In the 2018 summer issue, Green Canopy CEO, Aaron Fairchild, was named to "Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business." 

"Your inclusion on the list is an acknowledgment of your innovative and impactful work. You join 99 other remarkable leaders striving to solve global and societal problems in novel ways," states Fast Company Editor-in-chief, Stephanie Mehta.

Fairchild responds, "I am grateful to be recognized by such an esteemed publication as Fast Company, focused on revolutionizing the current business paradigm and to be listed among leaders and businesses using innovation to catalyze the next economy — one that is more regenerative and inclusive."

The Green Canopy Team is honored to have a leader who inspires us to continue doing the deep work necessary to realize the future we believe in.

SEATTLE, Washington & PORTLAND, Oregon (October 4, 2017) – Green Canopy, Inc., a proven urban infill deep green homebuilder, announced the launch of its newest affiliate company, Cedar.

“Meeting the challenges of global warming and the housing crisis in our high growth cities requires us to develop disruptive, integrated, and inclusive solutions. We are proud to offer a for-profit model for building resilient, inclusive and sustainable net-zero energy micro-communities without reliance on direct government subsidies” says Aaron Fairchild, CEO of Green Canopy.

The Company will acquire, develop, manage and market third-party certified green built, net-zero energy residential homes over the course of a 7-to-10-year period in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR. A minimum of 25% of the homes in every project site will be reserved as affordable rentals to households earning 80% of area median income (AMI) over the life of the Company. A final disposition process will result in selling a minimum of 25% of the remaining portfolio into community land trusts, or similar model, to be held permanently affordable to households earning 80% of area median income.

“Ecotrust is delighted to be a shareholder in Green Canopy, Inc. The Team has been terrific and we look forward to seeing where they take walkable residential infill development in the years to come. Green building, along with regenerative farming and forestry, are promising potential ‘drawdown’ technologies that pull CO2 out of the atmosphere and help reverse the devastating trends of the Anthropocene,” says Spencer Beebe, Founder & Executive Chair of Ecotrust.

Green Canopy's Cedar is poised to act on this opportunity. The urban infill home-building market is a highly fragmented marketplace with hundreds of small, independent homebuilders in both the Seattle and Portland markets. The February 2017 McKinsey Global Institute report, Reinventing Construction: A Route to Higher Productivity, found that “$10 trillion (is) spent on construction-related goods and services every year. But the industry has an intractable productivity problem and ... an opportunity to boost value added by $1.6 trillion.” “Fragmented markets and inefficiency go hand in hand. Our team at Green Canopy has long been aware of these inefficiencies and has spent considerable amount of time developing the processes and systems to contain costs and scale,” says Aaron Fairchild, CEO of Green Canopy. He further adds, “This ability allows us to lean in further to our mission and bring to the market net-zero energy homes alongside affordable home ownership. As a for-profit company, this puts us in a unique position to not only drawdown carbon, but to also lift up our communities.”

Samantha Lamb, of Lake and Company Real Estate sees the company as an innovative leader.  “Green Canopy is indisputably one of the leaders in the Green Home movement in Seattle and beyond. It is founded by passionate people who truly want to make a difference in the world. They don't just go for minimal standards in Green Construction; they are actively educating the market and realtors about the benefits of building and buying Green,” says Lamb. As evidence of this, Green Canopy will amplify Cedar’s impact through an 18-member stakeholder group, calling it the Impact Collaborative. The Collaborative will bring greater transparency to Cedar – its processes, best practices and outcomes – then conduct research and broadly promote their findings and advocate for new and better approaches.  

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About Green Canopy
Green Canopy, Inc. runs a homebuilder, Green Canopy Homes, in Seattle and Portland whose mission is to inspire resource efficiency in residential markets. Green Canopy Homes began building in 2009 and has successfully sold over 125 third-party certified, green homes with over $80 million in gross revenues. Green Canopy Homes has highly developed home designs, project management processes, checklists, and systems of cost containment specific to the challenges and needs of building attractive, resource-efficient, micro-communities in walkable, urban places.
 
Contact: 
Aaron Fairchild, CEO
206.792.7281
aaron@greencanopy.com
 
Andy Wolverton, CFO
206.792.7287
andy@greencanopy.com

IMPACT INVESTING IN GREEN HOME DEVELOPMENT AIMS FOR PROFITABILITY ON A TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SEATTLE, Washington (December 22, 2015) – Green Canopy is excited to announce that we have eclipsed a major milestone with our second Impact Debt Fund. The Alder Fund is a Real Estate Impact Investment Fund that is managed by Green Canopy and designed to lend on the development of certified green and guaranteed efficient homes. It has now issued its last loan and will begin winding down – issuing distributions as loans repay over the next 6-9 months.

With the help of the Fund and all of its participants, Green Canopy completed 50 high efficiency homes across Seattle, reaping a total energy savings of 532,000 kWh per year.  “We have mitigated over a million pounds of carbon in the last two years by building Green Canopy homes. That’s the equivalent of planting nearly 30,000 trees every year,” says Sam Lai, the CMO of Green Canopy. “These are metrics that our investors look at when they consider putting their capital to work for a cause. Of course it is also about returns, but not just so.”

