin Blue, a business built on principles of environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Dolphin Blue has been providing post-consumer recycled products to customers since 1994.

"The reality is that every single thing we do every day has an impact on the planet -- good or bad," Gigi Ekstrom, Marketing Director of Lakehill, said. "The good news is that as individuals, we have the power to control most of our choices and, therefore, the impact we create. "Green" is literally everywhere these days. With so many messages, it is easy to get overwhelmed - and that sometimes results in choosing to do nothing. This symposium is designed to help local businesses and community members understand the big picture and to help them set smaller, achievable goals while giving them the tools to reach these goals. We want to make it easier for them to make a positive impact. There are so many wonderful resources in our community. We want to help people make these connections."

Dallas is the land of bigger is better and newer beats older. Use the words “green” and “Dallas” together and you might get a perplexed look from a lot of people. The truth is Dallas is green and getting greener every day.

So, you ask? What's really going on in this city?

EcoTuesday kicks off this month in Dallas. What better way to convene the green community than to showcase a corporation that was green before green became cool?

Shaklee Corporation was the first company in the world to obtain Climate Neutral certification and completely offset its CO2 emissions, resulting in a net zero impact on the environment.  This 50-year-old company, founded on the principles of social responsibility and sustainable business practices, is a standout in the green business world.  Shaklee has sponsored three North Pole expeditions to measure the impact of global warming. Their campaign to plant a million trees across North America came to fruition on Earth Day 2009. The millionth tree was planted at the Shaklee World Headquarters in Pleasanton, California, with Dr Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Prize Laureate, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and CEO Roger Barnett in attendance.

We are excited to have Pam Hoffmann, a Shaklee business owner, with 15 years of experience in selling green products, open a window on how this global company continues to enjoy record-setting success year after year. What does Shaklee teach its sales representatives about how to sell green?  What can we learn from this winning business model that we can apply to our own companies?

We are eager to share Pam's insights with our community and find out how success goes hand in hand with a committment to do what's right, simply because it is.

Please RSVP and let us know you'll be joining us!