Green Technology Forum

Nanotechnology for Green Building

Get the most up-to-date, comprehensive information available on nanotechnology for green building. Inside “Nanotechnology for Green Building,” you’ll find insights from exclusive Green Technology Forum interviews with leaders in the nanotech field and examples including how a single nanotech innovation is saving one company $2.6 million in energy costs and reducing their CO2 emissions by 35 million pounds per year.

This 117-page report identifies 130 startups and established companies offering or developing nanomaterials for green building, 54 projects underway at universities and research centers, and 43 recent patents available for licensing, and includes over 250 citations and links to these resources.

Download the Table of Contents of “Nanotechnology for Green Building” (PDF)

Whether you’re a nanotech firm looking to expand into the $1 trillion per year building market or an architect or engineer eager to learn about the most cutting-edge green technology, “Nanotechnology for Green Building” can help you navigate the coming trends, drivers, barriers and opportunities emerging in the convergence of these two dynamic fields.

“A well-researched review of current and future nanotechnology applications for environmental performance improvements in buildings.”

Interior Design Magazine

“This excellent report is the definitive summary of all green nanotechnology building products currently available; a timely and comprehensive analysis of nanotechnology for sustainable design and construction worldwide.”

Dr. Gary Day, General Manager, Nanotech Pty Ltd.

To get your downloadable pdf of the report for $99, just click here.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is green technology?

2. What are the benefits?

3. What are the obstacles?

4. Is green technology catching on?

5. What’s the urgency to going green?

6. What can I do as a business or consumer to create a healthier, more sustainable society?

7. What is “greenwash”?

8. What role are nanotechnology and biotechnology playing in the green revolution?

9. What is Green Technology Forum?

10. How do I learn more?

1. What is green technology?

Green technologies help us live well today without sacrificing the needs of future generations. While many 20th century technologies relied on nonrenewable energy and raw materials while creating polluting byproducts, green technologies focus on renewable energy sources and materials and try to minimize their environmental impacts. Solar energy, for example, harvests free energy from the sun and converts it to electricity without using up nonrenewable fossil fuels or generating harmful waste byproducts.

Green technologies can be high tech, low tech, or anything in between. Simple technologies like bicycles have a lighter impact on the environment and future generations than automobiles, but emerging complex technologies like nanotechnology and biotechnology can also reduce environmental impacts. Advanced nanotechnology-enabled solar cells, for instance, can reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of harvesting solar energy. Using biotechnology, we can create batteries from self-renewing, pollution-free bacteria.

At Green Technology Forum we focus on these “supertechnologies” because of the profound impact they are expected to have on society and the environment. They have already proven their ability to help improve human and environmental health. These supertechnologies may, however, have the power to harm as well as heal, and at Green Technology Forum our mission is to help you evaluate their applications in business and daily life.

2. What are the benefits?

Green technologies can benefit both consumers and businesses. For consumers, green technologies not only ease the impact of today’s living on future generations, they offer benefits right here and now. For example, cleaner burning fuels don’t just reduce the levels of atmospheric pollution for future generations, they bring us cleaner air today. Green technologies can also be more efficient and economical, especially when life-cycle costs are considered. Low energy appliances are a good example, as a slightly higher price tag can be more than offset by lower energy bills.

Using green technologies in our everyday lives also feels good. No one wants to feel that their actions and decisions are creating an unhealthy world to hand down to future generations. Using green technologies to live lightly today helps ensure that future generations can live well tomorrow.

Green technologies benefit businesses in two ways. Their internal benefits include, among other things, a healthier workforce and workplace. A greener workplace can, for example, reduce the incidence of sick building syndrome, which the EPA estimated costs employers over $60 billion per year. Sustainable design of business facilities can also reduce facility operating costs, which typically exceed construction costs by at least five times.

External benefits are those seen by consumers, who are increasingly concerned about the environmental impacts of the products and services they buy. A product recycling program, for example, can make buyers aware of a company’s concern for the environment and encourage customer loyalty. Recent surveys even show that consumers will pay more for green products and services.

3. What are the obstacles?

With more and more customers demanding green products and services, it’s more likely that a business will encounter obstacles within its own organization than from outside. The same can be true for a family looking to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Change always creates resistance, and some individuals within a family or business may prefer the status quo to any change no matter how beneficial.

Overcoming the inertia takes courage, conviction, and cooperation. It also takes education, and Green Technology Forum is here to provide information to help you promote green technology within your family or business. We can help with everything from understanding the costs and benefits of going green to market studies for new green materials and products.

