What percentage of new non-residential buildings were considered 'green construction' in 2010 compared to 2005?

These numbers are getting the attention of developers and driving the growth of eco-construction. Nationally, about 2% of today's new, nonresidential construction is considered green, estimates the MHC study. From last year's $3.3 billion, green office and retail construction is expected to surge by up to 10% a year, to $20 billion, by 2010.
Costs Backing Down
Given New York's love affair with tall towers and the unmatched scale of the city's real estate market, it's no surprise that Manhattan is emerging as the epicenter of green high-rise construction. Bank of America's tower will be the greenest of a surge of eco-friendly office buildings sprouting up in midtown and near Wall Street.
First to open was 7 World Trade Center, the start of new construction at Ground Zero. Next was Foster + Partners' stunning addition to Hearst's headquarters in midtown. And nearing completion just a few blocks west of Bank of America Tower on 42nd Street is Renzo Piano's New York Times Building.
The flurry of eco-construction reflects builders' growing confidence that the extra costs of building green are a good investment. The up front costs of building green are still higher than using conventional materials, but that premium is shrinking. Just a few years ago, green construction could cost 10% or more than standard construction.
Today that margin has fallen into the range of single digits. As the market for green materials and design expertise has grown and matured, "the supply of materials and services is going up and the price is coming down," says Taryn Holowka, communications manager at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Waterless Water Closets
To be sure, green projects can still throw up costly delays or surprising snafus. Until recently, for example, New York-area carting companies charged extra to sort and recycle construction debris.
But as haulers have come to recognize the market value of the refuse, they've lowered their prices and become more cooperative. At the Bank of America site, explains Cook+Fox's Lisa Storer, carting companies presorted scrap steel, concrete, and other debris on site for removal. Ultimately some 90% of construction waste was recycled.
Sometimes the latest, greenest technology just isn't approved yet.

A new study from McGraw Hill Construction suggests a number of reasons why builders should get up to speed on green building.
First, the green building market is growing. According to a summary of the report, the green share of the single-family residential market has grown from 2% in 2005 to 23% in 2013 and should reach between 26% and 33% of the market by 2016. That would be worth as much as $105 billion.
Green building grew even during the recent recession. The overall housing market took a nosedive between 2005 and 2008, declining from a value of $315 billion to $122 billion. But the green housing market showed a healthy increase over the same period, from $6 billion in 2005 (2% of the market) to $10 billion (8% of the market) in 2008.
Over the next few years, the industry bumped along, reaching a value of $97 billion by 2011. But green building continued a steady climb to reach $17 billion by 2011.
Both builders and remodelers see green growth ahead
New-home builders seem to be adopting green practices faster than remodelers. In five years, 62% of builders expect to be doing green on more than 60% of their projects, McGraw Hill reports, and 30% expect to be building green on more than 90% of their projects.
By 2018, the study says, 32% of remodelers expect that more than 60% of their projects will be green.
Finally, many builders find customers are willing to pay more for green features.
“Considering the economy, it is notable that over 68% of builders and 84% of remodelers report their customers are willing to pay more for green,” the study says. “Both of these are an increase over the reported results from 2011 where 61% of builders and 66% of remodelers reported the same. The big jump for remodelers may be due to the improving economy and the increased awareness and accessibility to affordable green building products and practices.”
On average, builders say consumers will pay 3% more for green homes and 5% more for green remodeling.
McGraw Hill said findings on the green home marketplace and other results from this study would be published in April in partnership with the National Association of Home Builders.

At first, Baldwin Homes didn't build green. Then it dipped its corporate toe in — one home here, another there.
Now the Gambrills company is constructing an entire green neighborhood. It's the story of U.S. home building writ small.
Green accounted for 2 percent of the new-home market in 2005, according to a report by industry data provider McGraw Hill Construction. By last year it had ballooned to 23 percent — nearly a quarter.
"I don't think green is a niche market anymore," said Michele A. Russo, director of green content at McGraw Hill Construction.
More builders have jumped in with both feet. Others are giving green techniques a try, to the point that more than 60 percent of single-family home builders say they're doing at least a moderate amount of work in the field, according to McGraw Hill.
Even strictly conventional homes are built in a more environmentally — and budget — friendly way than they were five years ago because energy-efficient appliances are so common, Russo said.
Some builders get a green stamp of approval from a certifying body, such as the U.S. Green Building Council. Others just incorporate some of the ideas, which can range from designing a home with sunlight in mind to building "green roofs" in urban areas so dirty stormwater doesn't run off into the Chesapeake Bay.
The level of activity and acceptance is a sea change, said Michael Furbish, president and founder of Furbish, a green product supplier in Baltimore that specializes in green roofs and walls.
"Green building has become the norm in 15 short years," he said. "Instead of being a novelty, it's become a presumed logical way of building."
It's not that everyone's become an environmentalist. The "conversation is changing," said Kevin Morrow, director of sustainability and green building at the National Association of Home Builders. Techniques once sold as environmentally friendly are increasingly plugged as "high performance," because the two frequently go hand-in-hand.
Take, for example, a highly insulated house. It uses less energy, a plus for outdoor air quality and the owner's utility bills. It's also much more comfortable than a drafty property.
The goal is "making sure that the home is a pleasant place to be," Morrow said.
Mike Baldwin, president and owner of Baldwin Homes, is working on National Green Building Standard-certified homes at the Preserve at Severn Run in Gambrills.

More Builders Going Green
According to a new McGraw Hill Construction report, the number of builders dedicated to green practices will double by 2018
Increased buyer interest in green building is helping to make it a more important part of the housing market, according to a new study by McGraw Hill Construction.
The percentage of builders of single-family homes who said that more than 90% of their projects are green grew from 12% in a 2011 study to 19% this year, and is projected to rise to 38% by 2018. The percentage of builders who said that less than 16% of their projects were green shrank proportionally, from 63% in 2011 to 38% in the most recent study. That number should fall to 16% by 2018.
"These findings demonstrate that among home builders, and increasingly among single-family remodelers, green is becoming the standard way to build," the report said. "This wider adoption of green may help push the single-family home market to become even greener in the future, with homes increasingly needing to be green to be competitive."
By 2016, the report says, green single-family homes will represent between one-quarter and one-third of the market, "translating to a $80 billion to $101 billion opportunity based on current forecasts."
In multifamily construction, the number of builders making more than 90% of their projects green was much lower than on the single-family side, remaining at a flat 6% between 2011 and 2013 and projected to grow to an estimated 18% by 2018. Those making less than 16% of their projects green dropped from 69% in 2011 to 46% in 2013. That was expected to decline to 21% by next year.
The authors concluded that while more multifamily builders are becoming experienced with green practices, they are not choosing to specialize in it.
These results are based on an online survey of 116 single-family home builders, developers, and remodelers, McGraw Hill said, along with 38 multifamily builders, developers, and remodelers. The survey was conducted over a four-month period from December 2013 to March of this year.

Whether green buildings will be voluntary or mandated in New Jersey, the overall green construction trend is booming despite the US housing slump.
Green home building has already gone mainstream and is expected to be worth $12 to $20 billion (6%-10% of the market) this year, according to a new report from McGraw-Hill. The report said that 40% of builders think green building helps them market their homes in a down market.
“We have hit the tipping point for builders going green. This year has seen an 8% jump over last year, and we expect another 10% increase next year.”
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said they are also implementing new green building strategies in order to spread the adoption of green building practices nationwide.
While major businesses such as Kohl’s, Roche, Chevron, among many announced their green building investments, chemical companies, on the other hand, are trying to cash in on this trend with new environment-friendly/energy-saving construction materials.
Berry Plastics said its formaldehyde-free Thermo-ply protective sheating is a non-toxic 100% polyvinyl alcohol, which reduces home energy use by lessening air infiltration. The sheating is said to be also constructed with 100% recycled materials (80% post consumer waste and 20% post-industrial material), and is 99% recyclable.
With asbestos and lead paint litigations still nipping some chemical firms’ heels, and if green building will potentially be mandated in some states, it is advisable for both construction and chemical industries to look for friendlier alternatives.
In a related issue, the consulting firm EH&E recently released a white paper to help building owners, developers, and others minimize the looming risks and costs caused by the discovery of PCBs in their construction materials.
addthis_pub = ‘greenchicgeek’;

Green building, the use of construction processes that are environmentally responsible and resource efficient throughout a building's life cycle, has become a big business. It is fundamentally changing the nature of how today's construction industry must operate in order to remain competitive. The value of the green building market is expected to grow from between $55 billion and $71 billion in 2010 to $135 billion by 2015, with commercial green building expected to represent 40% to 48% of the market by 2015. As a result, requests for certification of a project's "greenness" by objective third-party verifiers are being sought for various reasons, including perceived clout and marketing power to generate higher sales and rental prices, compliance with local building code requirements, and assurance to owners and tenants of lower future operating costs.
Certification versus Performance
Although there are several third-party verifiers market-wide, the U.S. Green Building Council's ("USGBC") Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ("LEED") has been at the forefront domestically and internationally. As a voluntary, four-level (Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum), point-based certification system, LEED has fostered a culture of expected energy efficiency in commercial real estate. The federal government has led the way, both by adopting LEED Silver as a baseline for its building inventory and by encouraging pursuit of LEED-certified projects in the suppressed economy through financial incentives offered under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Many state governments have followed suit, either by requiring energy-efficiency standards for public projects or by empowering local governments to adopt LEED or other expressions of sustainable development as part of their building code standards. The private sector has embraced LEED projects as well, seeing them as good not only for the environment and its social conscience, but also for the wallet.
Despite strength and support on the design side, the desired results of LEED projects may not be matched by actual performance. The USGBC is fending off a legal and public relations attack in the form of a class action lawsuit alleging that the USGBC fraudulently represents the performance of LEED buildings as more efficient than standard construction. The principal plaintiff has amended the complaint to characterize the USGBC's representations of the energy efficiency of LEED-certified buildings as not based on verified energy performance, thereby fostering a false sense that the end product will perform better than yesterday's new construction.
Individual projects have seen challenges as well.

The demand for LEED® certification has increased dramatically since the rating system’s initial release in 1998. In the current economic, environmental and social construction climate, green is the way to go and LEED® certifications outline the path. The U.S. Green Building Council has worked diligently to respond to market demand for green products.Three primary factors have contributed to the growth of Sustainable Development in the United States.• Historic increase of government backed green initiatives calling for LEED® ratings.• Increase in green residential projects.• Expansion of available green building product lines.Government definitely helped spur the growth of the green movement. As of 2003, more than 50% of green building was endorsed by federal, state and local governments. Only 33% of green projects were undertaken by the private sector.Between 2004 and 2008, the increase in energy costs reinforced the green building movement and the value of the LEED® rating system. Public and private commercial and residential developers began to look at sustainable projects with new interest.As interest rose, the U.S. Green Building Council expanded the LEED® program to include:• LEED® for New Construction – LEED® – NC• LEED® for Existing Buildings-Operation and Maintenance –LEED® – EB• LEED® for Commercial Interiors – LEED® – CI• LEED® for Core & Shell – LEED® – CS• LEED® for Schools – LEED® – S• LEED® for Retail – LEED® – R• LEED® for Healthcare – LEED® – HC• LEED® for Homes – LEED® – HThese eight LEED® programs now account for the three criteria addressed by the U.N. sustainable report of 2005; economic, environmental and social sustainability.Consumers have joined the sustainable movement. While the initial cost of green construction may be slightly higher than traditional construction, the operating savings and reduction in environmental impact outweigh the initial outlay. Additionally, the marketability of LEED® certified commercial or residential property exceeds the value of traditional construction.LEED® certification is now synonymous with the highest and best use of properties. This significant reality attests to the validity of the eight LEED® programs. In 2009, responsible development and real estate ownership now begins with LEED® ratings.

Facing increasing and unpredictable energy costs, buildings capable of significantly reducing energy consumption have become increasingly attractive to those in the market for real estate. The increased public awareness and concern for the environment, coupled with an increasing consumer demand for the cost savings generated by energy efficient buildings, have operated to propel the green movement into the real estate industry in the form of green buildings.
There are many benefits associated with constructing, retro-fitting, and occupying green buildings, beyond those involving the environment. Studies show that buildings certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an internationally recognized green building certification system, have an almost four percent higher occupancy rate, as well as increased retention rates. Such buildings may also experience an almost 10 percent decrease in operating expenses, and a similar increase in building value. Subsidies, incentives, and tax credits may also be counted as potential benefits associated with green buildings.
All of these benefits have operated to grow the green building industry despite the otherwise underperforming real estate market. According to one study, construction of green office space has increased by approximately 25 percent over the past decade, with significant continued growth predicted for the near future. Moreover, according to the U.S Green Building Council, green building construction is expected to reach $60 billion, with approximately 10 percent of new commercial construction starts expected to be green. These numbers confirm that building green has become, and is predicted to remain big business.
Given the increasing popularity and value of green construction, the insurance industry has entered the field by developing policy endorsements geared specifically toward green properties. These policies recognize that green buildings contain unique features, in the form of materials and designs, which are typically more expensive than those found in traditional buildings. Thus, in the event of a covered loss, a typical insurance policy may not cover the extra expense and procedures ordinarily associated with green buildings. That is why it is important to understand the manner in which insurance companies are catering to those property owners seeking to become, or remain, green.
Given the relative novelty of insuring green buildings, many companies are routinely adjusting their products to accommodate this developing industry. Nevertheless, there are a few commonalities among the varying products in terms of coverages, including:
- Green Rebuilding: Green coverage will cover many of the costs related to rebuilding a covered property to its budgeted level of green certification. Some companies offer policies that cover the costs of replacing standard materials with a green equivalent in the event of a covered loss.

"It's just a home that works well, to its maximum efficiency."
A by-the-numbers look at the green homebuilding market:
•37: Percent of single-family home builders in 2011 who said green projects represented at least a moderate amount of their work
•62: Percent of single-family home builders in 2013 who fell in that category
•84: Percent of single-family home builders who project that green will represent at least a moderate amount of their work in 2018
•$6 billion: Value of the green new-home market in 2005
•$37 billion: Value of the green new-home market in 2013
Source: McGraw Hill ConstructionCopyright © 2015, The Baltimore Sun

The building sector is the biggest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. Energy used in U.S. buildings produces about 43 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. However, buildings certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) have less impact on the environment, according to theGreen Building Impact Report 2008. The report assessed non-residential construction because it accounts for 40 percent of the environmental burden from the buildings sector.
LEED certified buildings have less impact on the land and water, and use 25 percent less energy. They save the equivalent amount of GHG emissions from entering the environment as 400 million vehicle miles traveled. They also use seven percent less water. The equivalent of 2008 water savings could fill enough 32 ounce bottled to encircle the globe 300 times.
The Architecture 2030 Challenge
The Architecture 2030 Challenge calls for a 50 percent reduction in the energy use and GHG emissions of all new buildings and major renovations by 2010. The Challenge also calls for an increasing reduction of both energy use and GHG emissions in increments every five years so all new buildings will be carbon neutral by 2030.
The Challenge also calls for new buildings to be designed so that they cut fossil fuel energy usage in half, and renovate existing buildings to cut their fossil fuel energy usage in half.
The following organizations have adopted the Challenge: the American Institute of Architects, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, U.S. Green Building Council, National Association of Counties, California Public Utilities and Energy Commissions, and individual cities, counties and states.
Will the recession affect the green building sector?
The green building sector has grown considerably in the 21st century. Despite the current economic recession, the construction and certification of green buildings will continue to increase, according to a recent report, How Green a Recession? – Sustainability Prospects in the US Real Estate Industry.
The report, commissioned by RREEF, a member of the Deutsche Bank Group, stated that the green building market will continue to accelerate, which will increase the “green share” of the building sector, and then will speed markets “to the tipping point where green buildings become the standard for quality real estate product.”
There is a potential for tremendous growth in the green building sector, according to the report, for four reasons:
The report cited four ways that the Obama administration can influence green building market:
Act local!

Canadian Consulting Engineer
Studies of 1,300 buildings demonstrate advantages of going greenEngineering
Two recently released studies, one by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) and one by CoStar Group, have shown that th...
Two recently released studies, one by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) and one by CoStar Group, have shown that third party certified buildings outperform their conventional counterparts across a variety of metrics, including energy savings, occupancy rates, sale price and rental rates.
In the NBI study, the results indicate that new buildings certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification system are, on average, performing 25-30% better than non-LEED certified buildings in terms of energy use. The study also showed that Gold and Platinum LEED certified buildings have average energy savings approaching 50%.
Energy savings under EPA’s Energy Star program were also impressive. Buildings that have earned the Energy Star label use an average of almost 40 per cent less energy than average buildings, and emit 35 percent less carbon.
The results from both studies also strengthened the “business case” for green buildings.
According to the CoStar study, LEED buildings command rent premiums of $11.24 per square foot over their non-LEED peers and have 3.8 percent higher occupancy.
Rental rates in Energy Star buildings represent a $2.38 per sq. ft. premium over comparable buildings and have 3.6 percent higher occupancy.
Also, Energy Star buildings are selling for an average of $61 per square foot more than their peers, while LEED buildings command $171 more per square foot.
The group analyzed more than 1,300 LEED Certified and Energy Star buildings representing about 351 million square feet in CoStar’s commercial property database of roughly 44 billion square feet, and assessed those buildings against non-green properties with similar size, location, class, tenancy and year-built characteristics to generate the results.
The NBI study was funded by USGBC with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and can be accessed at:
For more information on the CoStar study: http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=D968F1E0DCF73712B03A099E0E99C679.

