Eric McKinney didn’t consider himself much of an environmentalist. As a professional contractor, it didn’t really fall in line with his business. And he didn’t give much thought to it at home, either.

So when his boss sent an email regarding a meeting downtown to promote sustainable building practices that were environmentally responsible, he ignored it.

“He sent it to all of our project managers and he didn’t get any response,” McKinney says. “So about a week later he sent it again and said, ‘Hey, somebody step up.’ And it was something that would differentiate myself from the other people who do my job and I really looked at it as a career development thing.”

After all, 2003 was a good year to be a contractor.

“It was a good time to set myself aside from other guys who did my job and from there I just went in with an open mind,” he says of his first meeting with the Middle Tennessee U.S. Green Building Council. “And since that time over the last eight years, my involvement has transformed my life, how I live my life and how I do business every day.”

In fact, when Eric first got involved with the coalition, they were still in the process of forming. Now, he’s the chapter chair, and even recycles and composts.

“As a contractor, I don’t consider myself to have a green-collar job,” he says. “Sustainability is not always really high on the list of people I am doing business with or even my customers. I try to bring on that perspective of how sustainability works with the business to convince the people I do business with why this is smart and not just the right thing to do.”

The USGBC’s vision, its website states, is to create awareness and educate building owners/developers, local and state government agencies, architects, engineers, contractors, and product manufacturers within the regional construction community. The hope is this will lead to greater involvement in the sustainable design movement and result in an increased number of sustainable, high performance projects in the area.

Unlike Eric, who did not have a sustainable background, board member Wendy Monday was well-versed in recycling, composting and growing her own food. But since she ran the new construction division of Zeitlin New Homes, she had been looking for a way to marry that interest with her work. Especially since she could see it was a trend that was gaining steam.

“What I saw happening, whether or not people are personally committed to sustainability, they realize that it is the industry buzzword,” she says. “And with the different building regulations and codes becoming more stringent to be more energy efficient, they know they need to get on board with it. So it was something that was going to benefit me business-wise but that I was also very passionate about,” Monday says.

An admitted green-building novice when she first started attending USBGC meetings, she now considers herself an expert in her field.

“When I started in 2004, I just tried to keep my mouth shut and not say anything stupid and soak up a bunch of knowledge,” she says. “And you are in a group with people who are just getting into it but you are also in a group of people who have committed their careers to it. And in just being around them and listening is very beneficial.”

Moving forward, the group is about to present its 2011 Green Star Awards, which McKinney hopes to make the premier green-building honor. The awards will be presented at its annual Green Carpet event, which will be held this year at the Rymer Gallery on June 24. The event is open to the public ($20).

“We have made a concentrated effort to really grow roots into the community,” McKinney says.