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Green Construction Risks and Rewards

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Green construction has become more and more popular over the past decade. Businesses and homes are turning to green while the government encourages it through tax incentives. But going green is not just about sustainable or local products in construction. It involves specific construction standards, various rating systems and green construction codes. Last week, a session at the RIMS Annual Conference & Exhibition helped us understand the complexities of green construction.

Speaking on the matter were:

Stephen Grossmark, partner at Tressler
James McIlnerney, vice president, field operations and risk manager for Leopardo
Matt Lumelleau, producer for Lockton Companies

There are many different green construction standards depending on what type of construction is being done and what the intent is. ASTM International (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials) is known as the gold standard for green construction standards. There is also ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers), which focuses on building ventilation.

And of the different green construction rating systems, the most prominent is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which addresses:

  • Sustainable sites
  • Water efficiency
  • Energy and atmosphere
  • Materials and resources
  • Indoor environmental quality
  • Innovation in operations and regional priority (using local products)

With LEED there are four certifications: certified, silver, gold, platinum. As the speakers said, LEED is a flexible program as to the number of points needed to earn a green construction certification and how they are earned.

“It’s not whether you can get a green certification, it’s how green are you going to be,” said Grossmark.

“Basically, the whole point of LEED is to convert structures from energy efficiency to energy neutral to energy-producing buildings,” he added.

The most impressive example is the Bullitt Center in Seattle, which is known as the greenest commercial building in the world. The building captures rainwater and uses it on site. It even uses raw swage as fertilizer off site. “The goal is to be self sustained, not to pull electricity from the grid if they don’t have to, or water for that matter,” said Grossmark.

According to McInerney, there is a basic formula for sustainable design. He believes that design plus construction plus commissioning equals:

  • Higher productivity
  • Healthier conditions for occupants
  • Meeting green market demands
  • Potential tax credits

But of course, as McInerney pointed out, there are performance and contractual concerns. As with anything, there are risks involved.

The major causes of loss for green buildings are:

  • Envelope leaks
  • Electrical fires
  • Plumbing leaks
  • Mold growth
  • Building code and rating upgrades
  • Unknown green construction risk
  • Vegetative roofs (the weight of the soil can cause problems)
  • Indoor air-quality problems (can use vapor extrusion to move bad air out)
  • Materials characteristics and integration
  • Brownfield sites (environmental exposures related to prior land use)

Then there are the builder’s issues, including:

  • Inexperienced contractors and subcontractors
  • LEED projects require experienced personnel
  • Alternative energy and other advanced systems/learning curves
  • “Greenwashing”
  • LEED point challenges

“If it’s your first time building a green building, you’re not going to get everything right,” said Lumelleau.

There are two ways of dealing with that from insurance standpoint: OCIPs (owner-controlled insurance programs) and CCIPs (contractor controlled insurance program). Current carriers of such insurance include Liberty, Fireman’s Fund, FM Global, Travelers, Zurich, GenRe and Lexington/AIG. Many times, carriers will offer discounts for green-certified buildings for property coverage or upgrades to greener technologies after a loss occurs. 

The Risks and Opportunities of Doing Business in Brazil

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China and India get the lion share of the headlines when it comes to emerging markets. But Brazil presents plenty of opportunities for the right companies.

Bryan Tedford, senior vice president of foreign casualty for ACE, gave a presentation on the nation’s potential and challenges for businesses today at the RIMS 2013 Conference & Exhibition in Los Angeles.

He noted that, as the world’s fifth-most-populous nation and seventh largest economy, Brazil is in a “fantastic position for economic growth over the next few years.” It has a strong, growing middle class that fuels a large domestic demand, which separates it from some of the other oft-discussed emerging markets. Tedford also highlighted the nation’s strong trade relationship with the United States, which he said actually sells about $11 billion more in goods and services to Brazil than Brazil sends back.

The nation also weathered the economic downturn better than most and has very little natural disaster exposure relative to many other growing economiesStill, there are plenty of challenges.

With a land area that is nearly as large as continental Europe, there is an imbalance of economic distribution in cities. This means that the opportunities for foreign companies reside mostly in crowded markets full of established competition. There is also a large informal economy in areas both urban and rural that can limit sales potential.

It doesn’t help that the legal and regulatory environment is very protective of Brazilian companies. In practice, new entities are very difficult to set up. “You really need to have some friends in Brazil … before you can really go after it,” said Tedford. “Having strong personal and business relationships seems to be the key for U.S. companies succeeding in Brazil.”

One way to make friends, says Tedford, is to give a small gift or token at a first meeting. Even offering something that may seem trite can be seen as a welcome gesture.

But don’t expect even friends to be punctual. “The conception of time is, I’ll say, liberal,” said Tedford. Don’t be surprised if an 8 a.m. breakfast meetings doesn’t start until 9:15. Perhaps it’s the traffic. Transportation and logistics can be a nightmare, so don’t expect to get anywhere quickly. The drive from the airport to São Paulo, for example, can take hours.

As far as more-business-related concerns, Brazil has strict liability rules that can make it difficult to deal with issues like a defective products and employment practices. There is also a short statue of limitations compared to the rest of South America, which can make it tricky to find time to deal with issues that must be addressed quickly.