The results of the first systematic study of green buildings are in and they look good! Specifically, the study filtered sample data to Class A office buildings larger than 200,000 sf, 5 stories or more, built since 1970, and multi- tenanted. To compare green versus non-green, they used Energy Star and non-Energy Star buildings, and therefore, the sample contained 223 Energy Star buildings (111.7 million square feet) and 2,077 non-Energy Star buildings (889.1 million square feet). The results: (1) HIGHER occupancy rates, (2) HIGHER rental rates, and (3) HIGHER sales prices psf for Energy Star buildings.
The study also contains some interesting nuggets of information with respect to LEED and green development. You’ll notice that in terms of green developments in process, California is followed by the ambivalent, oil/wind-loving state of Texas. You’ll also notice that Hines is not only the leading developer of green buildings, but it’s the leading owner of green buildings (raising the inference that it’s good to be both the owner and developer of green buildings). And the top two types of tenants in green buildings are financial institutions and law firms. Lawyers aren’t that bad now are they?
The study drafters note that some changes need to be made to further accelerate acceptance of green buildings. They also note that the real barriers to going green are "mostly a lack of planning and education." Well, we’re hoping to change that here at Jetson Green. Via Yudelson Associates.

Satish B. Mohan; Benjamin Loeffert
Wednesday, Jun 14 10:30-11:30/Celebration 9-10
Abstract: Buildings account for 40% of the nation’s CO2 emissions, 68% of electric consumption, 41% of total energy use and 14% of water consumed in the United States; these trends are unaffordable and must change. Studies have shown that green buildings can save approximately 30% in energy usage and lead to increased worker productivity and occupant’s health benefits. Also, green buildings have the potential of lower insurance premiums, lower waste disposal charges, reduced water and sewer fees, and increased rental rates. However, their initial cost can be 1 to 5% higher than the conventional buildings. These additional initial costs are recouped in energy savings over a few years. This paper gives the design and construction steps of green buildings, and presents the results of a few studies done on the short term and long term costs and savings of green features. Actual data of four green buildings, built in various regions of USA, has also been included. All the sampled green buildings cost an additional 2-3%, and are consuming significantly less energy of up to 33%.

A "green" home was defined as "one that incorporates environmentally sensitive site planning; resource efficiency; energy and water efficiency; improved indoor air quality; and homeowner education or projects that would comply with the ICC 700 National Green Building StandardNational Green Building Standard Based on the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines and passed through ANSI. This standard can be applied to both new homes, remodeling projects, and additions. or other credible rating system."
A variety of factors aiding the move to green
Builders and developers said that the three most important factors in their adoption of green building strategies were increasing energy costs, changes in codes and regulations, and wider availability and lower prices for green building products.
Builders also found that more buyers were willing to pay higher prices for a green home in 2013 than in 2011. The percentage of single-family builders who said that customers would pay more grew from 61% in 2011 to 73% in 2013. On the remodeling side, that grew from 66% to 79%.
The number of builders incorporating renewable energy systems into their projects also is on the rise. In 2013, 8% of builders surveyed said they included renewables on all of the projects, which was expected to grow to 20% by 2016. The proportion of builders offering renewables as an option was 34% in 2013 but expected to increase to 40% by 2016.
One source of frustration for both homeowners and builders has been that green features aren't always recognized by real estate appraisers or lenders, a situation that may be slow to change. The report says that appraisers now have better tools at their disposal, but adds that a relatively small number of multiple listing services — 185 of the country's nearly 850 total — provide fields where information about green building features can be added.
One Florida banker was quoted as saying that many appraisers show limited interest in making green features part of their reports.
There are many other details available in the 64-page report, which can be downloaded for free. (If you don't already have an account with McGraw Hill you'll have to create one to get access to the report.)
- McGraw Hill Construction
Jun 15, 2014 8:13 PM ET
Jun 16, 2014 7:35 AM ET

What is Green Building?
Green building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building is also known as a sustainable or high performance building.
The built environment has a profound impact on our natural environment, economy, health, and productivity.
In the United States alone, buildings account for:
- 72% of electricity consumption,
- 39% of energy use,
- 38% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions,
- 40% of raw materials use,
- 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually), and
- 14% of potable water consumption.
- Enhance and protect ecosystems and biodiversity
- Improve air and water quality
- Reduce solid waste
- Conserve natural resources
- Reduce operating costs
- Enhance asset value and profits
- Improve employee productivity and satisfaction
- Optimize life-cycle economic performance
Health and community benefits:
- Improve air, thermal, and acoustic environments
- Enhance occupant comfort and health
- Minimize strain on local infrastructure
- Contribute to overall quality of life

Because tenancies may require attaining specific tiers, and because rental amounts may be contingent on achieving those tiers, whether a post-construction audit will confirm that a given building achieves its desired tier has already become, and will undoubtedly grow, as a matter of concern across the country.
Estimates of the cost of building "green" vary greatly. Generally speaking, such costs are estimated at between 2% and 15% more than the cost of conventional construction. One of the primary determining factors regarding how much of a premium will be required to build green depends on the experience of the contractor. First-time "green" construction tends to be on the expensive side, while subsequent construction tends to be closer to the cost of conventional construction. This difference appears to be based on the contractor and subcontractors getting accustomed to using new, different techniques during the construction process. Thus, it is worthwhile to seek experienced contractors, or to use the same contractor over the course of multiple, similar jobs.
Also, there can be tremendous differences of opinion between the landlord and the tenant, or the landlord and its contractors, as to what constitutes acceptable green space. There are many open questions about the long-term viability of green building technologies: if a green technology fails during a tenancy, who is responsible for remediating it? If it cannot be remediated, such that the space is no longer "green", is the lease voidable by the tenant? If promotional information for a green technology claims a certain degree of efficiency, but the technology does not actually achieve such efficiency, who is responsible for the resulting failure? Considering these questions, it is clear that boilerplate contract language most likely will not adequately resolve the green issues that will arise, and when that happens, litigation will ensue.
For example, in Shaw Development v. Southern Builders (filed in Maryland Circuit Court in 2007, but presumably settled), it was alleged by Shaw Development that it lost $635,000 in tax credits from Maryland's Energy Administration because the builder failed to achieve LEED Silver rating for a condominium project within the eligibility period to obtain the credits. Remarkably, while Shaw was apparently counting on receiving those credits, its building contract failed to address who would be responsible if delays caused them to be lost.

Green building refers to a sustainable, resource-efficient, and environmentally responsible process of building. It includes siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition of a structure. Green buildings re-use existing materials; conserve water; reduce the need for artificial lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilation; and provide optimal air quality for building occupants. New construction and additions or upgrades can all incorporate green construction techniques. There are basic building efficiency upgrades that be done to improve building performance, especially in older buildings. Multiple organizations offer financial incentives for completing home improvements that result in energy efficiency and conservation upgrades. For information on available programs, please visit the Government Funding Programs page.
Additionally, there are multiple non-profit organizations that support green construction, including the following:
U.S Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (“LEED”) program. LEED is a green building tool that addresses the entire building lifecycle and provides third-party verification of green buildings. Building projects satisfy perquisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. Points may be earned from using sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and the atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design.
Build it Green’s GreenPoint Rated (“GPR”) program. GreenPoint Rated focuses on residential projects in California. GPR verifies that a home has been built or remodeled according to proven green standards. The GPR program has certificates for whole homes and for elements of homes (e.g., remodeling a kitchen). GPR awards points for projects across different categories that include energy efficiency, resource conservation, indoor air quality, water conservation, and community.
The International Living Future Institute's Living Building Challenge program. Living Building Challenge is a building certification program, advocacy tool, and philosophy that defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today and acts to rapidly diminish the gap between current limits and the end-game positive solutions we seek. The Challenge is comprised of seven performance categories called Petals: Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty. Petals are subdivided into a total of twenty Imperatives, each of which focuses on a specific sphere of influence. This compilation of Imperatives can be applied to almost every conceivable building project, of any scale and any location—be it a new building or an existing structure.
The City of Lafayette recognizes green building efforts through the annual Lafayette Awards of Environmental Excellence, more commonly known as the Lafayette Green Awards.

Top reasons your construction company should build green
EPA describes a green building as one “designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment”. Green building, also known as sustainable construction, is becоming a popular concept worldwide. And there’s good reason for that. It is estimated that 39% of total energy consumption and 65% of electricity consumption in the US can be attributed to buildings. So it’s not surprising that lawmakers, both at state and federal level, are trying to encourage green construction. If you own a construction company and are wondering if you should go in for sustainable construction, consider these benefits.
Green construction constantly addresses the use of materials that are non-toxic and have a favorable effect on occupant well-being. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) uses the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification system when evaluating green buildings. It’s currently working on LEED’s fourth update which addresses such issues as air quality and the overall effect on human health. This is likely to spur further interest in green buildings from people with certain health conditions and those wishing to improve their general well-being.
It might come as a surprise, but building sustainably isn’t always more expensive than building the traditional way. Even when it is slightly more expensive, the difference is more than offset in the long run. Green buildings have much lower running costs and utility bills. Thus, more and more end customers realize sustainable buildings are worth the extra intial investment. Moreover, the price of green buildings remain more stable over time when compared to traditional buildings. Finally, a factor that might be considered for commercial buildings – studies show occupants of green buildings are more productive and therefore their labor – more cost-efficient.
Incentives for Builders
On a federal level, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 allowed for some tax deduction from the costs of making commercial buildings more energy efficient. The incentive was initially planned for just a year (from 2006 to 2007), but was later extended till the end of 2013. Similar pieces of legislation are very likely to be adopted in the future as well. As for cities and states, a lot of them have already put their own incentives for promoting sustainable construction. Currently, California and Texas seem to be the country leaders in various LEED projects.

The cost to build green remains on par with standard construction costs, according to a study published in July by cost management consulting firm Davis Langdon. Conducted in 2006, the study, “The Cost of Green Revisited,” is an update to the firm's 2004 study that found that sustainable building was not necessarily more expensive than non-sustainable building.
According to the new study, while average construction costs have risen 20-30% across the board since 2004, most of the LEED-seeking projects studied achieved sustainability goals within the initial budget, with only a few projects needing minimal supplemental funding.
A total of 221 building projects were analyzed, 83 with a LEED goal and 138 without. The types of buildings studied included 60 academic facilities, 70 laboratories, 57 libraries, 18 community centers, and 17 ambulatory care facilities.
Download the study at: www.davislangdon.com/usa/research

Washington, D.C. — (Jan. 23, 2013) — Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its annual list of the top 10 states for new LEED certifications in 2012, highlighting those regions that are transforming buildings and communities across the country.
The per-capita list is based on 2010 U.S. Census data and includes commercial and institutional buildings certified under LEED, through which approximately 2.2 billion square feet of space has been certified worldwide through 2012.
“Securing a spot on this list is a remarkable achievement for everyone involved in the green building movement in these states,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC. “From architects and designers to local chapter advocates, their collective efforts have brought sustainable building design and use to the forefront of the national discussion on the environment, and I applaud their efforts to create a healthier present and future for the people of their states.”
Once again, the District of Columbia tops the ranking, with 36.97 square feet of LEED space certified per resident in 2012.
Meanwhile, Virginia moved into the position as the top state, with 3.71 square feet certified per resident in 2012, overtaking Colorado, with 2.10 square feet certified per person.
Other top states include Massachusetts, which moved up three positions from 2011, with 2.05 square feet per person; Illinois, with 1.94 square feet; and Maryland, with 1.90 square feet of LEED space certified per resident in 2012.
Reflecting the ongoing trend of LEED existing buildings outpacing their newly built counterparts, in 2012 the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance rating system accounted for 53% of total square footage certified in these states, compared to 32% certified under LEED for New Construction.
The full ranking, which includes 10 states plus Washington, D.C., is as follows:
"Buildings are a primary focus of our Mayor's Sustainable DC initiative," said Keith Anderson, Interim Director, District of Columbia Department of the Environment. "We are indeed thrilled to be leading the nation in per-capita LEED certified space. Our private and public building sectors are boldly leading with the development of high performing green buildings, and we have aligned governmental policies to support such innovation."

LEED projects are responsible for diverting more than 80 million tons of waste from landfills, and by 2030 that number is expected to grow to 540 million tons.9
- In the United States alone, buildings account for almost 40 percent of national CO2 emissions and out-consume both the industrial and transportation sectors, but LEED-certified buildings have 34 percent lower CO2 emissions, consume 25 percent less energy and 11 percent less water, and have diverted more than 80 million tons of waste from landfills.10
- The market is responding to these cost savings and environmental benefits at a dramatic rate. According to a Dodge Data & Analytics World Green Building Trends 2018 SmartMarket Report, global green building activity continues to rise and nearly half of survey respondents expect the majority of their projects in the next three years to be green buildings.11
1 McGraw Hill Construction (2012). World Green Buildings Trends: Business Benefits Driving New and Retrofit Market Opportunities In Over 60 Countries.
2 U.S. Department of Energy (2011). Re-Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 Buildings.
3 McGraw-Hill Construction (2012). World Green Buildings Study. Accessed Nov. 29, 2012.
4 Booz Allen Hamilton and the U.S. Green Building Council (2015). 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study.
5 National Trust for Historic Preservation (2011). The Greenest Building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse.
6 U.S. Geological Survey (2000). 2000 data.
7 McGraw Hill Construction (2010). Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth.
8 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Green Building, Green Homes, Conserving Water. Water Use and Energy.
9 Watson, Rob. Greenbiz Group (2011). Green Building and Market Impact Report.
10 U.S. Department of Energy (2011). Re-Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 Buildings.
11 Dodge Research and Analytics (2018). World Green Building Trends 2018 SmartMarket Report.

The latest version of LEED places more focus on energy efficiency and reduction of carbon dioxide; identifies existing credits for bonus points based on specific regional issues to reflect local priorities; and tightens the energy savings requirements to 10 percent over the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers standard for 2007 for new buildings, and 5 percent for renovations. In addition, LEED 2009 was designed to help the USGBC obtain a better understanding of the relationship between credits and building performance. With this goal in mind, LEED 2009 requires that teams agree to report post-occupancy energy and water use as part of project registration. By monitoring energy and water usage, the USGBC is attempting to ensure energy savings goals are being met and to determine ways to constantly make the standard more effective.
Due to constant improvement to the rating system and the increasing trend toward sustainable building practices, LEED certifications have been on the rise.
While the number of LEED certifications has steadily increased and many buildings strive to attain LEED certification, LEED certification is voluntary and, as a result, many buildings are not LEED certified. Even when buildings are certified, under LEED, building owners may choose to address certain aspects of energy efficiency, such as lighting, but leave other aspects out. Furthermore, when given a choice, some building owners are choosing not to follow these guidelines at all in order to reduce their initial investment, without considering the total cost of ownership and the building’s impact on the environment.
To address this issue, the U.S. has approved its first national green building code. The International Green Construction Code (IgCC) was passed after two years of development. The code applies to all new and renovated commercial buildings and residential buildings higher than three stories. The goal of IgCC is to set enforceable minimum standards for all aspects of building design and construction, including energy efficiency, water efficiency, site impacts, building waste and materials. The code also gives voluntary certifications more flexibility to set the high-performance requirements even higher so that buildings are awarded for going above the minimum standards of performance, instead of being awarded for meeting what have increasingly become expected standards.
One of the mandatory requirements is related to site development and land use. The IgCC eliminates greenfield development, with some exceptions based on existing infrastructure.

