Green Shoots in the Remodeling Industry: Contractor Characteristics That Affect Green Product Use

W09-1: Energy efficiency and environmental sustainability have benefited from increased media attention in recent years. Despite a proven record of improving the energy efficiency of homes, however, green remodeling has not received the attention or study that sustainable new home construction has received. This paper uses a survey of remodeling contractors to examine the role of government regulations in promoting the use of green products, as well as whether certain contractor characteristics are associated with higher levels of green product use. Government regulations tend to favor environmentally sustainable products over other green categories. These policies appear to have a positive effect on the use of green remodeling products in general, but sometimes even strong government support is not sufficient to encourage substantial use. In general, consumers seem less likely to obtain additional products, that are not strictly substitutes for traditional products, to improve the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability of their home...