External obstacles can be serious as well, especially for a business, and we can help you navigate the complex technical, regulatory, social and environmental concerns surrounding the greening of your business, products and services. Every new technology has associated risks, and mistakes can end up doing society and the environment more harm than good. We’re here to help you understand the risks and avoid the mistakes. Our information and insight can help you overcome the risks and uncertainty, and we can even help you evaluate life cycle product and process costs and advise you in branding for the green market.

4. Is green technology catching on?

Green technology is already the economic issue of the 21st century. Today, buyers must wait months for hybrid vehicles because of high demand, cities are requiring certified green buildings, and soaring oil process are creating a boom in alternative energy technologies like wind and solar. But the real boom is yet to come. As fossil fuel supplies run dry and the effects of global warming become indisputable, green technologies will become an indispensable part of our products, services and everyday lives. Simultaneously, the health, environmental, and economic advantages of green technologies are becoming increasingly clear, and consumer demand is soaring.

“This field of greentech could be the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century,” says John Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, an investment firm putting $100 million into green technologies. Doerr has already made millions on his foresight, which included early investments in Netscape, Amazon.com and Google.

“Whether technology can be controlled and harnessed to the long-term benefit of humanity is the question of our civilization,” adds David W. Orr, Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics at Oberlin College. His books, including Ecological Literacy, are among the most respected in the sustainable design movement.

As green technologies become an increasingly important part of your business and personal life, let Green Technology Forum be your guide.

More to come . . .

5. What’s the urgency to going green?

6. What can I do as a business or consumer to create a healthier, more sustainable society?

7. What is “greenwash”?

8. What role are nanotechnology and biotechnology playing in the green revolution?

9. What is Green Technology Forum?

10. How do I learn more?

Welcome to Green Technology Forum

Green Technology Forum is a research and advising firm focusing on nanotechnology and biotechnology for growing green businesses. By helping businesspeople understand the benefits and challenges of these revolutionary technologies, we help them develop strategies, products and services that benefit their customers, the environment, and their bottom line.

We know the green potential of nanotechnology and biotechnology when they are used responsibly. But the environmentally responsible and economically rewarding use of complex technologies requires knowledge and foresight, and that’s where Green Technology Forum comes in.

We provide the experience and expertise that help businesspeople decide where they want emerging green technologies to take them. We help clarify potential rewards, challenges, and consequences so our clients can make informed decisions in adopting new technologies to green their businesses. We provide our clients with the knowledge and confidence they need to become leaders in the green revolution.

Dr. George Elvin, director

I’m Dr. George Elvin, director of Green Technology Forum. I am an advisor, speaker, and author on emerging technologies. I’m also an associate professor in the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University, and my books and articles have been published by John Wiley & Sons, Princeton Architectural Press, the American Institute of Architects, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. I’m a former Visiting Fellow at the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and the Center for Energy Research, Education and Service, and a Senior Research Associate at the Building Futures Institute.

I am committed to enriching my clients’, readers’ and listeners’ lives by building the responsible and beneficial use of emerging technologies. That’s why I devote my energy to fostering dialogue and nourishing businesses that employ green technologies. I want to do all I can to ensure that you understand the opportunities and challenges of green technologies so that your business and your customers can reap their benefits.

Our network of experts
Behind Green Technology Forum is a worldwide network of experts working to bring you the information and insight you need to make informed decisions in applying emerging green technologies. At Green Technology Forum researchers, designers and knowledge experts join forces to bring value to your business and help you become a leader in the green revolution to the benefit of your customers, the environment, and your bottom line. When you work with Green Technology Forum, we assemble a team custom-built for your needs, your market, and your success.

Gaurab KC is the associate editor for Green Technology Forum news. Gaurab was educated in the U.S., and is now based in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Ashley VanOsdol is our administrative assistant focusing on marketing and business development.

Green Technology Forum is proud to be member of the Access Team, a global network with deep domain expertise in industries impacted by nanotechnology, such as biotechnologies, clean technologies and advanced materials, and old technologies such as cement, coal, glass, mining, oil, water and others.

The most important member of the Green Technology Forum is you. Whether you’re a client or just visiting, you are the reason we’re here. Our website is an opportunity to exchange ideas on emerging nanotechnology and biotechnology and their green potential. We offer news, commentary, interviews, and original research, and we welcome your comments. Together, our actions and decisions will determine how we use emerging technologies and what kind of world we pass on to future generations. As you explore these exciting, challenging opportunities, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@greentechforum.net if we can be of service. We want to help you reap the benefits of green technology.

Dr. George Elvin
director
green technology forum
9801 fall creek road #402
indianapolis, in 46256
765.717.0797