Does a green building cost less to create and maintain than a conventional building? The General Services Administration (GSA) says yes.
An in-depth study of 22 green federal buildings across the U.S. showed that on average, the representative buildings chosen from GSA’s portfolio regularly outperformed national averages of building performance data. These buildings use less energy and water and cost less to maintain, as well as emit less carbon dioxide and have more satisfied occupants than conventionally designed buildings.
But is this true for private sector facilities? The gap between the costs of green vs. non-green has certainly narrowed considerably, but has that gap closed yet? Building professionals weigh in on creating, remodeling, and maintaining green facilities.
Green Building Performance
The study, Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 22 GSA Buildings, compares each building’s energy use intensity, energy cost, carbon dioxide emissions, maintenance costs, water use, and occupant satisfaction against widely accepted industry and GSA baselines. Sixteen of the buildings were LEED-NC certified or registered, with the remaining six meeting the requirements of other sustainable building programs, including ENERGY STAR and the California Title 24 Energy Standard.
Three of the five LEED Gold buildings performed better than industry baselines, but the other two – a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) facility in Omaha, NE, and the Census Bureau office complex in Suitland, MD – earned unexpectedly low scores in some areas.
The DHS building bested the industry baseline scores in all categories except water use, which not only exceeded the national average but was also much higher than when the building was previously assessed. This raised suspicion about leaks, unexpected use, and other concerns, but the GSA ultimately realized the spike was due to a shift in occupancy as the 10,000 square feet of space left vacant when the building opened was filled, according to Eleni Reed, chief greening officer for GSA’s Public Buildings Service.
The Suitland facility earned low scores in three of the eight categories, but further investigation revealed that its size and densely populated spaces contributed to its scores relative to the industry average. Building occupants were intensely focused on the 2010 Census when the building study was conducted, Reed notes, adding that buildings of this size are uncommon and are likely not represented in the industry averages that the study compared with GSA’s 22-building sample.

EIA Weighs In on the Report
Even with the undeniable increase in energy-efficient buildings, various factors led EIA to scale back its 2005 projections in the 2011 report, and it's difficult to determine the exact role greener buildings played, said Owen Comstock, an EIA research analyst.
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The Architecture 2030 report "is not looking at the macroeconomic picture," he said.
The EIA anticipates that the recent economic recession—which lasted from late 2007 to mid-2009, but whose effects are still being felt—will lead to a long-term slowdown in the construction sector, reducing the amount of "floor space" that gets built each year for several years.
The electricity that powers U.S. buildings will also get cleaner over the years, as more renewable energy and natural gas-burning plants replace fossil fuel-powered facilities, helping to shrink the sector's carbon footprint. Further, more Americans are expected to migrate from colder northern states to the milder U.S. South and West, reducing the amount of energy used to heat homes, the EIA said.
Worsening climate change will also play a role.
In past reports, EIA's weather projections predicted cooler temperatures, Comstock said. In the 2005 report, analysts determined future weather by using average temperatures over the last 30 years. The 2011 report, however, uses the average of the last 10 years to better reflect the warming trend that climate scientists are observing today. Although air conditioning use is expected to rise as a result of higher temperatures, Comstock said that won't offset energy reductions from heating systems.
In an interview, Mazria acknowledged that the EIA projections are based on an amalgam of factors—"everything across the board," he said—including state policies targeting greenhouse gas reductions and renewable portfolio standards that require utilities to source a certain percentage of power from cleaner sources. In its report, Architecture 2030 does point out that the revised projections are partially due to the fact that fewer buildings will get built.
But that doesn't negate the fact that the green-building surge is producing stunning results, said Vincent Martinez, director of research for Architecture 2030. "It's not just that were building less buildings.

By Rona Fried, Ph.D.
Over the past few months, as the commercial construction sector shows signs of rebounding, there have been some major advances in green building policy and measurement. Luckily, they didn’t require Congress to pass legislation, or they never would have passed.
Energy Conservation Codes Upgraded
The International Energy Conservation Code was upgraded for 2012 – it now requires homes and buildings to achieve energy savings 30% higher than the 2006 code. Since homes and buildings produce fully half of US greenhouse gases and use over 75% of the electricity generated from power plants, the new code is a very significant energy policy decision. In fact, the changes represent the largest single-step efficiency increase in the history of the national energy code.
About 500 state, county and city building and fire code officials from around the US voted to upgrade the code. The changes – which affect new construction and retrofits for homes, businesses, schools, churches and commercial buildings – were sought by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of State Energy Officials, various governors, American Institute of Architects and the broad-based Energy Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC).
Local building codes across the country are based on these national model standards. The new codes address all aspects of residential and commercial building construction, laying a strong foundation for efficiency gains.
In the residential sector, improvements will:
- Better seal new homes to reduce heating and cooling loss
- Improve the efficiency of windows and skylights
- Increase insulation in ceilings, walls, and foundations
- Reduce wasted energy from leaky heating and cooling ducts
- Improve hot-water distribution systems to reduce wasted energy and water in piping
- Boost lighting efficiency
In addition to those features, commercial building codes include continuous air barriers, daylighting controls, use of economizers in additional climates, and a choice of three paths for designers and developers to increase efficiency: renewable energy systems, more efficient HVAC equipment, or improved lighting systems. It also requires commissioning of new buildings to ensure that actual building energy performance meets the design intent.
"It’s notable that the votes that will have the most profound impact on national energy and environmental policy this year weren’t held in Washington or a state capital, but by governmental officials assembled by the International Code Council in Charlotte, North Carolina," said EECC Executive Director William Fay.

Sources: U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, D.C.; CP staff
With 136 projects representing 3.73 square feet of certified space per resident, Massachusetts heads the new Top 10 States for LEED, the U.S. Green Building Council’s annual ranking of states showing significant strides in sustainable building design, construction and transformation.
Now in its seventh year, the ranking assesses the total square feet of LEED-certified space per resident based on U.S. Census data and includes commercial and institutional green building projects certified during 2016. This year’s list has the highest average (2.55 square feet) per capita of LEED-certified space among the top 10 states since 2010. Four of the nine states included in the 2015 list increased the square feet of space they certified per resident in 2016 (Massachusetts, Colorado, California and Virginia).
“LEED guides our buildings, cities, communities and neighborhoods to become more resource- and energy-efficient, healthier for occupants and more competitive in the marketplace,” contends USGBC President Mahesh Ramanujam. “The green building movement continues to evolve with advancements in technology, benchmarking and transparency, and the states on this list are leading the way toward a more sustainable future.”
|TOP 10 STATES FOR LEED|
|Rank||State||Certified Gross Square Footage||Per-Capita Certified GSF||Project Count|

The amount of recycled materials used in the building is also taken into account while measuring the carbon footprint. These measurements account for the energy expended in the creation of new materials for use in the building.
Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) is a globally recognised green building certification system. It grants independent, third-party verification that a building or large property was designed and built using methods aimed at improving energy savings, water efficiency, reduction of CO2 emissions and improved indoor environmental quality. The LEED Certification process was developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and provides a concise framework for recognising and executing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.
The LEED-India Green Building Rating System is an India-specific and accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.
In India, the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) provides LEED ratings to structures and aims to make the country one of the leaders in green buildings by the year 2015. The Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is the National Rating System of India. It has been conceived by TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) and developed jointly with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. It is a design evaluation system for green building and is intended for all kinds of buildings across every climatic zone in India.
Thanks to the gradual spread of awareness about eco-friendly constructions, there has been a considerable rise in the number of registered green buildings in India.
Today more and more developers are coming up with Green construction as it is beneficial for them with regards to the construction time and also the cost of the materials used. Chennai is considered to be a green city, with many green buildings when compared to the whole of India.
Apart from having many residential green constructions, there are also a lot of companies such as Turbo Energy Office Complex in RA Puram, Menon Eternity in Alwarpet and Shell Business Service Centre.
Chennai takes pride in having more than 45 structures certified as eco-friendly green buildings by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
Green Landmarks in Chennai – Olympia Tech Park, Guindy, which was rated the largest Green Building in the world when certified. A few of the gold-rated buildings in Chennai include Anna Centenary Library, Express Avenue Mall and the New Tamil Nadu Assembly building.

"The great majority of environmental organizations had invested in keeping companies on the other side of a fence," says Richard Fedrizzi, the current CEO of the council. "David [Gottfried] thought that we could do things differently. If we could invite business to the table, we could develop standards relative to building performance, buy in at the very top, and be able to transform the marketplace toward sustainable buildings."
The result, introduced in 2000, was LEED. The LEED rating system is simple in concept. Architects and engineers shoot for points in six categories: siting, water use, energy, materials, indoor air quality, and "innovation in design." Once a building is complete, a representative from the Green Building Council reviews the documentation—plans, engineers' calculations—and awards points out of a possible 69: certified (at least 26 points for new construction), silver, gold, or platinum (at least 52 points).
Watson says the point system was specifically constructed to entice builders and drive the market in a green direction. "One definable action equals one point," he says. Bike racks, one point; recycling room, one point. "We threw a few gimmes in there so people could get into the low 20s ... and say, 'We can do this.'"
And it worked. Power-suited developers and hard hats have signed on. More than 6,500 projects have registered for LEED certification since 2000, and new categories such as commercial interiors and existing buildings have been added to the original LEED for new construction. Forty-two thousand people have paid $250 to $350 and passed exams to become "LEED-accredited professionals."
The council's revenue has been growing at 30% or better a year, with close to 20% coming from certification. Getting the LEED plaque is not cheap. In February, the mayor of Park City, Utah, told a building-industry publication, "On the Park City Ice Arena [$4.8 million project cost], we built it according to LEED criteria, but then we realized that [certification] was going to cost $27,500. So we ordered three small wind turbines instead that will power the arena's Zamboni."
Much of this growth is credited to Fedrizzi, a former marketing executive for an air-conditioning company who became CEO in 2004.

Architecture 2030, a building sector research and advocacy group, issued a report last week asserting that the greening of the U.S. building sector is on track to deliver far more energy savings than government officials predicted only a handful of years ago, with important implications for the country's energy and climate picture.
The report looked at data released without fanfare almost a year ago by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the analysis arm of the Department of Energy, which publishes projections for U.S. energy supply and demand each spring. Architecture 2030 compared EIA's 2005 and 2011 projections and found something that surprised them. The EIA had quietly, but dramatically, lowered long-term projections for energy use and carbon emissions from America's homes, office buildings and other commercial properties.
Energy consumption from buildings will increase by 14 percent from 2005 to 2030, the EIA said, down from the 44 percent spike it predicted seven years ago. Architecture 2030 says it amounts to eliminating the electricity output from 490 500-megawatt coal-fired plants over the same 25-year period.
The new projections mean Americans will save an additional $3.7 trillion on energy bills through 2030.
Greenhouse gas emissions from buildings are slated to increase by less than 5 percent, compared to an estimated 53 percent rise in 2005, the data also revealed. Currently, buildings account for 40 percent of both U.S. electricity consumption and heat-trapping gas emissions.
Edward Mazria, founder and CEO of Architecture 2030, which advocates for a carbon- neutral building sector, said his group's analysis of the data is the first to publicize the green building movement's contributions to national energy use so far and into the future. "This is a huge national snapshot of where we've been and where we're heading," he told InsideClimate News.
Mazria says the main driver of the new projections is the hike in building energy standards. "It's policies, it's building codes, it's better building design and more efficient technologies. We're building to a better standard," he said. The group wants the report to provide policymakers and builders a reason to continue on this path.
But EIA says there is more to it than that.

Agency analysts told InsideClimate News that Architecture 2030's report downplays factors that have nothing to do with making buildings greener like the huge slowdown in construction from the recession that means fewer buildings have been, and will get, built.
For the most part, though, EIA officials agree with the bottom line of Mazria's report that green improvements are saving energy. "Over the years, our projections for buildings' energy consumption have decreased, and a lot of that is due to increases in efficiency," Erin Boedecker, the lead building analyst at EIA, said.
The Rise of the Green Building
Since 2005, the federal government and most states have adopted various building codes and efficiency tax incentives that have helped spur a green-building boom.
Most notably, a mandate under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act requires all federal buildings to reduce energy use by 30 percent in 2015 compared to 2003 levels. In 2010, California passed the nation's first mandatory statewide green building code, which took effect last year. Meanwhile, more than half of all states have adopted the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code, a standard created by the International Code Council, a U.S.-based nonprofit, which requires buildings to meet efficiency standards for heating units and air conditioners, water heaters and lighting.
As a result of these and other policies, efficiency fixes such as energy-efficient lighting and appliances, insulation, tightly sealed windows and rooftop solar panels, have become common in new and renovated buildings. Green construction jumped from two percent of new non-residential buildings in 2005 to nearly 30 percent in 2010, according to the latest figures from McGraw Hill Construction, a publisher of construction information.
Market forces are also at play. While it can be expensive to make buildings energy efficient, the return on investment, mainly from avoided electricity or heating costs, is nearly 10 percent higher than from conventional buildings, according to McGraw Hill.
Green builders can also receive thousands in rebates and tax incentives from state governments, allowing them to recoup upfront costs even faster. An additional lure: A building with green features generally has higher value, occupancy rates and can fetch higher rents than it would otherwise.

Solar power use in buildings will accelerate with the extension of solar energy tax credits for buildings through 2016 and the prospect of increasing utility focus on renewable power goals for 2015 and 2020. As before, third-party financing partnerships will continue to grow and provide capital for large rooftop systems.
7. Local governments will increasingly mandate green buildings from both themselves and the private sector. While concern over economic impacts of green buildings mandates will be present, the desire to reduce carbon emission by going green will lead more government agencies to require green buildings.
8. Zero net energy designs for new buildings will gain increasing acceptance in both public and private buildings. “I've shown that you can get building energy use down to low levels with better design,” said Yudelson, “and that makes it easier and more cost-effective to buy green power to displace the remaining energy use.”
9. Green homes will come to dominate new home developments in more sections of the U.S., as builders increasingly see green as a source of competitive advantage. “This trend was foreseen in my 2008 book, Choosing Green (New Society Publishers), which for the first time documented the large number of new green housing developments in the U.S. and Canada.”
10. European green building technologies will become better known and more widely adopted in the U.S. and Canada. “My forthcoming 2009 book, Green Building Trends: Europe (Island Press), will be out in the spring and will help accelerate this trend, along with more European architects and engineers opening offices in the U.S.”
Yudelson Associates is an international firm engaged in sustainability planning and green building consulting. Yudelson is widely acknowledged as one of the nation's leading experts on green building and green development. He is the author of eight green building books and serves as research scholar for real estate sustainability for the International Council of Shopping Centers, a 70,000-member international trade organization. He is a frequent green building speaker at industry and professional conferences and chaired the annual Greenbuild show from 2004 through 2008.
Additional information is available at www.greenbuildconsult.com.

It's hard to overstate the potential (and necessity) of greening our existing building stock. Buildings account for 73% of electricity consumption in the U.S. and 38% of CO2 emissions. Can you imagine the dent we can make with added efficiency in this sector - environmentally and economically? Plus, existing buildings are all around us. Chances are, you're inside of a building (an existing one) as you read this blog entry - talk about an accessible opportunity.

LEED Green Building Rating System… California Title 24… ASHRAE 90.1... Not only is the building industry learning a new vocabulary, but the green revolution is creating a complete new set of expectations, standards, regulations, codes, and, in short, a new way of doing things for electrical contractors. The environmental shift is upon us because the energy consumed by buildings in the United States is staggering. According to the Office of the Federal Environmental Executive, buildings account for 37 percent of primary energy use and 68 percent of all electricity use. They demand 60 percent of non-food/fuel raw materials use, generating 136 million tons of construction and demolition debris per year. That translates into 40 percent of nonindustrial solid waste and 31 percent of mercury in municipal solid waste. Buildings use 36 billion gallons of water per day, which is 12 percent of potable water, and in many urban systems, they create 20 percent loss of potable water due to leakage. They also produce 35 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions and 49 percent of all sulphur dioxide emissions.
If green building trends have not yet affected your part of the industry and the way you do business, then they will soon. Insiders in the green building industry are loudly proclaiming to anyone willing to listen that their way of doing business is the wave of the future. Those who are willing to do green business early on will qualify for and will win business on the front end of this revolution; contractors who drag their feet will not get the job. Insiders further boldly claim the perpetual naysayers who refuse to ever comply will not survive the green transition.
Those are pretty strong words to a trade that proudly wears its conservative, established way of doing things as a badge of honor. But the green proponents back up their claims by pointing out, among other things, that many communities around the country, including some large cities such as San Francisco; Boston; Seattle; Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Washington, D.C., now require some or all of their new public buildings to be green by some codified standard.
And, it is not just governments that are going green; private corporations are weighing in as well. For example, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Cos. announced in October 2006 that it is the first and only insurance to offer specific coverage for green commercial buildings and to address the unique risks associated with sustainable building practices.

