Interview with Susan Hunt Stevens, Founder of Practically Green

Have you seen the website www.PracticallyGreen.com? If not, I highly suggest you surf on over because it’s a great resource for easy practical ways of going green.

One of the highlights of Practically Green is the quiz that you can take to find out what “shade” of green you are. Regardless of your shade, it’s important to make choices that are healthier for you and the environment, and the Practically Green website has a great resource of really, really simple ways to live a greener life with plenty of resources to back up those ideas. 

I was fortunate enough to talk with Susan Hunt Stevens, founder of Practically Green.  She’s got an interesting story of how she personally got involved in the green movement, and the highs and lows of living a greener life.

Could you tell us a little more about your background in sustainable design and your studies about green living?

My interest began as a mother because my son, who was almost 2, ate a small piece of a cashew and went into anaphylactic shock. We started reading labels and doing more research and I just couldn’t believe what was in food, personal care products, furniture, toys—even hand sanitizer! However, the research also made me realize how little I knew about how products were designed and made—let alone the science of lifecycle assessment, how to read materials data sheets and other things you need to know to really evaluate some of the complexities in sustainability.

I have always been interested in architecture and the Boston Architectural College (www.the-bac.edu) has one of the oldest graduate programs in sustainable design. I started by taking one class, absolutely loved it and recently completed the program after nearly 3 years. I was only able to undertake this program because of the innovations in online education. With one exception, my courses were all online so I could do it during nights and weekends. The faculty were drawn from some of the leading institutions in sustainable design—places like the Rocky Mountain Institute and the US Green Building Council—so the courses are fabulous.

With a background in sustainable design, and a major home renovation, what are some of the big differences in how you built your house compared to how most other houses are built – and what are the benefits?

We renovated a historic home and so we faced a whole different set of issues and challenges in thinking about a green home. I remember one of my classmates at the BAC had just completed a Net Zero Energy home and I knew there was almost no way we could get to Net Zero with our project. At the time, the LEED for Homes checklist was still in beta and ReGreen (their renovation guideline) hadn’t been created yet. However, it is extremely green to work with existing housing stock! So we just did the best we could with the information we had. I made some big errors (not enough insulation in spots) and some HUGE wins (trying out a very new co-generation system, dual-flush toilets, cork floors).

The benefits overall have been a significant reduction in the cost and usage of oil, electricity, and water (we have some months where our electric use year over year is down 60%+). We really emphasized reusing our stuff or purchasing preowned items which was cheaper, environmentally better, and more fun. While it’s hard to know for sure, we also do think that we have avoided most of the off-gassing that occurs with renovation and new items by choosing low/no VOC paints and adhesives, cabinetry free of added urea formaldehyde, and all-natural flooring and wall-covering choices like cork, grass cloth paper, wool area carpets, etc.

That said, we have had some major oops’s, including an eco-tile floor that turned pink when water got on it, certain fixtures that wouldn’t work with CFLs, and a shipment of flooring that wasn’t FSC certified when it was supposed to be. And we definitely had to say no to items and just tackle things as we went on. As an example, we are just now dealing with outdoor lighting enhancements and installed solar driveway lights and used LEDs for porch and security lights.

Were you surprised at the enormous environmental impact that just one house can make?

I was honestly clueless when I started about energy/water/natural resource usage and homes. My biggest surprise is how easy it can be to make big changes if you just string together a bunch of small and medium steps. The other surprise was learning how toxic certain things can be. I will never enjoy “new carpet smell” in quite the same way now that I understand what VOCs are.

You started down a course of greener living because of medical conditions with your son. Is he doing better now that you’ve made changes in your daily lifestyle?

We’ve never had to go back to the emergency room thanks to being very careful with food, but what was more interesting is how he stopped snoring once we switched from a conventional mattress to an all-natural, latex version that prevent dust mites from growing in it. We didn’t realize how sensitive he was and how much they were affecting his sleep.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about living a greener life – and how does Practically Green change that?

I personally think it IS confusing, challenging and expensive when you get started and are just making one or two green living decisions. However, once you start to learn more and talk with other people, you realize that each step gets easier and easier. The holistic approach to green living can be cheaper! As an example, I spend a lot more on fruit now than I used to (we went organic). But my overall grocery bill is down a little because we stopped eating red meat as much and stopped buying as much processed and prepared food. Yes, my all-natural personal care products can be budget busters relative to their conventional counterparts, but we’ve saved so much on electricity and I’ve stopped using some products altogether (no more hair spray/gel/perfume) so that taken altogether, we are spending less. I can honestly say that green living is now relatively easy and it’s often more cost effective–but it took me a long time to get here!

We want Practically Green to make your own journey easier and faster, with fewer mistakes, and enable you benefit from all the wisdom of your friends and the other members of Practically Green. We also try to make these life changes a little more visible and celebratory because when you do put in the effort to change, we want your friends to be able to say “hey–that’s awesome! how’d you do that?” or “Congrats!!” And even if your friends aren’t on Practically Green yet, it can still feel good to get a badge. I think the Girl Scouts got baked into our DNA along the way…