Your best opportunities to green your project occur in the earliest planning stages, so it's important to make experienced green building professionals a part of your team from the start. Maintain a green vision to ensure that your project has the characteristic synergies of robust green design efforts.

To integrate your green project effectively, you'll need to think ahead, coordinate closely between multiple disciplines and make use of computer modeling and other non-standard design practices. While the architectural costs of green design may be higher than more standard approaches, creating a high-performance design will lower your construction costs, especially if you involve your contractor early on.

Throughout the course of your project, green building experts from architects to lighting engineers can help you overcome barriers, offer insights on economics and marketing and help you stay on schedule and on budget. By spending a little extra up front to hire a project manager with green building expertise, you can streamline the design and building process and save yourself money in the long run. In addition, consider engaging a commissioning agent from the outset: these professionals are experienced at spotting common design mistakes and can lead you quickly to an efficient solution.