NEW YORK - New construction starts for May were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $556.1 billion, up 1 percent compared to the previous month, according to figures released by McGraw-Hill Construction.
Nonresidential building registered its strongest performance so far in 2004, outweighing a modest retreat for housing and a more substantial decline for "nonbuilding" construction, such as public works and electric utilities.
"The construction industry has picked up the pace in recent months," said Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "Single-family housing continues to be very strong, and now nonresidential building is beginning to see more sustained improvement, marking a change from its weakening trend over the past three years."
Nonresidential building jumped 11 percent in May to $164.7 billion. School construction edged up 3 percent, while health care facilities and public buildings reported gains of 15 percent. Transportation terminal work increased 19 percent.
McGraw-Hill also reported that residential building, at $312.7 billion, settled back 1 percent in May. Single-family housing was down 4 percent in dollar volume, although the amount was still 10 percent above the average pace in 2003. Multifamily housing grew 14 percent.
Nonbuilding construction dropped by 9 percent to $78.6 billion. According to McGraw-Hill, much of the nonbuilding retreat was the result of an 88 percent plunge in electric utilities, following the strong amount of new power plants started during March and April. The public works categories registered a mixed pattern. Highways and bridges increased 12 percent after a weak April, and water-supply systems were up 4 percent. Sewers and riverfront developments showed respective declines of 5 percent and 9 percent.
During the first five months of 2004, total construction on an adjusted basis was up 10 percent relative to the same period in 2003. Residential building led with a 21 percent gain. Nonresidential building in the January-May period was down 2 percent from a year ago, while nonbuilding construction was down 5 percent.

firms, but so is the rapid rise of green in many of the developing countries,” said Stephen Jones, Senior Director of Industry Insights, Dodge Data & Analytics. “Expertise from experienced green designers, builders and manufacturers from the U.S. is likely to be essential to support the aggressive green building expectations revealed by the study respondents.”
In the U.S., the highest percentage of respondents report that they expect to work on new green institutional projects (such as schools, hospitals and public buildings), green retrofits of existing buildings and new green commercial construction (such as office and retail buildings) in the next three years. When compared with global averages, it becomes clear that the U.S. is a leader in new green institutional construction and green retrofits of existing buildings.
• 46 percent of U.S. respondents expect to work on new green institutional buildings, compared to 38 percent globally;
• 43 percent of U.S. respondents plan to work on green retrofits of existing buildings, again well above the global average of 37 percent.
The U.S. is also distinguished from the global findings in terms of the importance it places on reducing energy consumption as an environmental reason for building green. Over three quarters (76 percent) of U.S. respondents consider this important, nearly double the percentage of the next most important environmental factor, which is reducing water consumption. While the other 12 countries in the study prioritize the reduction of energy consumption, only Germany, Poland and Singapore do so to the same extent.
“The survey shows that global green building activity continues to double every three years,” said United Technologies Chief Sustainability Officer John Mandyck. “More people recognize the economic and productivity value that green buildings bring to property owners and tenants, along with the energy and water benefits to the environment, which is driving the green building industry’s growth. It’s a win-win for people, planet and the economy.”
The study demonstrates the benefits of building green, with median operating cost decreases for green buildings of 9 percent expected in just one year globally. Building owners also report seeing a median increase of 7 percent in the value of their green buildings compared to traditional buildings, an increase that is consistent between newly built green buildings and those that are renovated green. These business benefits are a critical driver for the growth of green building anticipated globally.
The U.S. is also notable for having the lowest percentage of respondents who report that their company uses metrics to track green building performance.

Green buildings, as represented by the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, are an undisputed market success. In the eight years since the launch of LEED, green has firmly established itself among mainstream leaders in the building sector, representing tens of billions of dollars in value put in place and materials sales.LEED was created to reduce the environmental impacts of the built environment, but so far no comprehensive evaluation of the overall impact of LEED has been conducted. Until now.
This Green Building Impact Report is the first-ever integrated assessment of the land, water, energy, material and indoor environmental impacts of the LEED for New Construction (LEED NC), Core & Shell (LEED CS) and Existing Building Operations and Maintenance (LEED EBOM) standards. (We did not include Commercial Interiors due to concerns about double-counting, which we hope to have resolved before the release of next year's report.)
In this report we attempt to answer whether commercial green buildings live up to their name -- that is, that they are engendering demonstrable environmental improvement.
Our findings are both encouraging and cautionary. Overall, we believe that LEED buildings are making a major impact in reducing the overall environmental footprint of individual structures. However, significant additional progress is possible and indeed necessary on both the individual building level and in terms of market penetration if LEED is to contribute in a meaningful way to reducing the environmental footprint of buildings in the U.S. and worldwide.

The source energy use intensity of commercial buildings has three phases: slight decrease for building dates up to the second world war, followed by four decades of increase and a decrease for buildings constructed over the last two decades.
Figure 1.3 shows source energy consumption of residential buildings by decade (see Appendix 2 for what is included). Most of the recent construction is clustered in specifically the year 2000, so data from 2000–2010 may be spurious, and are not used. The expected trend of a reduction of energy use with more modern constructions is justified, at least up to 1990.
It is difficult to identify the specific type of building (if any) that may be responsible for this recent upturn. Indeed three quarters of residential buildings are "single family" and the two available subcategories of "attached" and "detached" together make up only 5% of them (the lion's share being "uncategorized").
Figure 1.3: Box plot (median and quartiles) for source energy use intensity of residential buildings by decade of construction.
The trend for residential buildings since the war is the opposite of commercial buildings, which exhibit an increase up to the eighties followed by a twenty-year reduction of energy use, as shown in Fig. 1.4. Since buildings constructed before 1950 make up only 9% of residential buildings (14% of commercial ones), old buildings are clustered into just two ranges in Fig. 1.4 (the dashed lines indicate that the increments are then more than ten years).
Figure 1.4: Average source energy use intensity of residential (red, left axis) and commercial (blue, right) buildings by decade of construction.
While a third of the residential buildings date back to the seventies and another 22% to the eighties, those built since 1990 account for only 9% of the total (against 47% for commercial buildings), and this even includes the suspicious 2000 cluster. Either residential (but not commercial) construction activity has recently dropped or the database has a delay in including buildings — a delay which may not be random. This said, the systematically opposite trend between residential and commercial buildings is too clear to be explained away by the available data not being completely random.
A smaller building has a greater ratio of wall and roof area to floor area, which means greater heat losses (but number of floors and shape —e.g. compact vs.

Currently, Hayes is involved in designing a net-zero office building.
The Seattle-based non-profit Bullitt Foundation, of which Hayes is president and CEO, is breaking ground this spring on the Cascadia Center for Sustainable Design and Construction. Once completed, the Cascadia Center will be one of the first mid-rise commercial buildings to achieve “living building” status.
Living buildings- net-zero and beyond
Living buildings go beyond LEED with the Living Building Challenge. Version 2.0 of the Challenge incorporates a 20-point standard including 100 percent renewable energy production on-site, water consumption from 100 percent harvested rainwater, and super-efficient electrical and mechanical systems. The Living Building standard begins with net-zero and extends sustainability to all aspects of how a building interacts and impacts its surrounding environment; from initial site selection, building design and construction to aesthetics, human health, well-being, and transportation.
The Cascadia Center will be built to last 250 years, adaptable to changing needs and emerging technologies throughout its lifetime.
Emerging policy standardizing sustainable development
Projects like the Cascadia Center remain the ideal, the rare exception – for now. But Stewart considers Hayes’ work as a focal point for emerging public policy – both then and now. Even if the mainstream media doesn’t take notice, there are significant stirrings afoot pointing toward a shifting policy landscape. Stewart cites three examples as the core of the emerging trend:
- Energy Independence and Security Act (2007)
Requires 3 percent per year energy reduction for federal buildings relative to 2003 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), or 15 percent by 2010 and 30 percent by 2015. Reduction of fossil fuel use reaching 55 percent in 2010, 65 percent by 2015 and 80 percent by 2020. “This is an aggressive mandate,” Stewart explains, that serves as a “green proving ground,” incorporating the principals of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the latest design technologies.
- Executive Oorder 13514 (2009)
Directs that 15 percent of existing federal buildings and leases with more than 5,000 gross square feet will meet Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings by 2015.

greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. Commercial buildings that earn the Energy Star must perform in the top 25 percent of buildings nationwide compared to similar buildings and be independently verified by a licensed professional engineer or registered architect each year. Energy Star certified buildings use 35 percent less energy and emit 35 percent less carbon dioxide than average buildings. Fourteen types of commercial buildings can earn the Energy Star, including office buildings, K-12 schools, and retail stores.
More information on the top cities in 2010 with Energy Star certified buildings:
More information on EPA’s real-time registry of all Energy Star certified buildings:
More information about earning the Energy Star for commercial buildings:

Many green building practices are fairly routine now across the country, but some companies and nonprofits have gone far beyond the standards to reduce the environmental impact. Could this become the new normal?
Image source: Flickr CC user bobarcpics
A few years ago, companies would issue news releases when they installed energy-saving lights and appliances, loaded solar panels on the roof, or recycled the lumber and carpeting left over on job sites. Environmentally friendly building practices are now routine, and in California, they are required.
Across the country, it is becoming more newsworthy when a company fails to adopt some “green” building techniques than when they do. In California, implementing eco-friendly building practices has been a non-issue since 2011 when the state adopted the nation’s first statewide building code. Among other things, that act required developers to take steps to reduce the amount of water used in construction, to recycle construction waste, and to install energy-saving systems and appliances.
Nationwide, the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) remains the standard for new construction. While the standards have been recently updated, LEED remains a points-based system, and a company can shoot for one of four levels of certification. But the new normal means that these days, not only are companies frequently meeting the highest LEED certification level–they are exceeding it.
Some Green Buildings Have Gone Beyond LEED
Some companies and non-profits are now aiming for “net zero” use of water, waste and materials. They are attempting to create buildings that waste virtually nothing and produce more energy than they use. The Bullitt Center in Seattle has been called the greenest building in the world. That is up for debate, but the building does push green practices to the extreme. The 50,000-square foot, six-story building collects rainwater on its roof that is filtered down into a 58,000-gallon storage tank in the basement. A solar array on the roof — which resembles a giant paper airplane overhanging the street – generates enough energy for the building. Tenants are given energy budgets and have to pay for overages, as the building is designed to produce all the electricity used in the building.
Other projects have also gone beyond the norm without breaking the bank. In San Francisco, the 19-story One Bush Street obtained LEED’s highest certification level with a less-than-$100,000 investment.

Strong Growth Anticipated Globally and in U.S. Green Building Market, but Nation Lags Globally in Measuring the Benefits of Building Green
NEW YORK – Feb. 16, 2016 – Companies involved in U.S. construction plan on intensifying their involvement in green building over the next three years, according to the new World Green Building Trends Study from Dodge Data & Analytics, conducted with support from United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) and its UTC Climate, Controls & Security business. The U.S. is also one of the global leaders in the percentage of firms expecting to construct new green institutional projects and green retrofits of existing buildings.
The global study, which received additional support from Saint-Gobain, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Regenerative Network, positions the U.S. as a strong participant in the global green movement. Responses from more than 1,000 building professionals from 60 countries place the U.S. green industry in context. The study also provides specific comparisons with 12 other countries from which a sufficient response was gained to allow for statistical analysis: Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Germany, India, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
According to the report, U.S. construction should see an increase in the share of green work in the next few years, largely as a result of companies intensifying their involvement in the green building industry. An increasing percentage of respondents projected that more than 60 percent of their projects would be green projects - from 24 percent of respondents in 2015 to 39 percent in 2018. Respondents projecting that fewer than 15 percent of their projects would be certified green plummeted from 41 percent in 2015 to 27 percent by 2018.
While this increased share of green building is impressive, it is significantly less than many developing countries included in the survey. For example, Brazil expects six-fold growth (from 6 percent to 36 percent) in the percentage of companies conducting a majority of their projects green; five-fold growth is expected in China (from 5 percent to 28 percent); and fourfold growth is expected in Saudi Arabia (from 8 percent to 32 percent).
“The strong U.S. industry for green building projects is clearly an opportunity for U.S.

Green building emerged as somewhat of a proactive or “feel good” movement. While some may dismiss “green” as a passing trend, regulators from local to federal levels are creating laws and regulations that will ensure green building is around to stay for at least the near future. Perhaps most significantly, recent EPA action will regulate nearly every commercial building by 2016.
Probably the most established and best known of the standards used for green building is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Instituted in 2000 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the LEED system awards credits for buildings based on certain factors in specified categories. Based on the number of points earned, a rating level is awarded. This is a voluntary system. A building owner applies to obtain this certification.
International Green Construction Code
Currently, most building codes do not address energy and water issues, material waste, impact on construction sites, and other environmental concerns. In fact, some building codes are so outdated they restrict advances in green building.
To address the issue and to avoid patchwork regulations, a coalition of building standards organizations have united to create a draft International Green Construction Code. The first draft was released in early 2010 and will be final by early 2012. The uniform code will make it easier for municipalities, especially smaller ones, to adopt comprehensive and functioning green building codes.
State and Municipal Regulations
A variety of states and municipalities have started to require some green or sustainable construction on both new projects and remodels. California has created its own standards with the CalGreen regulations. Utah and Arizona, among other states, have adopted requirements that certain public buildings comply with some level of LEED certification.
The regulations are a potpourri of forms and functions. Some regulations only apply to public buildings, while others apply to both public and private buildings. About 40 percent only apply to new construction while the other 60 percent apply to existing buildings. Notably, a handful of regulations apply to existing buildings on which no construction is occurring.
The majority of states and municipalities use the LEED system as a guide. LEED is an easy choice because it offers an established set of standards to entities without the manpower or expertise to create their own. Once the green code is finalized, regulators will likely shift away from regulatory reliance on LEED and use the code instead.

We have less than seven years to dramatically alter our future. Under our year-long Vision 2020 program, we have conferred with building industry experts to establish a timeline critical goals and metrics we must establish and meet by the year 2020 in order to preserve our environment and meet large-scale goals such as those of the 2030 Challenge. Scroll over points in the timeline below, which has been updated for 2013, to learn more about the path ahead in green building. Then, visit Ecobuildingpulse.com/Vision-2020 to learn more about what we uncovered in this year's program.
Architecture 2030 releases the 2030 Palette, a free online tool to foster low-carbon building principles.
Open Building techniques, separating a homeís shell from its interior systems and components to extend the building's lifespan, gains traction in the U.S.
DOE Challenge Home Version 2 released.
Nationwide professional certification program established for building science experts.
A minimum of five builders offer net-zero home designs as options in the top 50 housing markets.
American buildings cut energy use by an average of 2.5% annually, and reduce energy use by 20% since 2011.
2027: Net-zero energy homes become a national standard.
Market expands availability of affordable energy retrofit systems.
IECC 2012 adopted by all 50 states.
Twenty U.S. cities operate energy benchmarking and reporting programs.
Home energy-management systems become a standard residential feature on new homes.
Water and energy policies addressed jointly on a consistent basis.
Energy modeling becomes standard for 50% of all new homes.
The majority of U.S. states adopt the IECC 2015.
100 MW of installed renewable capacity across federally subsidized housing stock achieved.
Renewable electricity generation doubled from 2013 level.
Federal government gets 20% of its electricity from renewable sources.
Atmospheric CO2 concentrations pass 400 parts per million (ppm). (Recommended threshold: 350 ppm.)
The U.N. reports scientists are 95% sure that humans are causing global warming.
U.N. climate talks to establish 2020 global climate treaty goals.
Arctic scientist predicts collapse of Arctic sea ice from global warming.
America reduces its greenhouse gas emissions to 17% below 2005 levels.
50% of all new single family housing starts and 80% of new multifamily housing starts are green certified.
U.N.

