Plant Prefab

Mitsubishi Electric Trane US just highlighted the beautiful homes we're building for The Brown Studio at The Palisades at Squaw Valley, which all feature high-performance, ductless Mitsubishi HVAC systems. The homes are a great example of how industry-leading energy performance, indoor air quality, and occupant comfort can go hand-in-hand with great design!

From indoor air quality to enhanced fire resilience, here's why high-performance, prefabricated homes are the way of the future (featuring input from our very own founder & CEO, Steve Glenn)! @Alta Journal

Tip of the Week from Plant Prefab's Manager of Health & Sustainability A few weeks ago, I spoke about eutrophication, the process by which water ways get enriched by nutrient salts causing structural changes to the ecosystem. One industry that largely contributes to eutrophication is the leather industry. You might find some places that claim leather is eco-friendly as it is a by-product of the meat industry. Although this might be true, the process of turning skin into lea...ther requires massive amounts of energy and hazardous chemicals. Tanning is the most toxic phase in leather processing, with 90% of production using chromium tanning. The skin is doused in drums of water, chromium salts, and tanning liquor to stop it from decomposing and to give a color-fast leather. It produces a slush of chemicals and gases, including carcinogenic chromium. In developing countries, the untreated effluent, potentially laced with chromium, lead, arsenic and acids, often flows direct into local waterways. Tannery workers including children as young as 10 in some countries risk severe side-effects from exposure to these toxic substances. Acute effects include irritation to the mouth, airways, and eyes; skin reactions; digestive problems, kidney or liver damage; long-term cancer and reproductive problems. Faux Fears: What The Leather Industry Doesn't Want You To Know There are alternatives however, both good and bad. Some companies claim they use vegan leather, but this might be deceiving in some cases. This vegan leather is most of the time made from two types of plastic polymers: polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). As we all know, plastic is not the most environmentally friendly material out there. So, if you’re looking to have a more environmentally friendly closet, here are a few options: * Look for vegan leather made from more natural resources (pineapple leaves, cork, apple peels, and recycled plastic), like these shoes: https://www.veja-store.com/en_us/ * Look for companies that care about their impact, like this brand, https://www.asbydf.com/, that uses recycled leather scraps (which would otherwise be waste) to create clothing. * If you really want a leather jacket, opt for leather options manufactured in the US or Europe, where there are rules and regulations for the industrials processes required.

Earth Day message from Plant Prefab's Manager of Health and Sustainability. Unlike what some people think, Earth Day is not the Earth’s birthday and the Earth is not 2021 years old. Every year on April 22nd, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. On this day 51 years ago, 20 million Americans 10% of the U.S. population at the time took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignor...ance and demand a new way forward for our planet. The first Earth Day is credited with launching the modern environmental movement and is now recognized as the planet’s largest civic event. Today, President Biden hosted a virtual summit of world leaders to address the global climate crisis. Among other things, the US committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% below its 2005 emission levels by 2030 a bold commitment to say the least. It may be the case that in a few years a new president will back out of this commitment, and this is why it’s extremely important for us as individuals to not depend on rules and regulations, but to do better ourselves. Several companies have taken pledges to reduce emissions and be carbon neutral (like us at Plant Prefab). These companies understand the danger of climate change and the effects this will have on our planet not just a country, a city, or a home; the entire planet, that means each and every one of us. You don’t have to be a strict environmentalist to help, you just need to do a little better each day. Turn off the lights when leaving a room, turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth, recycle. We’ve put up instructions on what to recycle on every single bin at the office and I constantly see people throwing food in the recycle bin. For the world it may be Earth Day today, but for us at Plant Prefab it’s Earth Day, Every Day. It’s one of our values and we must all remember this when we come to the office.

Happy #EarthDay! Plant was founded on the belief that homes canand shouldbe built in ways that minimize their negative impact on the planet while supporting the health of the people who build and live in them. We invite you to learn more about our commitment to environmental health and safety in our 2020 corporate sustainability report: https://bit.ly/3vgVY9J

Tip of the Week from Plant's Manager of Health and Sustainability: We’re now approaching that time of the year when one simple question trumps them all: Trick or treat? The ghostliest night of the year is quickly approaching and with it, a scary carbon footprint. No, I’m not here to ruin Halloween to you or your kids, just to spook out the facts and give you some ideas to make your Halloween greener!... Halloween has some frightening numbers with regards to waste and its environmental impact, witch boil down to three main factors: Costumes: the most terrifying carbon footprint from Halloween. Every year, millions of poor-quality costumes creep their way into our homes. Most are made from unsustainable materials and last long enough to barely make it through the night. On top of that, most of them end up in the trash after one use. Decorations: same as costumes, most decorations are made from cheap materials, don’t last long, and end up in the trash. Additionally, most of them come from overseas, with an unboolievably large transportation footprint. Candy: some of the biggest candy manufacturers in the world have a huge impact on the environment. They massively contribute to deforestation and species extinction. On top of that, candy wrappers are not recyclable and generate large amounts of waste. So, what can we do to make our Halloween green while creepin’ it fun? * Try homemade costumes or swapping last year’s costume with a friend. Go for creativity and originality and give everyone pumpkin to talk about. * Buy your pumpkins from a local grower or farmer’s market and carve it out to make a classic Jack O’Lantern, keeping the flesh to eat later. It’s a fun activity to do with the kids. I you’d like to buy decorations, opt for reusable and good quality ones. * Trick or treat yo’ self to some homemade treats like cookies or fudge. If making your own treats is too time-consuming, look for products with independent certifications like USDA Organic or Fairtrade. Witch-ing you all a Happy Halloween, it’s going to be spook-tacular I can feel it in my bones!

