The short answer is yes, according to Phil Williams, vice president of technical systems and sustainability at Webcor.

"Gypsum-based drywall is about 100 years old and it is the biggest source of lawsuits in buildings," he said. "When it gets wet, it is bad news."

That sort of endorsement is good news for the ever-growing number of startups concentrating on green building materials. Webcor is California's large builder. It now garners more revenue from "green" retrofits and/or new construction than conventional products. (Williams will speak at our Green Building Summit on June 11 in Menlo Park.) Webcor is also a limited partner in Navitas Capital, a VC firm specializing in green building. Construction is notoriously conservative. Builders and architects have to build structures that last several decades and lawsuits are rampant. Thus, many are reluctant to try new things, which has made acceptance an uphill battle for many green building companies.

"We accept new technology in every field of our life except building," he said. Webcor's attitude now is that if a new material passes the regulatory tests, the company will likely give it a look.