It also provides guidelines for site disturbance, irrigation, erosion control, transportation, heat island mitigation, graywater systems, habitat protection and site restoration. In terms of materials conservation and efficiency, the IgCC requires that at least 50 percent of construction waste be diverted from landfills, and at least 55 percent of building materials be salvaged, recycled content, recyclable, bio-based or indigenous.
Regarding energy conservation and efficiency, a building’s total efficiency must be 51 percent of the energy allowable in the 2000 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and building envelope performance must exceed that by 10 percent. It also sets minimum standards for lighting and mechanical systems, and requires certain levels of submetering and demand-response automation. The IgCC also sets standards for maximum consumption of fixtures and appliances, as well as for rainwater storage and graywater systems. Regarding indoor air quality, it addresses radon, asbestos, VOCs, sound transmission, and daylighting. In addition, the IgCC requires extensive pre and post-occupancy commissioning, as well as education of building owners and maintenance employees.
Local governments and states have the choice of adopting the code, but if adopted, it becomes enforceable. Local governments and states can also add their own requirements, on top of the code, that address local concerns. Although many jurisdictions have already adopted IgCC, the final code was to be published in March 2012. The new enforceable requirements are thus expected to support growth in the green building market.
Because it significantly reduces or eliminates the negative impact of buildings on the environment and on the building occupants, the green building sector has been gaining momentum in the Unites States. This sector is expected to continue to grow further given the increasing adoption of the LEED certification and the new national green building code.
Alejandra Lozano is an environmental and building technologies research analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

For example, the UK Climate Change Act of 2008 is targeting a 34% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (compared with 1990 levels) and an 80% reduction by 2050. New buildings have been identified as the sector where radical cuts can be achieved. The UK targets are for all new homes to be net Zero Carbon in use by 2016, and all new non-domestic buildings by 2019. As energy-in-use decreases, attention will shift to reducing the energy embodied in the construction of new buildings.
However, it is estimated that up to 87% of the homes that will exist in 2050 have already been built (note 6), so it is also crucial to retrofit existing buildings with energy efficiency measures.
- View our low energy buildings photo collection on flikr
- Good introduction to the basics of building environmental design including
1. Carbon emissions - growth in a low carbon economy, Richard Miller
2. New-Housing Energy Saving Trust note regarding the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change
3. Sustainable Homes: Embodied energy in residential property development, 2000
4. Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Quarterly Energy Prices: September 2010
5. Report on carbon reductions in new non-domestic buildings, UK Green Building Council
6. Home Truths: a low-carbon strategy to reduce UK housing emissions by 80% by 2050, Brenda Boardman, University of Oxford, 2007
7. Good source of basic information on PassivHaus
8. AECB, The Sustainable Building Association
9. Sustainable New Homes – the road to zero carbon, DCLG, 2009

Most consumers – 74% - who responded to a recent survey believe that less than a quarter of their home can be categorized as "green." The survey was conducted on behalf of Whirlpool Corp. and Habitat for Humanity International by the NAHB Research Center to report on opinions from consumers and builders on various topics related to green home building.
What is a "green" home?
• 34% of consumers felt that the most common definition for a green home is that it reduces energy and/or water consumption by a significant percentage
• 23% of consumers felt that a home can be considered green when the entire home is green.
Responses for this question were similar across all income levels.
Builders responding to the survey had similar ideas of what a green home should be:
• 35% of builders preferred the definition of reducing energy and/or water consumption
• an additional 35% of builders defined homes as green if they are built to certification standards.
"These survey results demonstrate that many consumers recognize their homes can be more environmentally sound," said Tom Halford, general manager, contract sales and marketing for Whirlpool Corp.
Consumer opinions about green certification programs:
• 78% of consumers responded that Energy Star qualification is important for residential builds
• 44% of consumers considered the National Green Building Standard important
• 40% of consumers considered state certification programs important
Builder opinions about green certification programs:
• 75% of builders felt Energy Star qualification was important for residential builds
• 57% of builders considered the National Green Building Standard important
• 59% of builders indicated that they sometimes or always certify homes they build to the specifications of a green certification program.
Larry Gluth, senior vice president of U.S. and Canada for Habitat for Humanity, said the organization wants to help prove the affordability of energy efficient home building. Its goal is to build all its homes to minimum Energy Star standards by 2013. Such homes will also benefit their occupants with lower energy costs.
Where do consumers get their "green" information? The survey found:
• 60% of consumers answered that they get their green information from the Internet
• 54% from TV/radio
• 42% from magazines/periodicals
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that builds, rehabilitates, and repairs houses. Whirlpool donates a range and Energy Star qualified refrigerator to every Habitat home built nationally, totaling more than 125,000 appliances to-date.

New construction starts decreased 8% in March, according to a recent report by McGraw-Hill Construction, New York. The association also reported that non-residential construction was down compared to the increases reported in January and February. Residential building continued to decline with the continued correction in single-family housing.
Non-building construction, such as public works and electric utilities, showed greater activity with the start of several large power plants. During the first three months of 2008, total construction on an unadjusted basis was down 19% from the same period a year ago. Excluding residential building from year-to-date figures, new construction starts were still down 2%

70% of homebuyers are more or much more inclined to buy a green home over a conventional home in a down housing market, according to McGraw-Hill Construction’s 2008 SmartMarket Report, “The Green Home Consumer.” That number is 78% for those earning less than $50,000 a year, showing the increasing accessibility of green buildings to all members of our society. In fact, 56% of respondents who bought green homes in 2008 earn less than $75,000 per year; 29% earn less than $50,000.
More than 80% of commercial building owners have allocated funds to green initiatives this year, according to “2008 Green Survey: Existing Buildings,” a survey jointly funded by Incisive Media’s Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International and USGBC. Some 45% plan to increase sustainability investments in 2009.
LEED-certified projects are directly tied to more than $10 billion of green materials, according to a Greener World Media study on green building. That could reach more than $100 billion by 2020, contributing to a vibrant industry that could drive an economic recovery.
The Center for American Progress and the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in a September 2008 study, found that a national green economic recovery program investing $100 billion over 10 years in six infrastructure areas would create 2 million new jobs. The investments would include retrofitting existing buildings to improve energy efficiency and investing in wind power, solar power and next-generation biofuels.

While worldwide efforts are on to contain global warming, every global citizen can contribute in their own way in reducing the carbon footprints. Housing sector, despite of its recent slump in the USA owing to the mortgage market crisis, is nonetheless a buzzing area of growth that if applies the environment-friendly concepts to construction could help in developing a greener planet. According to a recent study by the Montreal-based Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the cheapest way to reduce greenhouse gas is to build green buildings.
Over one-third of the global greenhouse gases emanate from the North American buildings – residential and office buildings alike. By constructing new buildings on energy-efficient concepts and be upgrading the existing ones through better insulation and windows, a whopping 1.7 billion tons volume of greenhouse gas emission could be reduced. Green buildings are defined in the report as ‘environmentally preferable practices and materials in the design, location, construction, operation and disposal of buildings.’ Only 2 percent of the US buildings are environment friendly and the residential houses comprise only 0.3 percent in the total green buildings pie. Europe on the other hand has a greater number of green buildings in place.
Building materials used in typical green buildings are renewable plant materials, sustainable lumber, dimension stone, recycled stone, recycled metal and other non-toxic, reusable, renewable and recyclable products. Insulation is made from low volatile organic compound-emitting materials such as recycled denim or cellulose insulation. Organic or milk based paints are used. To minimize energy load the buildings are designed to take maximum advantage of the wind and sunlight.
The high cost of constructing more energy efficient and water systems makes the builders reluctant to develop green buildings. With green construction being only 4 percent of the entire construction sector, future rise in the market share would help in bringing down the cost of building green houses.

(Source: New Buildings Institute, PR, 15 May, 2019) Contact: New Buildings Institute, www.newbuildings.org
More Low-Carbon Energy News New Buildings Institute, Net Zero Energy, Energy Efficiency,
The survey of nearly 2,000 facility and energy management executives from 20 countries found that 57 pct of organizations in the U.S. and 59 pct of global organizations plan to increase investment in energy efficiency, smart building measures including building controls and building systems integration at a greater rate than more traditional energy efficiency measures over the next 12 months.
Today, organizations identify greenhouse gas footprint reduction, energy cost savings, energy security and enhanced reputation as key drivers of investment fueling growth in green, net zero energy and resilient buildings. Building controls improvements were cited as the most popular investment energy efficiency related investments.
In Johnson Controls'2008 survey, under 10 pct od respondents had a certified "green" building and only 34 pct planned to certify new construction projects to a recognized green standard. In 2018, 19 pct of U.S. organizations have already achieved voluntary green building certification for at least one of their facilities, and 53 pct plan to in the future.
Globally, 14 pct of organizations have achieved voluntary green building certification for at least one of their facilities and 44 pct plan to in the future.
The survey also notes a significant year-over-year increase in net-zero energy goals, with 61 pct of U.S. organizations extremely or very likely to have one or more facilities that are nearly zero, net zero or positive energy/carbon in the next ten years.(Source: Johnson Controls, Building Design & Construction, Nov., 2018)Contact: Johnson Controls, Clay Nesler, VP Global Sustainability, www.linkedin.com/in/clay-nesler-171a133, www.johnsoncontrols.com/corporate-sustainability/reporting-and-policies/business-and-sustainability-report/environmental-leadership/sustainable-solutions, www.johnsoncontrols.com
More Low-Carbon Energy News Johnson Controls, Energy Efficiency,
Led by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Declaration requires cities to: establish a roadmap to reach net zero carbon buildings; develop a suite of supporting incentives and programmes; and report annually on progress. The pledge is part of the World Green Building Councils Net Zero Carbon Building Commitment for Businesses, Cities, States and Regions.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA)
has named the winners of the 2013 COTE Top Ten Green Projects. Now in its 17th year, the program sets the standard for recognizing sustainable design excellence within the A&D community.
This year the AIA added a new element to the program: the Top Ten Plus Program, in which a team of jurors chose a single project from a pool of previous winners for its outstanding achievement in sustainable design. The winner of this inaugural award is 355 11th Street: The Matarozzi/Pelsinger Multi-Use Building
located in San Francisco.
The LEED-NC Gold adaptive building is a reuse of a turn-of-the-century industrial building and is the work of Aidlin Darling Design
. The building, which now serves as a multi-tenant office building, houses a LEED-CI Platinum restaurant on the ground floor and boasts a living roof, passive cooling, and ample bicycle parking for the building’s occupants.
The selection process to decide the winner of the new program was rigorous and, according to juror Gail Vittori, co-director of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
, was based on a number of quantifiable metrics, such as the percentage of space that could be lit during daylight hours, the percentage of usable outdoor space, the amount of rainwater collected to offset total water usage, and how much energy was used per square foot of space.
“The winner represents a non-traditional green building. It’s important to stretch the sense of green so that it spans to many different sectors and buildings,” Vittori says. “I think green building is becoming the new normal.”
All of the winners will be recognized at the 2013 National Convention and Design Exposition
in Denver June 20 through 22. See slideshows of all the winners here:
Related: The Myths and Facts of Building Locally Adobe's New Mega Office: Green FactsSnapshot of the Industry: Recent and Future Green Builds Seattle's Bullitt Center: The World’s Greenest Office Building

Energy use in the buildings sector (both residential and commercial) is responsible for about 40% of final energy consumption and about 36% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. The cost efficient energy savings potential is estimated to reach 28% by 2020. The construction sector is striving towards increasing energy efficient buildings as well as reducing their environmental impact.
On 22 January 2014, the European Commission unveiled its 2030 Strategy for Climate and Energy Policies. The framework presented by the European Commission proposed energy and climate objectives to be met by 2030 in order to drive the continued progress towards a low-carbon economy. This communication is intended to replace the “EU 2020 Package".
The 2030 targets are:
• 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions (compared to 1990 levels)
• Achieving at least a 27% share of renewable energy consumption
• Improving energy efficiency by at least 27%
On 25 October 2012 the European Union adopted the Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency. Member States had until 5 June 2014 to transpose it into their national laws. EBC welcomes this text which includes a strategy for the renovation of the national stock of both public and private residential and commercial buildings.
On 19 May 2010 the European Union adopted a directive on energy performance of buildings (Directive 2010/31/EU), which recasts the 2002 directive. Under this Directive, Member States must establish and apply minimum energy performance requirements for new and existing buildings. The Directive also requires Member States to ensure that by 2021 all new buildings are so-called “Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings”.

Greening the workplace
Virginia ranks fourth among the states in terms of new sustainable office and institutional space per capita
- March 28, 2012
In a largely dormant commercial construction market, green has become a growth industry. Although sustainable buildings have been around for decades, their proliferation had long been limited by the perception that construction was complicated and costly.
Not anymore. According to McGraw-Hill Construction, 35 percent of architectural, engineering and contracting positions are now green. It defines “green” jobs as those in which at least 50 percent of the work involves projects that focus on sustainability. By 2015, McGraw-Hill expects that figure to reach 45 percent, with the commonwealth among the forward ranks of the movement.
In fact, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) placed Virginia fourth among the states last year in the amount of new office and institutional green space per capita — more than 19 million square feet or 2.42 square feet per capita.
The reasons for the green buy-in are chronicled in a variety of reports from real estate research firms CoStar, CBRE and McGraw-Hill, which all track trends in the commercial market. Using USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, and, to a lesser extent, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star ratings as a basis for determining greenness, they document numbers that have a most agreeable crunch for commercial developers.
For example, according to the latest figures from McGraw-Hill for 2011, LEED buildings reduce operating costs — by 13.6 percent for new buildings and 8.5 percent for retrofits. They have higher lease rates, too — $30.16 per square foot versus $27.62 per square foot for non-green space — and outperform market occupancy rates by more than 2 percent.
Building sales? Also sweet. LEED buildings sell for an average of 11 percent to 13 percent more per square foot than their non-LEED competitors. Not easily quantifiable, but still a critical consideration for owners and occupants of these buildings, is the cachet that going green adds to their image.
In a salute to green work spaces, Virginia Business previews a few from across the state:
Commercial developer BPG Properties Ltd.

- 1 Reducing environmental impact
- 2 Goals of green building
- 3 Cost and payoff
- 4 Regulation and operation
- 5 International frameworks and assessment tools
- 6 See also
- 7 References
- 8 External links
Reducing environmental impact
Globally, buildings are responsible for a huge share of energy, electricity, water and materials consumption. The building sector has the greatest potential to deliver significant cuts in emissions at little or no cost. Buildings account for 18%  of global emissions today, or the equivalent of 9 billion tonnes of CO2 annually. If new technologies in construction are not adopted during this time of rapid growth, emissions could double by 2050, according to the United Nations Environment Program. Green building practices aim to reduce the environmental impact of building. Since construction almost always degrades a building site, not building at all is preferable to green building, in terms of reducing environmental impact. The second rule is that every building should be as small as possible. The third rule is not to contribute to sprawl, even if the most energy-efficient, environmentally sound methods are used in design and construction.
Buildings account for a large amount of land. According to the National Resources Inventory, approximately 107 million acres (430,000 km2) of land in the United States are developed. The International Energy Agency released a publication that estimated that existing buildings are responsible for more than 40% of the world’s total primary energy consumption and for 24% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Goals of green building
The concept of sustainable development can be traced to the energy (especially fossil oil) crisis and environmental pollution concerns of the 1960s and 1970s. The Rachel Carson book, “Silent Spring”, published in 1962, is considered to be one of the first initial efforts to describe sustainable development as related to green building. The green building movement in the U.S. originated from the need and desire for more energy efficient and environmentally friendly construction practices. There are a number of motives for building green, including environmental, economic, and social benefits. However, modern sustainability initiatives call for an integrated and synergistic design to both new construction and in the retrofitting of existing structures. Also known as sustainable design, this approach integrates the building life-cycle with each green practice employed with a design-purpose to create a synergy among the practices used.

Presently, green buildings comprise a relatively small share of global construction – global investments accounted for $423 billion of the $5 trillion spent on building construction and renovation in 2017. However, the market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of more than 10% between 2017 and 2023, according to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment.
Georgina Smit, GBCSA head of Sector Development and Market Transformation, adds that the value of certified green buildings is expected to become even more pronounced as the world navigates through the challenges presented by Covid-19. “Post the Covid-19 crisis, many companies are likely to review health measures put in place in their offices. Harvard University recently found that long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with an 8% increase in the Covid-19 death rate, and the improved internal environment quality from increased ventilation, temperature and lighting control, the use of natural light, and the absence of toxic materials result in the improved health, comfort and wellbeing of green building occupants. In a post-pandemic world, these factors can no longer be overlooked. Internal environmental quality is a key consideration within the GBCSA’s Green Star green building frameworks,” she explains.
Allison believes that the business case for green buildings is getting stronger all the time, and screening in favour of sustainability, resilience and future-proofing will become more and more common. “As the bar shifts, it will become the new standard.
The day will come when no one will want to own or occupy the ‘brown’ buildings and infrastructure. Then those will increasingly be sold at a discount – or updated at substantial cost. Buildings that are designed with the future in mind, with smart building technology and interactivity integrated throughout, making them as responsive and adaptable to the needs of the workforce in a post-Covid-19 world today as those in the future, are more resilient and less likely to become stranded assets that no asset manager or building owner wants.”

- Residential Market
- Light Commercial Market
- Commercial Market
- Indoor Air Quality
- Components & Accessories
- Residential Controls
- Commercial Controls
- Testing, Monitoring, Tools
- Services, Apps & Software
- Standards & Legislation
- EXTRA EDITION
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced that several World Cup soccer stadiums have achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, including South America’s largest stadium, Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has launched a new online resource that highlights real-time green building data for each state in the United States. The state market briefs highlight Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects, LEED-credentialed professionals, and USGBC membership in each state.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced that 3 billion square feet of green construction space has earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification around the globe.
ASHRAE, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and the International Code Council (ICC) have agreed to jointly develop the 2015 edition of the ICC/ASHRAE 700 National Green Building Standard. This is the third edition of the standard and the first time that ASHRAE has partnered in its development.
Ninety-four percent of green homeowners responded that they would recommend a green home to a friend, according to a national survey of homeowners who purchased a National Green Building Standard (NGBS)-certified green home built within the past three years.
The Green Building Initiative (GBI) announced that it has named Jerry Yudelson as its president to accelerate growth of the nonprofit and further leverage its green building assessment tools, including the Green Globes® rating system, as it attempts to bring green building options to a larger audience.
HindSite Software has announced the release of its second annual Green Industry Benchmark Survey. The survey asks a series of questions related to business practices, marketing practices, human resources practices, educational practices, and business results.
ASHRAE has announced the newly published fourth edition of its GreenGuide, which contains updated guidance that reflects how green building practices as well as the industry have changed, according to the organization.