Developers get a faster return on investment. Consumers benefit from time savings and fewer surprises. Great read from ArchDaily with some impressive stats on the many benefits of #prefab construction.

Tip of the Week from Plant's Manager of Health and Sustainability! It may not be as crucial as the homes we live in or the cars we drive, but depending on how we take it, coffee can make up a surprisingly large slice of our carbon footprint. Interestingly enough, most of coffee’s environmental footprint in the US doesn’t come from the coffee beans, but from other sometimes unnecessary factors.... Milk Milk represents 60 to 70 percent of the carbon footprint of a cup of coffee with a few tablespoons of milk; for a latte, it's more like 80 or 90 percent. Per cup, black coffee produces 21 grams of CO2; each latte, 340 grams. If you drink four mugs of black coffee per day, boiling only as much water as you need, that works out as just 30kg of CO2e each year the same as a 40-mile drive in an average car. Three large lattes per day, by contrast, and you're looking at almost twenty times as much carbon, equivalent to flying halfway across Europe. Disposable coffee cups Every year more 58 billion paper cups and 25 billion foam cups are thrown away in the US. From plastic and foam to everything in between, coffee cups are responsible for a substantial impact on the environment. Every year, 20 million trees are cut down to make paper cups. Single-serve pods The Story of Stuff Project, a Berkeley environmental nonprofit, estimates the number of K-Cups in landfills could wrap around the planet 10 times. With 25% of American homes owning a single-cup brewing machine, that has created tens of billions of nonreusable, nonrecyclable plastic pods clogging our landfills. These cups are made of cheap plastic than can’t be recycled. If you like your coffee brown and green at the same time, here’s what you can do: * Skip the milk; go for black coffee or use milk alternatives such as almond, soy, or oat milk. * Buy your own reusable coffee mug; you’ll divert so much waste from landfills (and from your car). * Avoid single-cup brewing machines; if you already have one, try purchasing reusable or aluminum pods. If you get aluminum pods, after using it you can take the top off, take the ground coffee out (and use it for compost), and recycle the aluminum cup. I hope I didn’t ruin your morning coffee routine!

Plant and The Brown Studio were just featured in Architectural Digest!

Tip of the Week from Plant Prefab's Manager of Health and Sustainability. This week I wanted to talk about the importance of balance in an ecosystem, and how one small action can have big consequences. In the 1800s, westward expansion brought settlers and their livestock into direct contact with native predator and prey species. Much of the wolves’ prey base was destroyed as agriculture flourished. With the prey base removed, wolves began to prey on domestic stock, which r...esulted in humans eliminating wolves from most of their historical range. In Yellowstone park, the gray wolf was present when the park was established in 1872. But by the 1970s, no wolves could be found in the park. Thanks to this, the elk and deer population more than doubled in the park. Since they eat grass, they overgrazed the park, upsetting the balance of the ecosystem. In 1995, wolves were reintroduced into the park and the results were unbelievable: * Because of the wolves, the deer and elk population decreased, and their behavior changed. They started avoiding certain areas of the park where they’d be more exposed. In these areas, vegetation started to grow. * Because of the new vegetation, birds and beavers started to move into the park. The dams made by beavers provided habitat to other species including otters, reptiles, fish, and amphibians. * The wolves also killed coyotes, and as a result of that, the number of rabbits and mice grew. This meant more hawks, more weasels, foxes, and badgers. * The bear population grew as they fed on the carcasses left by the wolves as well as the berries from the new shrubs. * Because there were less deer and elks on the rivers, erosion was reduced. The channels narrowed, more pools formed, the regenerating forest stabilized the banks, and the rivers became more fixed in their course. * There was no more soil erosion as the growing vegetation stabilized the ground. All thanks to 31 wolves. This example shows the importance of balance in an ecosystem. Us humans sometimes change things thinking it won’t have an effect. Just because we don’t see it instantly, it doesn’t mean it is not going to change. The IPCC has determined that a 1.5 C increase in global temperature will have massive consequences, yet some people don’t believe it just because they can’t see it right now or because it seems such a small change in temperature. But as seen in this case, small changes can have large consequences, some of which we might not be able to see for decades.

Congratulations to Plant Design Partner Angie Brooks of Brooks + Scarpa Architects for receiving this year's AIA California Maybeck Award. The award honors "exemplary achievement in architectural design by an individual architect over a period of at least ten years." The jury said Angie has contributed in ways that move beyond designing buildings ... Her leadership and advocacy efforts in the current political era are impressive and she seems unstoppable. We couldn't agree more and we're honored to work with Angie, Larry Scarpa, and the team at Brooks + Scarpa.