In at least a few sectors, however, these are all mere inconveniences compared to the wealth of opportunity.

The agriculture industry has been booming in recent years, and this is only likely to increase. Sugar cane is especially enticing given the growth of the ethanol market.

The expansion of Petrobras, a Brazilian oil conglomerate that Forbes lists as the world’s 20th-largest company, may present even more chances for foreign companies to cash in. It is estimated that the nation will spend some $250 billion on contracts after the massive off-shore oil deposits discovered a few years ago, said Tedford. There will be a ton of new rigs and construction projects to be had.

There is also a tech boom. Brazilians are one of the largest purchasers of mobile phones, tablets and electronics among the emerging markets, says Tedford. This surging demand means more IT jobs and more infrastructure.

They also have another tendency: responding to direct-mail marketing offers. Brazil has a very good postage system, and it is helping move some of the economy outside of the cities. Companies in on the secret are able to make direct sales and raise brand awareness.

Spencer Educational Foundation Reaches $5 Million Milestone

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Yesterday, at the RIMS 2013 Annual Conference & Exhibition, the Spencer Educational Foundation announced it hit $5 million in donations since the organization’s inception in 1979. The latest round of funding secured $282,500 worth of scholarships to 50 risk management and insurance students from 19 universities.

“This allows us to touch the lives of students who will eventually be the leaders of risk management,” said John Phelps, RIMS President.

Peggy Accordino, Spencer chairwoman, announced that the organization will use the $300,000 donated by RIMS to promote the establishment of risk management and insurance courses at schools around the country. “We would like to have RMI courses be as commonplace as accounting, statistics, marketing — all those subjects that are needed for business,” she said.

Additionally, Temple University was awarded a $50,000 loss prevention education grant funded by FM Global.

Saving Your Company From a Social Media Nightmare

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Facebook has more than 1 billion users worldwide. Twitter processes more than 340 million tweets per day. What is the liability for your company? Are you liable for postings made from employees’ own devices? Can you legally access your employees’ social media sites or base hiring and firing decisions on them?

“Social Media in the Workplace: Litigation Risks and Insurance Coverage” — a RIMS 2013 session — covered these critical issues. Presenting on the topic were:

  • Karen Bachman, director, risk management and privacy for Shire Pharmaceuticals
  • Max Perkins, underwriter, specialty lines for Beazley Group
  • Joann Lytle, partner, McCarter & English, LLP
What is social media? According to Merriam-Webster, it’s:
Forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)
“It’s basically what we have done for years in terms of networking and interfacing but it’s now in an electronic format that moves at the speed of sound and speed of light,” said Perkins.”It can be scary at times but can also be used to your benefit.”By now, most of us are aware of the reasons why companies use social media, including:
  • marketing
  • customer service
  • market research
  • hiring

But what are the concerns?

  • Privacy “What if someone makes a mistake and mentions a patient’s health history,” asked Perkins. “How is your HR team using social media? Are they able to do that legally?”
  • The speed and ease of communication lead people to make impulsive, ill-considered comments
  • Permanent record

But alas, as the speakers pointed out, there are resources available to organizations that wish to manage the risks of social media? They can:

  • Draft a social media use policy
  • Require employee training
  • Monitor social media use
  • Purchase insurance “It’s not all there right now, it’s still developing,” said Perkins.
Joann Lytle used an interesting, real-world example. A health clinic employee disclosed the contents of a patient’s medical file, including the fact that the patient had a sexually transmitted disease from a sexual partner other than her husband. Another employe created a MySpace page with picture of the patient and disclosed the contents of her medical file, disclosing she has an STD. Though the page was only up for a few days, it was enough for a legal case against Fairview (Yath vs Fairview Clinic).
It seems like it would be a cut and dry case, ending in Yath’s favor.But that’s not what happened.
Fairview had a policy prohibiting the use of social media at work. Technical evidence demonstrated that the MySpace page was not created at the employer’s place of business.
“It really saved Fairview,” said Lytle. “They did the right thing and took the right steps. If any of the factors were different, it could’ve been a huge liability.“
How should a company respond to a potentially damaging post? “This is the kind of thing you should be planning for in advance,” said Bachman
  • Take full responsibility — in social media, it’s impossible to run and hide
  • Make no excuses — stick to clarifying an incident — stick with real data
  • Respond immediately 
  • Do not get into an ongoing conversation with other posters — you’re just going to get deeper and deeper into trouble with no way to dig yourself out

We only need to look at LinkedIn’s Top 5 Corporate Twitter Disasters of 2012 to understand how a simple mistake or an irate employee can cause a media nightmare.Companies can establish a framework to manage risk these risks, however. Aside from monitoring and training, companies can purchase media content liability coverage, including:

  • Defamation, libel, slander, infringement of copyright
  • Infringement of domain name, trademark, trade name, trade dress
  • Plagiarism, piracy, misappropriation of ideas under an implied contract
  • Invasion or interference with an individual’s right to privacy

“One thing to think about is where your culture is within the organization,” said Perkins. “Do you have a cultural awareness of what social media is?”