“But by far, the most significant driver that will fuel greater expansion in the marketplace is the revival in the institutional sector, especially with growing demand for new healthcare and education facilities, which alone traditionally account for a third of spending on new building construction.”
The improvement trend is expected to strengthen even further in 2016, with the AIA Consensus Construction Forecast projecting an 8.2% increase in nonresidential construction spending.
Source: AIA Consensus Construction Forecast, calculated as an average of all forecasts provided by the panelists that submit forecasts for each of the above building categories: McGraw-Hill Construction, IHS-Global Insight, Moody’s Economy.com, FMI, Reed’s Construction Data and Associated Builders and Contractors.

U.S. Nonresidential Construction Spending Dips in May
July 1, 2010 | www.abc.org
"Construction spending growth, to the extent that it exists, continues to be the domain of publicly financed projects, particularly those attached to the stimulus package passed in February 2009." —ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu
In a sign that the nation’s economic recovery continues to stumble, private nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.6 percent in May, according to the July 1 report by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a year-over-year basis, private nonresidential construction spending is down 24.8 percent. Total nonresidential construction spending – which includes both private and public – slipped 0.1 percent from last month and 15.2 percent from May 2009, and now stands at $571.7 billion. (See graph below). (See what this means below)
Eight of the 16 nonresidential construction subsectors increased spending for the month, including water supply, up 5.5 percent; religious-related construction, up 4.2 percent; and highway/street construction, up 2.7 percent. Five subsectors reported higher construction spending compared to May 2009, including conservation and development, up 23 percent; transportation, up 13.8 percent; and highway/street construction, up 5.6 percent.
In contrast, those subsectors that had decreases in construction spending in May include lodging, down 3.9 percent; amusement and recreation, down 2.5 percent; and transportation, down 2.3 percent On a year-over-year basis, lodging is down 62.1 percent, office construction is down 33.8 percent, commercial construction is down 31.8 percent, and manufacturing is down 31.4 percent.
Public nonresidential construction was up 0.4 percent for the month, but is still down 3.7 percent from one year ago. Residential construction spending fell 0.4 percent for the month of May, but was up 11.9 percent from the same time last year. Overall, total construction spending – which includes both residential and nonresidential – was down 0.2 percent from April 2010 and down 8 percent from May 2009.

Benefits of green building
Buildings are responsible for an enormous amount of global energy use, resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. As the demand for more sustainable building options increases, green construction is becoming increasingly profitable and desirable within the international construction market.
Green building is profitable & cost-effective
- Upfront investment in green building makes properties more valuable, with an average expected increase in value of 4 percent. By virtue of lowered maintenance and energy costs the return on investment from green building is rapid: green retrofit projects are generally expected to pay for itself in just seven years.1
- Green buildings reduce day-to-day costs year-over-year. LEED buildings report almost 20 percent lower maintenance costs than typical commercial buildings, and green building retrofit projects typically decrease operation costs by almost 10 percent in just one year.2, 3
- Between 2015 and 2018, LEED-certified buildings in the United States are estimated to have $1.2 billion in energy savings, $149.5 million in water savings, $715.2 million in maintenance savings and $54.2 million in waste savings.4
- By 2021, in the U.S., green activity is expected to grow, with those doing the majority of their projects green increasing from 32 percent to 45 percent. Client demands remains the top trigger driving the market and encouraging occupant health and well-being is the top social reason for building green.
Green buildings lower utility bills and benefit the environment
- Buildings are positioned to have an enormous impact on the environment and climate change. At 41 percent of total U.S. energy consumption, buildings out-consume the industrial (30 percent) and transportation (29 percent) sectors.5
- Buildings use about 14 percent of all potable water (15 trillion gallons per year), but water-efficiency efforts in green buildings are expected to reduce water use by 15 percent and save more than 10 percent in operating costs.6, 7 Retrofitting one out of every 100 American homes with water-efficient fixtures could avoid about 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which is the equivalent of removing 15,000 cars from the road for one year.8
- Standard building practices use and waste millions of tons of materials each year; green building uses fewer resources and minimizes waste.

|Part of a series about|
Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings which was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Other certificates system that confirms the sustainability of buildings is the British BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) for buildings and large-scale developments. Currently, World Green Building Council is conducting research on the effects of green buildings on the health and productivity of their users and is working with World Bank to promote Green Buildings in Emerging Markets through EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) Market Transformation Program and certification. There are also other tools such as Green Star in Australia and the Green Building Index (GBI) predominantly used in Malaysia.
Although new technologies are constantly being developed to complement current practices in creating greener structures, the common objective of green buildings is to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:
- Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
- Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity (see healthy building)
- Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation
A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally. Other related topics include sustainable design and green architecture. Sustainability may be defined as meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Although some green building programs don't address the issue of the retrofitting existing homes, others do, especially through public schemes for energy efficient refurbishment. Green construction principles can easily be applied to retrofit work as well as new construction.
A 2009 report by the U.S. General Services Administration found 12 sustainably-designed buildings that cost less to operate and have excellent energy performance. In addition, occupants were overall more satisfied with the building than those in typical commercial buildings. These are eco-friendly buildings.

Here in British Columbia, green buildings are quickly moving from niche to norm. All across the province, Passive House apartment buildings, LEED Platinum certified office space, and even green development plans for entire neighbourhoodsare demonstrating the market demand for high-performance buildings. The green building industry is now estimated to employ 31,700 people in B.C.
We’ve been tracking the growth in green building construction. First released in 2015, the Pembina Institute’s B.C. Green Buildings Map has just been updated with all-new data for the past two years. The results show that the green building sector continues to be an important employer and source of economic activity in B.C. Let’s take a deeper look at the numbers.
A number of larger green buildings have been completed in the past two years and several are currently under construction. These include commercial projects such as Metro Vancouver’s Annacis Research Centre in Delta and Vancity credit union’s Mount Tolmie community branch in Victoria, both certified to LEED Platinum. Ground-breaking projects include The Heights in Vancouver and the Dik Tiy Independent Living Facility in Smithers — multi-unit residential buildings that will be certified under the rigorous Passive House standard.
There has been a 38% increase in investment in larger green buildings — up from an estimated $10.6 billion in 2014 to more than $14.5 billion in 2016. Job-wise, while there were around 7,000 people working on green building projects in 2014, there were 4,000 more (11,000) in 2016.
The green home market has also grown over the past two years. We consider “green homes” to include houses that are certified by Natural Resources Canada as being better than B.C. Building Code, Energy Star, or R-2000, and those that meet Passive House, Living Building, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), or Built Green standards. This brings the total cumulative number of green homes we’ve been able to represent on the map from 18,200 to 18,700. The total number of jobs in green home construction remained steady at around 6,000.
As the B.C. Energy Step Code launches, we expect the growth in green home and green building construction to accelerate even further in the next few years.

From Environmental Leader , Published 20 June 2014
There are as many as 150,000 LEED-certified green housing units worldwide, a number that more than doubled between 2011 and 2012 and continues to grow, according to the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED in Motion: Residential report.
The report also details the US states with the most LEED -certified homes, with California in the no. 1 spot followed by New York and Texas.
The report is the latest in USGBC’s LEED in Motion series designed to make the case for sustainable building practices worldwide. LEED-certified homes provide 20 to 30 percent savings in energy and water use compared to code-built homes, and they maximize fresh air indoors while minimizing exposure to airborne toxins and pollutants, USGBC says.
The report explores the multiple LEED rating systems for different types of homes, including new single-family homes as well as new and existing low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise multifamily buildings. USGBC is also developing a rating system for existing single-family homes.
Report highlights include:
Canada tops the list of the top 10 countries for LEED outside of the US with 17.74 million gross square meters of LEED space, according to a USGBC report published last month.
Please refer to the following links below for additional reading regarding green buildings and facilities:
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READ OUR LATEST CASE STUDY Assisting City of Dublin with CEQA Review for Major Kaiser Permanente Medical Facility

U.S. builders increased their spending in May by the largest amount in five months. A surge in homebuilding and an increase in nonresidential projects helped offset a fifth monthly decline in government building projects.
The Commerce Department says construction spending rose 0.9% in May, following a 0.6% rise in April. It was the biggest percentage gain since December.
The May increase pushed spending to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $830 billion. That is 11.3% above a 12-year low hit in February 2011. Still, the level of spending is roughly half of what economists consider to be healthy.
Residential construction rose 3% to an annual rate of $261.3 billion, further evidence that housing has finally started to mount a modest recovery.

Only 57 percent of U.S. respondents report using metrics, compared to a 75 percent average globally. This may be linked to the fact that the U.S. is also the country with the highest level of concern reported about higher perceived first costs for green building, notably more than the percentage who consider this an important challenge to green in other developed countries with active construction markets like Germany and the U.K.
To download the full study “World Green Building Trends 2016: Developing Markets Accelerate Global Green Growth SmartMarket Report,” visit
To download the U.S. report, visit
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Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.
The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED green building certification system is the foremost program for the design, construction and operation of green buildings. Over 100,000 projects are currently participating in the LEED rating systems, comprising over 8 billion square feet of construction space in all 50 states and 114 countries.
By using less energy, LEED-certified buildings save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.
USGBC was co-founded by current President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi, who spent 25 years as a Fortune 500 executive. Under his 15-year leadership, the organization has become the preeminent green building, membership, policy, standards, influential, education and research organization in the nation.
For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.

There is no doubt that sustainable building materials have become more affordable—the cost differential between green and nongreen materials and products has diminished to less than 3 percent, according to green building experts. In most cases, the price for green materials is comparable to nongreen materials. The market for green building materials is expected to reach $4.7 billion by 2011, a 17 percent increase from today, according to a report issued by SBI, a Rockville, Md.-based research firm.
For more information on these and other products, visit ebuild.com

In 2001, India had just one building conforming to the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) green building rating, spanning 20,000 sq ft. Today, the country has 4,452 IGBC-registered green projects spanning 4.79 billion sq ft!
In 2007, the Griha Council defined norms for green buildings, further spurring the green building movement, especially as municipalities in cities like Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai and Chandigarh allow builders to build additional 5 per cent floor-area ratio for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold and Griha 4-Star certifications, observes Vijay Mattoo, Senior Consultant MEP, Egis India Consulting Engineers. 'Also it has been made mandatory for new government buildings to go for minimum 3-Star Griha ratings.'
Consequently, the past five years have seen great growth in the availability of green building materials for GRIHA and IGBC-certified structures.
Srinivas S, Deputy Executive Director, IGBC, and Accredited Professional, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), mentions the various materials and technologies that have gained traction because of the green building movement: Fly-ash blocks, fly-ash cement, insulation materials like extruded polystyrene and glass wool, cool roof materials, paver blocks, roof garden trays, high-performance glazing, solar photovoltaic, light emitting diodes (LED) lighting, waterless urinals, bagasse-based furniture, efficient HVAC technologies, recycled roofing materials, recycled tiles, low-volatile organic compound paints and CO2 sensors. While most of these materials are being made in India, a few technologies like photovoltaic cells, building management systems, magnetic levitation chillers and screw chillers with a capacity of over 200 TR and CO2 sensors are being imported, according to Srinivas.
In future, affordable housing promises to create opportunities for sustainable building materials and technologies, observes Sanjay Seth, Senior Fellow & Senior Director, Sustainable Habitat Division, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), and CEO, GRIHA Council. Recently, the Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council released the second edition of its 'Compendium of Prospective Emerging Technologies for Mass Housing' containing details of 16 emerging technologies.

A new study conducted by GuildQuality that was commissioned by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) shows that homeowners who purchased a National Green Building Standard-certified home in the past three years are happy they did. The survey found:
- 94 percent of the homeowners would recommend a green home to a friend;
- 92 percent would purchase another green home; and
- 71 percent believe green homes are of higher quality than a non-green home.

Residential building in February grew 5% to $245.7 billion (annual rate), making a partial rebound after an 8% decline in January. Multifamily housing registered a strong February, jumping 46%. There were nine multifamily projects valued in excess of $100 million that reached groundbreaking in February, led by the following – the $500 million Flushing Commons apartment complex expansion in Queens NY, a $300 million apartment high-rise in New York NY, and the $262 million condominium portion of the Four Seasons mixed-use tower in Boston MA. Through the first two months of 2015, the top five metropolitan areas ranked by the dollar volume of multifamily starts were as follows – New York NY, Boston MA, Miami FL, Washington DC, and Houston TX. Single family housing in February slipped back 7%, as severe winter weather in the Northeast led to 24% plunge for that region. Single family declines were also reported for the South Atlantic, down 12%; the South Central, down 10%; and the Midwest, down 1%; while the West posted a modest 3% gain.
The 34% increase for total construction starts on an unadjusted basis during 2015, relative to 2014, was the result of greater activity for all three major construction sectors. Nonbuilding construction year-to-date soared 89%, with electric utilities and gas plants up 944% while public works retreated 7%. Nonresidential building year-to-date increased 22%, with manufacturing buildings and institutional buildings each up 26% while commercial buildings climbed 15%. Residential building year-to-date improved 7%, with single family housing up 7% and multifamily housing up 9%. By geography, total construction starts for the January-February period of 2015 revealed this behavior compared to last year – the South Central, up 126%; the Northeast, up 12%; the South Atlantic, up 9%; the West, up 3%; and the Midwest, down 5%.
Added perspective is obtained by looking at twelve-month moving totals, in this case the twelve months ending February 2015 versus the twelve months ending February 2014, which lessens the volatility inherent in comparisons of just two months.

How Green Is Your Building?
The United States accounted for 20 percent of global energy consumption in 2008, which is the largest share of world energy consumption by any country. And buildings account for 40 percent of all energy use, consuming more energy than the industrial or transportation sectors. The U.S. is also responsible for 20 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, with energy use in buildings responsible for 8 percent. With increasing focus on the energy, carbon and environmental footprint of buildings, new methods of construction are being considered. Due to their potential to reduce energy consumption, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, reduce water usage, and add to the building value, green buildings have been gaining attention in the United States.
Green buildings have been defined by the Environmental Protection Agency as structures that are built using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s lifecycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. These buildings embody increased efficiencies in resource utilization, sustainable site planning, reduced wastage and environmental impacts, enhanced economic performance, and an overall positive impact on quality of inhabitance of such spaces and on its occupants. Green buildings thus address design concerns of economy, utility, durability and comfort.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has led the movement toward high-performance buildings. In 1998, the Council undertook the task of developing and subsequently administering the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) suite of certification systems, focused on evaluating sustainable building achievements with an integrated, whole building approach. This approach combines the design, construction, and operation aspects of a building to get an aggregate performance quotient that would make it a sustainable building or project. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by focusing on the key performance areas:
Sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, locations and linkages, awareness and education, innovation in design and regional priority
Since the first version was introduced in 2000, the LEED system has become synonymous with sustainable design, not only in the United States, but in many other countries that have developed regional chapters of the Green Building Council to represent local dynamics, including Canada, Brazil, Mexico and India. While LEED was originally based on design and construction requirements and benchmarks rather than performance, the USGBC has taken steps to move closer to a performance-based system.

“We blew away the LEED minimum, which is 10% recycled content,” says Gergits. “We had almost 16.5%.”
The 33,000 tons of steel and the reuse of concrete from site demolition for construction roadways and building slab underburden accounted for the majority of points, and were aided by other items with recycled content, including low-VOC furniture, finish materials, and carpeting.
“We made it green without doing anything painful or building in extraordinary systems,” says Gergits. “It was a surprisingly uneventful process.”

Non-profit organization US Green Building Council (USGBC) recognized the UAE as one of ten countries having the biggest number of green buildings in the world.
It is USGBC who assigns countries a position in the Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system) green building ranking. According to this rating, the UAE ranked eighth in the world, outside the United States, by the number of buildings certified according to Leed green building standards. The total floor area of these buildings in the UAE is 1.3 million square meters.
The first places in the ranking, outside the United States, belong to Canada, where there are 26.6 million square meters of buildings certified according to Leed standards, and China — 22 million square meters of green buildings.
Moreover, the number of buildings in the UAE constructed in full compliance with all the requirements of green building system and certified by Leed ranks the UAE fifth in the world. There are 990 such buildings in the UAE, with most of them located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. At the same time the number of professionals working in the field of green building in the UAE, ranks the country fourth in the world.
“The UAE has become an increasingly important centre for the global green building movement, a development that will help provide greater environmental health and increased economic opportunity for its citizens and will hopefully help to inspire a robust green building market throughout the Middle East,” said Rick Federizzi, the chief executive of USGBC.
Among the most well-known green buildings in the UAE there are Rosewood hotel and International Tower office center in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce building in Dubai Creek and also Standard Chartered Bank headquarters in Dubai.
There are official and mandatory regulatory standards for sustainable and green building applied for today in Dubai and Abu Dhabi: in 2014 Dubai Municipality introduced its own mandatory Green Building Regulations, and Abu Dhabi has long existing system of Estidama, which is a combination of mandatory regulations for developers and rating "pearls" system designed to encourage developers through awarding them one or more "pearls" for compliance with green building standards.