The Alder Fund launched in October of 2013 with $7.7MM. Of the 50 Green Canopy homes that were built, nearly 25% of them were sold at price points below $450k in an effort to attract middle and lower income buyers in the Seattle market. These pricing targets were set by Washington State Housing Finance Commission, who partnered on several projects with Green Canopy with the hopes of providing green and energy efficient homes to buyers who also qualify for the Commission’s down payment assistance programs.

“This Fund, which eventually lent over $29MM for the completion of 50 homes, has been especially prosperous, and is an indicator of what mission aligned and market driven capital can accomplish,” said Andy Wolverton, the Fund’s manager and CFO of Green Canopy Homes. “The Alder Fund’s success is certainly reflected in our triple bottom line – and brings more than just monetary returns to our investors.”

The return profile for the Alder Fund is 9-12% annualized - and so far it is on target to achieve that goal. Over 50% of the investors have reinvested in the Birch Fund, Green Canopy’s third Impact Investment Fund which began raising capital this summer. The Birch Fund is targeting a total raise of $20MM and hopes to increase the number of affordable homes for sale here in Seattle and in Portland.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Andy Wolverton
andy@greencanopy.com
O) 206.792.7283

This year Redfin is topping the charts in the green home sales department. It is staggering to see the number of Redfin clients who are choosing green homes over other competitive properties. Perhaps it could be because Redfin is a next-generation company that represents an evolution in the way homes are bought and sold. It caters to a clientele that wants to be more involved in their home search and wants information at their fingertips, on their terms. 

But the tech alone isn't enough to qualify a great real estate service. Redfin also employs dozens of experienced real estate agents like Allie Howard and Karlyn Goetz. Allie will be a third time finalist for the Green Genius awards this year and Karlyn is setting new personal records for green home sales. When you are working with advanced buyers who know what they want - your agents have to be just as knowledgeable and these agents certainly know what is important when it comes to energy efficiency, walkability and sustainable construction.

What Redfin has proven is that when you enhance the experience of the hunt, give your clients the right tools, and include a team of full-service real estate agents who are advocates for their customers rather than the typical salespeople - you empower your customers. When customers are empowered - they buy homes that align with their values, rather than something an agent sold them on. They buy green homes.

Redfin is a Green Genius Selling Office of the Year finalist and Allie and Karlyn are both Selling Agent finalists. They have certainly helped to transform the local market.

Solo Lofts - courtesy of Redfin

Allie Howard
Green Genius Selling Agent of the Year Finalist
Redfin Real Estate -  North Capitol Hill, Madrona and Madison Park

• Sam: What gets you excited about the green building movement?

• Allie: Having grown up with a strong connection to nature and an inherent instinct to protect our natural resources, there are many things that excite me about green building. Currently, Greywater recycling and water conservation efforts are in the forefront of my thoughts.
  

• Sam: What was your favorite green project?

• Allie: Solo Lofts in Ballard; not only is it a fantastic Built Green 4-star project, but they also hired Green-centric Brokers to represent them.
  

• Sam: What advice would you give to buyers and sellers of green homes?

• Allie: Green homes have a broad appeal for many types of buyers. In addition to the practicality of using sustainably harvested building material and recycled products, indoor air quality and energy savings are also improved . There are typically better design elements throughout green homes as well, improving the quality of life for the homeowner and helps preserve the resale value of their investment.
  

• Sam: What do you like most about living in the PNW?

• Allie: I love the current of creative energy that flows throughout the Pacific Northwest. The abundance of natural beauty and outgoing attitude of the people who call the PNW home make it a really inspiring place to live and thrive.
  

• Sam: What is your favorite pump up song? 

• Allie: Revolution by The Beatles 
  

• Sam: What is your favorite comfort food?

• Allie: I love Creole and Cajun food, especially when I am down in NOLA with live music in the air.
  

Karlyn Goetz
Green Genius Selling Agent of the Year Finalist
Redfin Real Estate - Central Seattle

• Sam: What gets you excited about the green building movement?

• Karlyn: Honestly, it’s how quickly green homes are catching on. Aside from the eco-friendly features, so many of my buyers love green homes for the clean, modern look and family friendly spaces. Green homes tend to be very ‘livable,’ making the decision to buy green easy!
  

• Sam: What was your favorite green project?

• Karlyn: My favorite project I’ve seen recently is Dwell’s new Emerald Star Home in Ballard.  I love the unique character it has from the use of reclaimed materials. Finding cool original wood floors in 100-year old homes makes me so happy, so why not put them in a new home too?
  

• Sam: What advice would you give to buyers and sellers of green homes?

• Karlyn: Get to know the features of the home that make it unique. Often, buyers know that it’s a green build, but don’t realize the many details that set it apart.
  

• Sam: What do you like most about living in the PNW?

• Karlyn: The water and mountain views!! I’m a city girl at heart, but I LOVE that Seattle is so connected with nature. I’m on Lake Union every morning and in the mountains every chance I get!
  

• Sam: What is your favorite pump up song? 

• Karlyn: Can’t Hold Us by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
  

• Sam: What is your favorite comfort food?

• Karlyn: If I could live off of homemade mac and cheese alone, I would! :)