Thanks to PRODUCTS Magazine for featuring Plant Building System, which allows us to build any design, on almost any lot, in the most durable and efficient way possible utilizing a combination of custom-built Plant Panels and Plant Modules.

Tip of the Week from Plant's Manager of Health and Sustainability. We’ve all heard the term carbon footprint, I constantly write about the carbon footprint of different products on my tips. It’s a cool way to call something’s or someone’s environmental impact. But do you know where it comes from? The concept and name of the carbon footprint derive from the ecological footprint concept, which was developed in the 90s. Carbon footprint is one of a family of footprint indicato...rs, which also include ecological footprints, water footprints, and land footprints. One would think that this term was promoted by environmentalists to reduce world emissions. However, carbon footprint was popularized by a large campaign of BP (British Petroleum) in 2004. This deceptive PR campaign instructed individuals to calculate their personal footprints and provided ways for people to lower their own impact, while BP itself continued to extract just as much fossil fuels. surprised gif - Black Nerd Problems The use of household carbon footprint calculators was called "effective propaganda" as strategic communication to shift responsibility of climate change-causing pollution away from the corporations and institutions that created a society where carbon emissions are unavoidable and onto personal lifestyle choices. A few years after BP began promoting the carbon footprint, MIT researchers calculated the carbon emissions for a homeless person who ate in soup kitchens and slept in homeless shelters in the US. They found that this person will still indirectly emit 8.5 tons of CO2 each year. Surprised GIFs | Tenor Similar to the BP campaign, there was an ad in 1971 where a man tosses a bag of trash from a moving car onto the shoes of a Native American. The ad promotes the catch line People start pollution. People can stop it. This ad was created by a nonprofit group called Keep America Beautiful, which was funded by the companies responsible for pumping out billions of plastic bottles each year. The real message these campaigns (and companies) are trying to promote is that pollution or emissions is your problem, not the fault of these big corporations. They are trying to shift the responsibility of carbon emissions to the end consumer. Of course, we are not exempt from this responsibility. As I mentioned in last week’s tip, 100 companies are responsible for 74% of the world’s emissions (BP being one of them). What we can do as consumers is support responsible companies that care about the planet, this way we can ensure that significant measures will be taken to reduce carbon emissions.

Our R&D Lab. Cool work underway!

Weekly Tip from Plant Prefab's Manager of Health & Sustainability. You may have heard this week about the doomsday clock installed in New York City. On September 17, the clock started counting down from seven years, 103 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes and seven seconds, displayed in red. If greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current rate, then when the clock runs out, the average global temperature will be irreversibly on its way to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-indus...trial levels. The clock also shows a percentage value in green, which shows the fraction of energy produced with renewable sources, which they call a lifeline. About one-fifth of humanity has already faced at least one season with average temperatures at least 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels, according to NASA. But if the average temperature of all of Earth passes that threshold, then people may face severe heatwaves, droughts, and increasingly extreme storms. A 2017 report found that 100 companies worldwide are responsible for 71% of greenhouse gas emissions. If you look at the report, you’ll see that most of the companies are oil and gas or coal companies. Meaning that if the world plans to reduce global emissions, we must all focus on reducing our dependence on oil, gas, and coal. Out of 197 nations, 189 have ratified the Paris Agreement, which is a pledge to work together to prevent a 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit rise in Earth’s average temperature. The U.S. intends to withdraw from the agreement as of November 4 of this year. THE U.S. INTENDS TO WITHDRAW FROM THE AGREEMENT AS OF NOVEMBER 4 OF THIS YEAR. It is true that world leaders are extremely important when it comes to these decisions. But the people’s choices and actions are what eventually define the future. This is not a political issue; it’s a scientific issue. It is not an opinion, it’s a fact. It is happening and it is up to us to fix it. This clock is one of the thousands of wake up calls we’ve had (as if ravaging wildfires and devastating hurricanes weren’t enough). This clock is not saying ‘Hey in seven years we get to wake up and start to do something. It’s about taking action right now; climate change is already here.’ Electric cars and solar PV are two great ways to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels. Almost every car company now offers an electric or hybrid option. And installing solar in your home right now is extremely easy. Some companies offer no down payment, no payments for 18 months, and rebates. It’s be cheaper than your electric bill! I did it and couldn’t be happier. (Not a sales pitch btw) Our choices influence climate change. We don’t need a handful of people doing zero energy or zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly!

If you missed yesterday's live stream with Home Green Homes, it's now available on YouTube. Hear from Plant Prefab Founder & CEO Steve Glenn about the different types of prefabricated construction and what makes Plant faster, higher quality, and more sustainable that other building methods!

Join us today at 4PM PDT! Tune in live on Where Do You Go Now? https://www.facebook.com/dannicapatton/

Mark your calendar: Tomorrow at 4PM PDT we'll be sitting down with Home Green Homes for a Facebook Live interview! The roughly 30-minute Q&A with Plant Prefab Founder & CEO Steve Glenn will be live streaming on Where Do You Go Now? Join us! #realestate #prefab #housing