About
Building Renewable brings you information on sustainable building materials and techniques to help you lower your impact on the environment.
Do you want to learn more about how to build with sustainable materials?
Building Renewable is a resource to help anyone who cares about minimizing the impact of their building project on the environment.
We Want to Share knowledge about Renewable Building Materials
We’re passionate about building using sustainable materials and want to share our knowledge with everyone.
Erin Shine
founder
I’ve always had a love for all things renewable and sustainable. My first job out of college was to open up Denver, CO as a sales territory with REC Solar in 2008. After that, I discovered the new technology advancements in energy-efficient lighting, and dove straight into that industry due to it’s massive energy and environmental savings potential. By nine years later, I had built up and sold one of the first commercial energy efficient lighting ecommerce distribution companies in the USA.
After a little bit of time off, I then had the itch to prove that one could create a modern, renovated and fully netzero home (including powering the electric car) that were actually affordable to the normal homebuyer. This is documented well at AttainableHome.com as well.
As I began the renovation, I could not believe the amount of trash, unsustainable building products, cardboard boxes, building material that couldn’t be used (thrown away), and overall the amount of waste that just a regular renovation project creates.
That led to the motivation to help build this website, BuildingRenewable.com. There has to be a better way to build and renovate our buildings without producing so much pollution, waste, and inefficiencies through the entire supply chain. And this website is dedicated to just that.
Jim Pritchard
founder
Growing up my Dad was a building surveyor and I spent many weekends and school holidays helping out, either holding the end of a tape measure, keeping a levelling staff vertical, or helping to renovate and extend our family home.
After two engineering degrees and a stint as a hydrogeologist, I worked for many years in the environmental sector, managing teams and delivering projects to help protect and improve the environment.
As my family outgrew our home, I turned my project management skills to extending the house and tried to make sustainable upgrades to the fabric of the building, including a lot of crawling around roof spaces installing extra insulation.
This experience, combined with a TV program called “Grand Designs,” rekindled my interest in buildings, and my experience working in the environmental sector made me realize there was huge scope for reducing the environmental impact of the construction industry.
It was then that I decided to write about the topic of building in a more sustainable way and share my thoughts in the hope of stimulating discussion and making a change for the better.
In 2023, I spoke as a panel member at the international World Water Day Conference in Edinburgh, where I promoted my work on more sustainable decision-making.