Total of LEED ACCREDITED PROFESSIONALS recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council, as of September 2011.
LEED APs with specialty – 64,060
LEED APs without specialty – 83,985
LEED Green Associates – 23,226
Total LEED Professionals – 171, 271
The cost per square foot to build a DAYCARE CENTER in San Francisco in 2011, according to RSMeans.
The approximate U-FACTOR (Btu/hr-sf-°F) of currently available aluminum frame windows and doorframes. Also the number of AIA/CES DISCOVERY LEARNING UNITS that can be obtained by studying “High- Performance Windows + Doors” and passing the 10-question exam (80% score required). Source: BD+C
The percentage a GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMP can reduce energy consumption when compared to conventional HVAC system, according to the EPA. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that geothermal heat pumps can but HVAC energy demand by 50% and overall energy demand by 35%. Geothermal heat pumps are expected to gain market share as recent government mandates require newly constructed buildings to be zero net energy. Energy-efficient retrofits will also increase market demand for the pumps. Source: EPA
The September 2011 AIA ARCHITECTURE BILLINGS INDEX, following a score of 51.4 in August 2011. The monthly ABI index scores are based on a score of 50, with scores above 50 indicating an aggregate increase in billings and scores below 50 indicating a decline. In regard to September’s 46.9 score, “It appears the positive conditions seen last month were more of an aberration,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. Source: AIA
Buildings taller than 420 feet are now required to include an EXTRA EXIT STAIRWELL OR ELEVATOR that occupants can use for evacuations, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Source: NIST
Total put-in-place CONSTRUCTION DOLLARS in billions predicted for 2012, according to the latest FMI forecast, which calls for 2% growth in 2011, and 6% for 2012.

The new HQ kept 95% of the existing building’s structural walls, slab, and roof deck intact, plus most of the curtain wall. Diverting, reusing, and recycling materials reduced waste into the landfill stream by more than 75%. DPR’s HQ achieved net-zero energy use within its first six months of operations. During this time, it used approximately 110,000 kWh of electricity, while the PV system generated 230,000 kWh, which provided a sizable margin to achieve annual net-zero energy. DPR is pursuing LEEDR for New Construction-v2.2 Platinum certification for its new HQ.
> DPR Construction, California, United States
> Duration: February 2009 - May 2010

We're actually making all the buildings more efficient," he told InsideClimate News.
For instance, in its 2005 report, EIA said that a one percent rise in floor space would create a roughly one percent rise in CO2 emissions. That's no longer true, Martinez explained. According to the 2011 report, it now takes an eight percent increase in floor space to create a one percent uptick in emissions.
Figures Inspire Industry, More Work Ahead
Skip Laitner, an economist at the American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy (ACEEE), a Washington-based nonprofit, said he analyzed EIA's data extensively for a Jan. 12 report he co-authored and believes that Architecture 2030's overall claim that green buildings will produce national efficiency gains has a sturdy foundation.
"We're beginning to see evidence of that," he told InsideClimate News.
For many in the green building industry the EIA data is inspiring.
Chris Pyke, vice president of research at the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council, which developed the LEED green-building rating system, said the new figures likely will intensify the push for more low-impact buildings. "It makes us even more excited to go out and redouble our efforts to get real data ... and show that we're making the turn" toward a greener building sector, he said.
Kirk Teske, chief sustainability officer at HKS Architects in Dallas, a 1,000-employee global firm that has signed on to Architecture 2030's carbon-neutral challenge, agreed that the data should wake up the building industry. "It's very encouraging and motivating to see progress being made. Now we just need to maintain that level of reduction going forward."
Still, Architecture 2030's goal to make all buildings carbon neutral in less than two decades remains a long shot.
The cost of green retrofits and renewable energy systems like rooftop solar panels are still costly, for starters. But most efficiency advocates agree there's a bigger obstacle of perception they have to surmount. Americans aren't used to thinking of buildings as a vast drain on the energy supply, and thus don't see the major impact that efficiency could have in meeting the nation's energy and climate challenges.
Laitner of ACEEE cited figures from a 2009 publication by economists Robert Ayer and Benjamin Warr, which found that nearly 90 percent of the energy Americans consume is wasted due to inefficiencies.

In 2012, the construction industry will return a level of construction in current dollars that is comparable to levels recorded in 2003. Source: FMI
The percentage of AIR REDUCTION possible following the installation of an air barrier system in a commercial or industrial building, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The installation of an air barrier can also shrink gas bills by more than 40%, and reduce electrical use by 25%. Source: NIST
Total funds currently invested in the energy-efficiency financing initiative known as the BILLION DOLLAR GREEN CHALLENGE. The fund aims to get colleges, universities, and other nonprofits to invest $1 billion in self-managed funds to be used to finance energy-efficiency upgrades. Source: BD+C
Owners of every New York City commercial and residential buildings larger than 50,000 sf will have to post each building’s ENERGY USE ONLINE, starting with commercial buildings in 2012, followed by residential buildings in 2013. Architects and environmentalists believe the measure will prompt owners to invest in cleaner, more sustainable designs. Source: BD+C
The number of sides to the Octagon House in Washington D.C., the original home of the AIA. Built between 1978 and 1800, the Octagon House was designed by Dr. William Thornton, the architect of the U.S. Capitol. Adapted to an irregular-shaped lot, the design of the three-story brick house combines a circle, two rectangles, and a triangle, resulting in a six-sided structure. Source: National Park Service
Submit your “By the Numbers” item to: Tim Gregorski, Senior Editor, [email protected].
You must include documentation showing the source of your entry. Readers whose items are chosen will receive credit in the magazine and a $10 Amazon gift certificate. Decision of the editors of BD+C is final.

Atlanta’s commitment to going green has not gone unnoticed. The city came in as the third-most environmentally friendly city in the 2017 National Green Building Adoption Index.
The report looked at the growth of Energy Star and LEED–certified office spaces since 2005 in the 30 largest cities in the U.S.
Atlanta has ranked in the top 5 of the survey every year, but this is the highest spot it has taken so far. The report found that 55 percent of all space reviewed currently has an Energy Star or LEED certification.
Approximately 24 percent of the city’s buildings have an Energy Star label, which is double the national average and the second-highest market total, only behind Manhattan. The total of LEED-certified buildings currently sits at 26.3 percent, which is also second behind Manhattan.
The study found that 10.3 percent of all buildings surveyed are Energy Star–labeled while 4.7 percent are LEED–certified, which is above last year’s totals. It also found that nine of the top 10 cities have implemented benchmarking ordinances. Those cities have 9 percent more certified buildings and a 21 percent higher certified square footage. Atlanta recently announced it’s goal to run 100 percent on clean energy by 2035.
“While it is still too early to make a definitive correlation between benchmarking ordinances and the rate of growth in ‘green’ buildings, this year’s findings do begin to establish a link that will be studied closely in the future,” said David Pogue, CBRE’s Global Director of Corporate Responsibility.
|Atlanta Q4 2014||% of Buildings||% sq. ft of Buildings|
|Core and Shell||0.2||0.5|

The worldwide green building materials market should nearly double over the next five years, reaching $523.7 billion by 2027, according to recent analysis by Future Market Insights, Inc. The climb would represent 11.06% annual growth from 2021’s $280.5 billion—a rate expected to continue through 2032.
Insulation is forecast to be the fastest-growing application, rising at a pace of 11.7% over the period due to its excellent energy efficiency and increased emphasis on installing interior insulation solutions.
North America owns a significant green building material market share, with growth substantially driven by strict rules on the use of environmentally friendly products in the construction sector.
Exposed to extreme climate conditions and government initiatives, the Asia Pacific and Latin America are also seeing increased demand for green building materials.

- The project has achieved a combined recycled content value of 30.01% of the total materials.
- 50% of the total project’s materials, based on cost, were manufactured within 500 miles of the project.
- 89.12% of wood based materials are certified in accordance with FSC Principles and Criteria.
Indoor Environmental Quality
- The design achieves air change effectiveness of 0.9 or greater in each ventilated zone as determined by ASHRAE 129-1997.
- A construction IAQ plan was followed and implemented.
- Both a two week building flush out was conducted with 100% outside air from December 1, 2006 to December 15, 2006 AND that the reference standard’s IAQ testing protocol was followed.
- Low-emitting materials, adhesives and sealants were used.
- All paints, including topcoats and primers, meet the VOC requirements of Green Seal.
- The project uses carpeting that complies with the CRI Green Label Program.
- All composite wood and agrifiber products used in the project do not contain added urea-formaldehyde, and a list of products has been included.
- The project has been designed to maintain indoor comfort within the ranges established by ASHRAE 55-1992, Addenda 1995.
- A permanent temperature and humidity monitoring system that operates during all seasons has been installed. The system is to permit control of individual building zones to maintain thermal comfort within the ranges defined in ASHRAE 55-1992, Addenda 1995.
Innovation and Design
100% of parking is underground, meeting the required threshold for exemplary performance of SSc7.1.
Water use was reduced by 49%, exceeding the threshold of 40% savings for exemplary performance of WEc3.
100% of the building’s regulated load is supplied by renewable power that meets the definition of Green-e, meeting the requirements for exemplary performance of EAc6.
An innovation credit for green cleaning and housekeeping has been submitted.

A compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.9% has been forecast for the green building materials market through 2016, driven by the need for enhanced cost reduction and the increase in initiatives by government bodies.
The use of green building materials has remained relatively consistent during the global recession, and recent figures indicate that demand is only going up.
Solar power products saw explosive growth between 2002 and 2012, driven by increasing installation of rooftop-based solar power modules connected to electricity distribution systems.
Going forward, favourable tax incentives and strong interest in the use of renewable energy sources will promote demand for LEED-eligible solar power products.
In recent years, energy efficiency has become a major global concern, particularly as a result of global warming and the rapid depletion of non-renewable power resources. It is currently estimated, that buildings account for 40% of total global energy consumption.
This high consumption has prompted several governments across the globe to form policies to improve energy efficiency in buildings.
For instance, the US government offers a tax reduction of US$1.80 per square foot to building owners who use green materials and techniques such as building envelopes, interior lighting, and hot water systems that reduce the energy consumption of buildings up to 50%.
Also, many states in the US offer incentives for the usage of recyclable items such as windows, doors, roofs, and insulation.
The US is already seeing an uptick in sustainable construction. By 2015, an estimated 40 to 48% of new non-residential construction by value will be green, equating to a $120-145 billion opportunity, according to the US Green Building Council.
A major challenge currently facing the industry is the lack of awareness regarding the benefits of green building materials. The lack of awareness in developing countries has had a negative impact on the growth of the market.
The green building materials market is dominated by a number of players including E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DuPont), Lafarge, Owens Corning, and Saint-Gobain S.A.
For more information on the green building materials market, see the latest research: Building Materials Market Research
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TUCSON, ARIZ. — Green building consultant Jerry Yudelson has published his Top 10 list of green building trends for 2009. Yudelson says that green building will continue to grow in spite of the global credit crisis and the ongoing economic recession in most countries.
Consulting engineer Yudelson is author of the books Green Buildings A to Z and The Green Building Revolution, which the editors of CONTRACTOR believe should be required reading for any mechanical or plumbing contractor getting into green and sustainable construction and service. Yudelson also authored a white paper for the Mechanical Contracting Education and Research Foundation of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America entitled, “European Green Building Technologies.”
“What we're seeing is that more people are going green each year, and there is nothing on the horizon that will stop this trend,” explained Yudelson, the principal of Tucson-based Yudelson Associates. “In putting together my Top 10 trends for 2009, I'm taking advantage of conversations I've had with green building leaders in the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Middle East over the past year.”
Yudelson's Top 10 trends includes the following:
1. The green building industry will continue to grow more than 60% in 2009, on a cumulative basis. “We've seen cumulative growth in new LEED projects over 60% per year since 2006, in fact 80% in 2008, and there's no sign that the green wave has crested,” he said.
2. Green building will benefit from the Obama presidency, with a strong focus on green jobs in energy efficiency, new green technologies and renewable energy. This trend will last for at least the next four years.
3. The focus of green building will begin to switch from new buildings to greening existing buildings. “The fastest growing LEED rating system in 2008 was the LEED for Existing Buildings program, and I expect this trend to continue in 2009,” said Yudelson.
4. Awareness of the coming global crisis in fresh water supply will increase, leading building designers and managers to take further steps to reduce water consumption in buildings with more conserving fixtures, rainwater recovery systems and innovative new water technologies.
5. LEED Platinum-rated projects will become more commonplace as building owners, designers and construction teams learn how to design for higher levels of LEED achievement on conventional budgets.
6.

85% of architects report a positive impact on health and well-being from their green school projects, and 85% of them are reflecting student mobility and health concerns into the design of their buildings.
The study was produced with the support of the U.S. Green Building Council Center for Green Schools, Lutron, Project Frog and Siemens. Survey and data partners included the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, The American Institute of Architects, Associated General Contractors of America, Green Schools National Network, National Association of Independent Schools, National Building Museum, Society for Colleges and University Planning, and Second Nature.
This report is being released with the opening of the new Green Schools exhibition at the National Building Museum (www.nbm.org). A press preview of the exhibition is scheduled for Thursday, February 28, 2013 from 10 am to noon at the Museum in Washington, DC.
To download the full New and Retrofit Green Schools SmartMarket Report, go to http://analyticsstore.construction.com/index.php/new-and-retrofit-green-schools-smartmarket-report-2013.html.
About McGraw-Hill Construction: McGraw-Hill Construction's data, analytics, and media businesses—Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, GreenSource, and Engineering News-Record— create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.
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For the fourth consecutive month, private nonresidential construction has increased, up 1.8 percent in June, according to the August 1 report by the U.S. Census Bureau. However, spending in this sector is down 1.3 percent compared to one year ago. Total nonresidential construction spending - which includes both privately and publicly financed construction - was $528.4 billion in June, up 0.5 percent for the month, but down 5.5 percent year-over-year.
Eleven of the sixteen nonresidential construction subsectors posted increases for the month, including manufacturing, up 4.1 percent; communication, up 3.9 percent; power, up 3.1 percent; and health care, up 2.4 percent. Four subsectors have had increases in construction spending from the same time last year. They are power, up 13.8 percent; commercial, up 4.2 percent; communication, up 2.7 percent; and health care, up 2.4 percent.
Five nonresidential construction subsectors posted decreases for the month, including conservation and development, down 6.6 percent; educational, down 3.2 percent; amusement and recreation, down 3.1 percent; highway and street, down 1.6 percent; and religious construction, down 1.4 percent. Of the twelve subsectors experiencing decreases in spending year-over-year, they are religious, down 25.7 percent; lodging, down 24.3 percent; and water supply, down 14.3 percent.
Public nonresidential construction spending slipped 0.7 percent for the month and is down 9.2 percent compared to the same time last year. Residential construction spending fell 0.3 percent in June and is down 2.1 percent over the last twelve months. Total construction spending - which includes residential and nonresidential construction - inched up 0.2 percent for the month, but was down 4.7 percent from June 2010.
"Some may be surprised with today's report that construction spending edged higher in June given the overall weakness of the U.S. economy in recent months," said Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu.

target for binding climate treaty and creation of $100 billion fund to assist poor countries with compliance.
Net-zero new homes mandated in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, D.C.
Rapid prototyping patents expire, allowing widespread use.
IECC 2015 requires outdoor air monitoring to address indoor filtering requirements.
All electric appliances come equipped with radio-frequency identification chips for smart-grid management.
Bio-based mapping becomes common practice in design firms, fostered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's BioPreferred Program.
All homes equipped with smart meters.
50% of materials used in new homes are made from recycled content.
A standardized, far-reaching digital database of product ingredients becomes available.
2025: SIPs and insulating concrete forms account for 50% of residential construction.
San Francisco launches the Alliance for Innovation in Urban Water Systems to foster collaboration on water efficiency practices.
Beijing recycles 100% of its wastewater.
Prerequisites mandate collection, treatment, and use of alternative water sources.
Major U.S. cities begin creating designated recycled-water use areas that require dual plumbing in projects.
All public utilities offer demand response/time-of-day rate programs, as peak and off-peak season rate programs.
Residential water consumption reduced to 20 gallons/person/day.
California reduces water use by 20%; Santa Monica eliminates 100% imported water.
All homes meet EPA WaterSense criteria.
2021: Lake Mead goes dry.
2021: Irrigated turf landscaping limited to 40% of property footprint.
2022: National graywater use standard established.
2022: Water subsidies removed, and block water pricing implemented.
LEED v4 passed by USGBC membership.
NGBS ICC 700-2015 released with progressive performance guidelines.
National certification program created for residential energy efficiency professionals.
LEED v5 released, featuring an increased association between energy and water.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs) included in Federal Trade Comission Green Guides.
NGBS ICC 700-2018 released with new performance guidelines.
All of the Leading Home Builders of America certify 90% of homes under independent green certification.
LEED v6 released, addressing regenerative and energy- and water-positive design and occupancy.
Majority of U.S. building codes shift from prescriptive to outcome-based codes.
2023: Solar permitting and installation requirements are standardized.
The Green Appraisal Addendum from the Appraisal Institute aims to better value the performance of green homes.

