Ideal Conditions: Healthy Building Practices During and After Construction

Sustainable architecture and building practices are not new trends, but construction methods of the past thirty years continue to prioritize sustainability in materials, processes, equipment and technology. Frank Dobosz, president at Polygon US, spoke with Daniel J. Litwin about the market forces pushing the industry to embrace sustainability as a business model and set new standards.

Dobosz’s tenure with Polygon began more than fifteen years ago. One of the values he felt most aligned with was Polygon’s commitment to becoming a greener and more environmentally friendly business and helping drive the industry toward that common goal.

“In the built environment, you have a number of aspects of environmental impact,” Dobosz said. “You look at the past, and everybody has to make choices as to how to be successful. Sometimes the environment has been the third or last thought.”

He continued, “We must be profitable; we have to build strong buildings; the infrastructure must be lasting; these are all important steps. And it was a conversation early on that everyone was interested in how these steps were impacting the environment, but it’s now become common objectives.”

The ongoing challenge for the building industry is maintaining efficient and profitable practices sustainably for the benefit of people. Today’s methodologies and technology improvements make it easier for builders to deliver on all three.

“We have to have profitable projects; we have to take care of our people and put them in healthy environments,” Dobosz said. “And we have to take care of the planet. There are a ton of different technologies that are coming up.”

Dobosz further explained that the responsibility doesn’t lie in solely the building industry. Giving the example of zero carbon and carbon capture, he explained the reduction in the carbon that processes like these produce in the environment and how it can become a net-zero effect.