How to Build a Sustainable Home on a Budget

Julie Starr • July 20, 2021



When you think of going green, what comes to mind? Maybe it’s a hippie with dreadlocks sitting on a bare mattress or an eco-friendly house with solar panels and a rain barrel outside. 

But no matter what your preconceived notions are, the truth is that anyone can go green and save themselves money in the process. This blog post will teach you how to build your own sustainable home on a budget!

Source for a Green Architect

The environment is the most precious resource, and being conscious of where you spend your money is an integral part of living green. One way to be green is by being mindful of the resources that you use daily. 

If you’re interested in building a sustainable home, it might be time to start looking for environmentally friendly local architects . An experienced green architect can help you create your dream eco-friendly space on any budget and will have access to information about federal tax credits that could save you money while boosting energy efficiency.

Green architects are knowledgeable about sustainable building practices and the latest in green technology. They can help you design a structurally sound home, affordable to maintain, encourage energy efficiency, and conserve natural resources while still aesthetically pleasing.

Create a Budget

Projecting your spending and saving habits can help you figure out how much money you need to save for a home. Start by creating a budget of where you spend every month on groceries, utilities like water and electricity, transportation costs, and entertainment. 

Then take the number of hours that you work per week, multiply it by your hourly wage, and divide that number of hours worked into the amount you make in a year. This tells you how much money per month or hour is needed to reach your goal.

This budget will help you figure out how much of your income is needed to save for a home . You mustn’t use credit cards, loans, or other forms of debt as the only way to fund this project, especially if it will take fifteen years! Remember, work with what you have and what you know.

Locate a Suitable Lot

You’ll want to find a lot in your desired neighborhood that has appropriate zoning. If you’re looking for more space, look at rural areas where the lots are more extensive and less expensive.

If you’re looking for something closer to town, then look at the area’s zoning restrictions, as some may not allow new construction. To buy a lot, you’ll have to get pre-approved for a loan with your lender and then find the perfect property. 

Keep in mind that there will be closing costs when purchasing land and any remodeling fees, which are typically built into the purchase price of building lots. You can also buy a lot and build on it over time to avoid any up-front costs.

Your home is more than just a place for you to sleep and rest. It’s also your sanctuary, the cornerstone of who you are as an individual, and it can be one of the most critical assets in your life. When deciding on how to build your dream home from scratch, there are so many details to consider, but when you’re on a budget, use the above tips to make your dream home sustainable and still have it meet all of the space requirements for your family.

By Julie Starr March 31, 2025
In the race to decarbonize our world, one area often overlooked is digital marketing. While it might seem inherently clean compared to print or physical campaigns, our online activities have a real and measurable environmental footprint. From servers powering your website to emails filling up inboxes, every click, stream, and scroll contributes to carbon emissions. At Taiga Company, we believe digital strategies can be powerful and low-impact. Here’s how to get started. Optimize for a Low-Carbon Web Why it matters: Websites and digital ads are hosted on servers that consume electricity, often powered by fossil fuels. Every time a user loads your site or ad, it uses energy. How to reduce your impact: Host green: Choose web hosts that use renewable energy or offset emissions. Clean up your code: Streamlined, efficient code reduces load times and energy use. Compress and reduce images: Smaller files mean faster pages and fewer emissions. Limit heavy media: Videos and animations are carbon-intensive; use them mindfully. A faster, leaner website isn’t just better for the planet—it also boosts SEO and user experience. Email Marketing with Intention Why it matters: Every email sent, received, and stored requires energy. Multiply that by millions of sends, and the impact adds up. How to reduce your impact: Clean your lists: Remove inactive subscribers to avoid waste. Segment wisely: Only send emails to those who will truly benefit. Use plain-text when possible: It’s lower in data and often more accessible. Reduce frequency: Send fewer, higher-quality emails with genuine value. Intentional emailing reduces not only emissions but also improves deliverability and engagement. Sustainable SEO and Content Strategy Why it matters: Search engines crawl, index, and serve up billions of web pages daily. Thoughtless content and bloated sites add to the load. How to reduce your impact: Create evergreen content: Focus on high-quality pages that stay relevant longer. Streamline your site structure: Fewer clicks to find content = less energy use. Use minimal plugins and scripts: Especially ones that load on every page. Green your CMS: Some content management systems are more resource-efficient than others. Sustainable SEO isn’t just eco-friendly—it’s good strategy. Fewer, better pieces often perform better than content mills. Rethink Marketing Automation Why it matters: Automated emails, ads, and data syncing can create a lot of digital clutter. That clutter eats up storage and energy. How to reduce your impact: Audit regularly: Retire old workflows and outdated automations. Optimize syncing: Reduce how often and how much data is transferred. Segment with purpose: Better targeting means fewer wasted sends. Use expiration dates: Don’t let outdated content or assets live forever. Efficient automation can reduce emissions and improve performance. Digital marketing isn’t going away—and it shouldn’t. It offers powerful tools for connection, education, and growth. But like all tools, it can be used more sustainably. At Taiga Company, we’re committed to helping organizations lower their environmental impact without sacrificing reach or results. Sustainable digital marketing is not only possible; it’s essential. Ready to make your marketing aligned with your company's corporate sustainability plan? Let’s start the conversation.
By Julie Starr March 24, 2025
At Taiga Company, we work alongside brands who are not only doing the hard work of sustainability—but are learning how to talk about it in ways that connect with their stakeholders. This World Water Day , we’re reflecting on how leading beverage companies are advancing bold water stewardship goals and communicating those efforts clearly, thoughtfully, and strategically across digital platforms. Water is foundational to the beverage industry. From ingredient sourcing to packaging to community health, it’s a resource that demands attention—not just in terms of conservation, but in terms of how that commitment is shared with consumers, investors, regulators, and partners. Below, we’re highlighting three beverage companies whose recent water stewardship actions—and storytelling—stood out. PepsiCo: From Field to Community, Global Water Replenishment in Action PepsiCo launched 16 new water replenishment projects across nine countries in 2024 alone, restoring more than 1.7 billion liters of water to local ecosystems. These projects are practical and people-centered—ranging from irrigation efficiency in Texas to sustainable farming practices in the Dominican Republic. What stood out: clear project data, human-focused storytelling, and alignment with global frameworks. PepsiCo’s water webpage provides easy access to targets, progress updates, and case studies, helping stakeholders understand both the “why” and the “how.” Suntory Global Spirits: Water at the Heart of the Brand Suntory’s brands—from Maker’s Mark in Kentucky to Yamazaki in Japan—share a common origin: water. The company’s commitment to being net water positive by 2050 isn’t just a corporate goal—it’s integrated into brand storytelling, on-site conservation efforts, and supplier engagement. Their message is rooted in authenticity: water isn’t just an operational input, it’s an essential ingredient in their identity. Learn more on Suntory’s efforts via their LinkedIn post . Asahi Group Holdings: Building Local Water Resilience Together In the Netherlands, Asahi’s Koninklijke Grolsch partnered with stakeholders in the Twente region to develop a local water platform focused on reducing consumption and innovating wastewater reuse. This goes beyond operational efficiency—it’s about building water resilience within a shared ecosystem. Their community-first framing and long-term investment approach were key themes in this post . Why This Matters At Taiga Company, we believe that sustainability actions only go as far as their ability to be understood, felt, and trusted. Communicating water stewardship isn’t just about reporting metrics or sharing photos of wetlands (although both can help). It’s about giving stakeholders the context they need to see a company’s values in motion—clear commitments, thoughtful execution, and measurable impact.  If your team is evolving its water strategy—or simply looking for better ways to communicate what you're already doing—we’d love to be part of that conversation.
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