realtor Tampa FlHouses for sale Tampa FL is going green and that isn’t just the latest trend in color – although it is a popular color for living rooms. The term ‘greenwashing’ sounds like a new painting technique or something environmentally friendly groups would suggest doing for maximum energy efficiency in the laundry room. What ‘greenwashing’ actually is is a term applied to property management or construction and denotes the unfriendly consequences for people in the construction process – plumbers, framers, tile workers, brick layers and many other – that could result in organized protests or lawsuits.

If green building practices are promised, yet fall short, by contractors, builder, managers or real estate agents then one or more of the project contributors could face charges of green whitewashing or ‘greenwashing.’

A promise of a green building could come in many forms, for instance a real estate agent could claim that a property has green elements in order to save consumers money on their utility bills.  Some construction companies could make claims of a cleaner environment and the achievement of Platinum LEED certifications which come from the United States Green Building Council – LEED is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

According to a Tampa reality company, a building produced with green practices is helping to increase efficiency and sustainability of the building in addition to their use of water, materials and energy. Green building benchmarks in human and environmental health have been set by organizations like the Energy Star program and USGBC – the US Green Building Counsel.

The USGBC works with a points system and certification levels up to Silver, Gold and Platinum. Out of a total of 17 possible points for energy efficiency issues most green builders come close according to the USGBC but many miss the mark.

A realtor Tampa Fl explains that green buildings may reduce risks related to bodily injury or property damage that are usually covered by commercial general liability policies; there are many liability risks that fall under a ‘grayer’ coverage area. Exposure that paints a realtor, building maintenance company, or owner in a bad light – bad publicity – coming from ‘greenwashing’ allegations is only one of these.

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