In marketing, there is a reliable adoption trend in which a product, technology or idea is first introduced and then adopted within the market place. A group of people called innovators introduce a new idea, technology or product; people in this group are typically risk takers with high social class, stable finances and are very active socially within their discipline.

Early adopters are the first to embrace a new idea, technology or product; these people are typically young, well educated, have a high social status, stable finances and are socially active. The early majority adopt innovation after the early adopters; people in this group typically have above average social status and may interact with early adopters.

The late majority are individuals who adopt innovation after the majority of the market; they may be skeptical of the innovation, with lower financial means, lower social status and are less socially active. Laggards are the last to adopt innovation; people in this group are typically older, averse to change, have the lowest financial status of all the groups.

Before people adopt a new idea, technology or product, they typically go through five stages: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation. At anytime they can reject or accept the innovation.

During the knowledge stage, people become aware of the topic; they do not seek information on their own. This is followed by persuasion, where people actively seek information about the topic. Then they enter the decision stage, where they weigh advantages and disadvantages of the topic. If they like the results, then they implement. Finally, there is confirmation; where people decide if the topic worked for them.

See my hand made adoption chart (that’s right, I have some limited graphic design skills) which demonstrates the stages of adoption and compares how different groups adopt an idea. Notice that innovators and architects not only adopted green building principles earlier than other groups, they adopted it at a faster rate than the other groups.

In the green building market, architects and others involved in the building design and construction process are generally ahead of consumers in the green way of life. Architects are currently in the implementation and confirmation stages of the adoption process, while most consumers are somewhere in the knowledge, persuasion and decision stages.

To that point, architects and other building industry professionals are considered innovators and early adopters in the green arena. They are the first to introduce and adopt more eco-friendly ideas. They demand better products that will improve the efficiency of their building designs. They influence the early adopters and educate the marketplace about the benefits of a green lifestyle.

The innovation cycle is never ending provided there are always new innovations. That is why LEED Rating Systems continue to evolve; architects are constantly pushing the envelope (literally and figuratively here). Building design and construction is improving even faster now that consumers are becoming aware of how a green lifestyle can benefit them physically, financially and emotionally. Architects first demanded that consumers pay attention to building energy use; consumers have responded and are now demanding that architects continue to improve building performance.

At some point green will likely become the standard. Will we look back 50 years from now and cringe at buildings that were registered with early LEED® Rating Systems (that even by V3 standards seem unimpressive)?