Back before green was “green,” Doug Selby (left in photo) and Kirk Brandon (right) began to position themselves as the go-to people on energy-efficient building. “We got a lot of media attention and were able to quadruple the size of our company,” Selby says.

Meadowlark Builders offers true “very green” remodeling and “new techniques that can take it to the next level,” Selby says. “We find unusual ways to take advantage of passive energy.” Meadowlark built the state of Michigan’s first and second LEED Platinum remodels.

The company has its own cabinet shop, a heating and cooling staff, and efficient rough crews. Brandon and Selby keep everything in check by focusing on the fundamentals and making the firm scalable, with systems in place so they “can grow without having chaos reign.”

Employees are encouraged to pursue education, and when they do, they are required to return to the company, share what they have learned, and write a blog post about it.

BEST PRACTICES

  • Members of the U.S. Green Building Council and the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association, as well as the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. 
  • Doug Selby is vice president of the Builders & Remodelers Association of Greater Ann Arbor.

Notable quote: “I may spend 25 hours on the sale of a project,” Selby says, “but once I say ‘OK, we’re going on this,’ I can just throw it on the machine … I don’t have to spend time baby sitting the jobs.”


- Stacey Freed