Environmental UPDATE November 2009
Green Buildings: Planning for the Future
Lately, everyone is talking about green buildings and green construction. The prevailing wisdom is that these green technologies are necessary to conserve energy, thereby (1) reducing the cost of energy, (2) reducing the need for additional electrical generation capacity and (3) reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. Notwithstanding these common beliefs, however, there seems to be a fair amount of confusion regarding green buildings. This article briefly examines some of the issues that New Jersey businesses will face in the coming years, as we adapt to this new green paradigm.
Will green buildings become prevalent? The December 15, 2008 draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report strongly suggests that the answer is "Yes." New Jersey has set aggressive targets for reductions in annual emissions of greenhouse gases by 2020 and by 2050. In order to reach the 2020 target, all the State's current plans will need to be fully implemented and will need to work exactly as planned - a tall order indeed. Furthermore, the State does not have a good notion of how to reach the 2050 target emissions, but has determined the key sources of those emissions. Residential and commercial buildings account for 21% of the greenhouse gas emissions in New Jersey, which places building occupancies as the State's third-largest contributor to emissions. Consequently, the State will need to aggressively target building occupancies in order to meet its targets.
1. Modify building codes to require that all new construction is at least 30% more energy efficient than conventional construction.
2. Set new minimum efficiency standards for new appliances and other equipment.
3. Provide technical assistance to commercial and industrial entities to develop strategies for reducing energy demand, particularly peak demand. Also, provide reductions in electricity rates for customers who permit utilities to control their usage during peak demand periods.
- 4. Reduce tax barriers and provide financial incentives to promote the installation of renewable energy and energy- efficient technologies.
Recent federal case law, however, suggests that New Jersey's plan to require new construction to be 30% more energy efficient than conventional construction may be preempted by federal law. The federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act governs energy efficiency and energy use for residential, commercial and industrial appliances and equipment, including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and water heaters.

According to a newly published report from CBRE and USGBC, as Chinese builders move in accordance with the nation’s 13th Five Year Plan, green building space is expected to reach two billion square meters by 2020, up from current estimates of 600 million square meters of green building space spread across more than 300 cities.
Between 2006 and 2016, LEED-certified projects had a compound annual growth rate of 77 percent, making China the global leader for LEED projects outside of the United States.
The "2017 China Green Building Report: From Green to Health” notes, additionally, that as of August 2017, more than 48 million square meters of projects across 54 Chinese cities have been LEED-certified.
The report also ranks the top 20 cities for LEED certification in 2017:
|City||2017 LEED-certified Space (10,000 square meters)||Cumulative Growth Since 2014|
Additional findings related to LEED:
- In the past four quarters, the average occupancy rate of LEED projects in China was 81.7 percent, which is 1.5 percent higher than that of traditional offices. By comparison, the average occupancy of LEED Platinum projects in China was 86.7 percent, 10 percent higher than traditional offices. This indicates a significant increase in occupant demand for LEED Platinum structures.
- Since 2014, LEED Platinum spaces have grown more than 200 percent and now account for 22 percent of all LEED-certified space in China, up from 14 percent.
- As of Q2 2017, over 2.22 million square meters of quality office space had earned LEED Platinum certification.
The report is the third in a series of studies conducted by CBRE and USGBC. In 2016, “Towards Excellence: Market Performance of Green Commercial Buildings in the Greater China Region" found that LEED-certified Grade A office buildings exceeded 5.6 million square meters across 10 major cities in greater China, an increase of 7.4 percent from the previous year, accounting for 28 percent of the total market.

The Cromley Lofts in Alexandria, Virginia have earned a Gold level certification making them the first condos in Virginia to become LEED certified. These 8 beautiful units are located in The Old Town area of Alexandria in a vintage warehouse building circa 1910 — a fitting example of the environmental benefits of adaptive reuse.
I want to shout out to a project one of our contributors, Sarah Roe, is working on. If you’re interested in helping out, please make sure to get in touch with her as outlined below.
Green Hope Community is a newly-formed non-profit organization whose goal is to establish an eco-friendly community for internationally orphaned children. This community will be based in the United States; sites in North Carolina, Georgia, New Mexico, Arizona and Oregon are currently being considered. The goal of the Green Hope Community is to give orphaned children a chance not only to survive, but to thrive, and to give them the tools to become leaders in the fields of environmental progress and social justice.
The Chicago FBI Headquarters has become the world’s first LEED EBOM project to earn Platinum level certification. Under the prior iteration for certifying existing buildings, what we refer to as LEED-EB, approximately 14 projects received LEED Platinum; however, FBI Chicago Headquarters is the first to receive the USGBC’s highest level of certification under LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (EBOM). To date, though, only about six projects have been certified under EBOM since its inception in early 2008.
Last month USGBC posted Green Buildings by the Numbers, a three-page, bite-size State of the Green Building Union that simply brings together some useful stats. This palatable little report helps a person wrap their head around the realities and opportunities for green building. The authors seem to have attempted a sort of realistic optimism with a series of facts and percentages that say ‘there’s been progress in gaining market share for green buildings and buildings stand to make huge gains in the struggle to create a more sustainable human existence, but we’re not there yet.’ Included are a couple of specific statements on the expectations for green building market penetration (see one of the more intriguing quotes below), but the authors shied away from detailing market penetration thus far.
Last year I talked about five green building trends and most of that, generally speaking, was spot on. This year's going to be a little tougher nut to crack, however, because things are changing every day.

In 2014, private nonresidential construction saw the biggest gains, with spending achieving a level of $337 billion, 10.5% increase over 2013. Residential construction was $355.2 billion, a 3.4% increase.
The nonresidential building market was hamstrung by weather-related delays during the first part of the 2014, but conditions improved dramatically throughout the rest of the year to finish with greater than anticipated spending levels. Overall nonresidential construction was $606.2 billion, an increase of 6.6%. Public nonresidential spending was $269.2 billion, a 2.1% increase, demonstrating a modest turnaround after posting a 2% decrease in 2013. Below are five major nonresidential construction markets. All showed increases in total put-in-place construction in 2014 except for healthcare (-6.2%). The office market grew 18.9%, manufacturing 15.1%, commercial 11.9% and education less than 1%.
“For the first time in nearly a decade there was growth in all three major construction segments-public, private nonresidential and residential,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “If the president and Congress can work out a way to pay for long-term investments in our aging infrastructure, there is a good chance this pattern will repeat in 2015.”
Current Construction Indicators
As a leading indicator of construction activity, the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Architecture Billing Index, or ABI, reflects the approximate 9- to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending.
With the exception of March and April, the ABI stayed above 50 throughout the year, indicating an increase in billings and signaling an expansionary market for design services. The year ended on a positive score of 58.2. Regionally, the South (56.8), West (52.9) and Midwest (50.8) has a more optimistic outlook than the Northeast (45.5). The multifamily residential (55.7), institutional (52.5) and commercial/industrial (51.2) indices suggested growth, while the mixed-practice sector rating (45.8) suggests contraction. The new projects inquiry index was 58.2.

Figure 6.3: Source energy use intensity against weekly operating hours for small retail (purple) and large retail (yellow). The colored crosshairs give medians. Source: bpd.lbl.gov
In order to avoid cluttering the article with methodological details (especially what is included or not in the analysis), these are gathered here. The need arises in part because the data have some drawbacks.
Figure A.1 shows that there were (supposedly) over fifteen times as many commercial buildings constructed between 1900 and 1905 as in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries combined (the first bar is 1650–1900). The year 1900 itself is vastly overrepresented, so it is likely treated as a sort of NA. 1901–1910 is thus used as a decade instead of 1900–1910. Moreover, the mean energy consumption of 1900 is twice as high as that of the next few decades (the median is even higher), so these commercial buildings without a construction year are particularly inefficient.
Also, the 2010 decade has a tenth of the commercial buildings of the previous one, so this decade is ignored too (its energy consumption was pretty close to the 2000 decade anyway).
Figure A.1: Histogram and median of the construction date of commercial buildings (a bar represents five years). Source: bpd.lbl.gov
One of the categories of residential buildings is buildings with "5+ units". These are not very numerous but (i) their median source EUI is twice as much as the overall median for residential buildings and (ii) many of them were supposedly built in 1895, 1905, 1915, etc. Apparently these buildings spontaneously sprout every ten years.
Also "mixed use" accounts for only 464 buildings with energy consumption data. This is both marginal and too imprecise (does it genuinely belong with residential buildings?). In Fig. 1.4, 'residential' thus means 'residential (not mixed-use) excluding 5+ units'.
The larger residential buildings are of course rarer, but only up to 50 000 ft2 (4 650 m2). There are 360 of them between 40 000 and 50 000 ft2, but 1600 in 50 000–60 000 ft2.

Since then, more examples have emerged. In an article titled “Another Green School Gets Failing Grades,” found on the Washington Policy Center’s Blog Web site, a Tacoma school built under the state’s green building law passed in 2005 has failed to meet projected green building performance goals. The article reads: “Rather than putting funding where it will make a difference, Washington is chasing nonexistent benefits which are likely to do actual harm to students especially as the state deals with a $2.5 billion budget shortfall.” This example raises great concern over how the current economic situation and green building legislation will exacerbate an already problematic situation: State passes poorly drafted green building legislation based on poorly drafted green building rating system; building incurs additional costs to incorporate green building rating system requirements in meeting new legislative requirements; building does not perform as promised in green building legislation/rating system; money dries up; litigation ensues.
In a recent article by Joe Lstiburek titled “Prioritizing Green-It’s the Energy, Stupid,” the author pokes fun at the USGBC and its attempt to pull the wool over our eyes by using creative statistical reporting.
Lstiburek includes a sidebar in the article about a March 2008 USGBC report titled “Energy Performance of LEED for New Construction Buildings” in which a statistical sleight of hand is employed to show that LEED certified buildings perform better than non-LEED certified buildings. In explaining the statistical error made in the report, he proves conclusively and persuasively that this is not the case.
A NEW GREEN BUILDING DAWN?
There may be hope on the horizon for green building under the Obama administration. The Obama/Biden energy plan calls for an investment of $150 billion in green technologies over the next 10 years. Buildings are a prominent feature of this plan, which calls for the implementation of the American Institute of Architects 2030 challenge to make all new buildings carbon neutral with zero net emissions by 2030. Additionally, the plan calls for a 40 percent increase in energy efficiency in all new federal buildings within five years and carbon neutrality for all new federal buildings by 2024. In the residential sector, the plan calls for increasing energy efficiency of at least one million low income houses each year for the next decade.
Whether or not this plan will be enacted as law remains to be seen but there is strong bipartisan support for green collar jobs and the passing of a quick economic stimulus bill.

McGraw-Hill Construction defines "green jobs" as those involving more than 50% of work on green projects (defined by McGraw-Hill Construction as projects meeting LEED or another credible green building certification program, or one that is energy- and water-efficient and also addresses indoor air quality and/or resource efficiency) or designing and installing uniquely green systems. Focusing on the construction professions exclusively, this definition excludes support or administrative professionals and manufacturing, production or transportation-related services.
This growth of green may help draw more young professionals into the industry. For example, the study also reveals that 62% of trade firms are concerned their profession does not appeal to the younger generation and 42% of architects report the same. However, the younger generation reports a strong commitment to sustainability, with 63% of architecture students saying they would engage in sustainable design out of a personal responsibility. This suggests that as green rises, so too may interest by young professionals in the design and construction fields of practice.

In the 1990s, the owners removed asbestos and aggressively recycled and composted waste materials, a move that has saved a reported $25,000 annually. The building uses nearly 80 percent less water than the surrounding buildings. Much of the savings were achieved when the building’s staff began to water the plants manually rather by using an automatic irrigation system. Also, a yearly average of $75,000 was saved on 11 energy improvements to the HVAC, electrical, and lighting systems.
In Cincinnati, another company installed a 3,500-foot pellet stove on the second story of their building, further implementing a hand-washing station over the toilets so the water could be reused in the toilet bowl. This building also made a habit of composting its scrap wood and shipping any carpet scraps to a recycler in Seattle. The building also clipped off the ends of old aluminum blinds to fit them onto new windows. For this project, energy-saving features have cut costs by an estimated 25 percent.
Green Buildings Can Provide a Glimpse of the Future
Companies have also moved into buildings as tenants, making changes in the rest of the building that exceed expectations. In Atlanta, the design firm Cooper Carry took over two floors of a 50-story downtown skyscraper. In an effort to save energy, the lights automatically turn off when natural light fills the room–that move alone saved an estimated 35 percent on lighting costs.
When developers go beyond the existing standards, they reveal the way of the future, and that future shouldn’t intimidate anyone. The foundation that owns the Bullitt Center admits that the building was more expensive to build (roughly 23 cents more per square foot). They also conceded that it would have been more profitable to construct the building to code, and then flip it to a real estate investment trust. However, once fully leased, the building will turn a profit, and it has been designed to last for the next 250 years. So, this building — on the far extreme side of green commercial construction — can be profitable now, and stands to be profitable for decades.
Green features present intriguing opportunities for developers. As we have seen, some companies are saving tens of thousands of dollars each year on energy costs. These improvements may also ultimately make the building more valuable and marketable.

Further perspective comes from looking at twelve-month moving totals, in this case the twelve months ending March 2017 versus the twelve months ending March 2016. On this basis, total construction starts were up 2%. By major sector, nonbuilding construction decreased 8%, with electric utilities/gas plants down 40% while public works increased 6%. Residential building rose 3%, as a 4% drop for multifamily housing was outweighed by a 7% gain for single family housing. Nonresidential building advanced 7%, with institutional building up 14%, commercial building up 7%, and manufacturing building down 26%.

[00:04:48] Zach White: So you think about agriculture as a big one, or we think about, the actual production of energy as a, as a big one. Like what, where does green buildings fit, and is there any, hey, this is, it’s huge. That’s why it’s getting so much more attention now. I dunno, what’s your thought
[00:05:04] Charlie Cichetti: on that?
[00:05:04] Yeah. You know, buildings, the scientists say account for 39% of our global greenhouse gas emissions, so, That’s a lot, you know, to build ’em and then to run ’em. So buildings and, and homes and you know, kind of the built environment.
[00:05:20] and so that’s why it’s just needed this focus, right? It’s so important. Now there are other things you alluded to, right? There’s renewables, there’s going all electric with our buildings. There’s definitely even some legislation getting passed just where, Corporates Fortune 100, Fortune 500 have to start to be transparent and be like, Hey, here’s our impact in, in our operations and supply chain.
[00:05:42] but I’d say 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions the studies have showed for many years, are related to buildings in the United States, construction. $10 trillion I believe. it’s a tremendous amount of our gdp and so just know that there, we might need to fact check that, but I’m pretty sure that is close to the number.
[00:06:05] there’s a lot happening in and around here. So if you, you were to go to the biggest impacts, Gosh, if we made that better and less impact on the environment, we followed some rules here and everyone got it and they were educated. I think we can make some pretty big change. That is, that’s
[00:06:22] Zach White: a huge number.
[00:06:23] so full disclosure, I have not fact checked the 10 trillion either, but like 39%, that’s a, that’s bigger than I expected, Charlie.

It expressly preempts any state law that attempts to regulate "the energy efficiency, energy use, or water use" of any covered products. A recent federal decision from New Mexico looked to the legislative history and found the following explanation: "the building code exception [is] intended to 'ensure that performance-based codes cannot expressly or effectively require the installation of covered products whose efficiencies exceed … the applicable Federal standard …."
The import of this quoted language is remarkable. Green buildings achieve their efficiencies by using a collection of technologies, designs and strategies. The Court, however, decided that unless a building could achieve 30% energy efficiencies by using only products covered by federal law, then the proposed state regulation was impermissible due to federal preemption. (New Mexico, like New Jersey, was seeking to impose 30% efficiencies.) Consequently, because 30% efficiencies cannot be achieved with just covered products, the court determined that the proposed New Mexico code was preempted. While it is not certain that a federal court in New Jersey would rule the same way, this decision suggests that New Jersey's strategy for implementing the Global Warming Response Act may be in peril. States may need to ask Congress to amend the federal law before they are able to proceed with their intended building code amendments.
Regardless of whether green buildings are mandated, people will continue to construct them because tenants demand them. For instance, a Colliers ABR study of commercial leasing in New York City for the first quarter of 2009 found that three of the four largest leases were for space in green buildings. So, the next logical questions are: how does one go about building "green"? And, how much more will it cost as compared to conventional construction?
As to how to build "green," there are numerous organizations that provide guidelines for achieving defined standards. Two of the better-known organizations are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Green Globes, each of which provides standards for four tiers of "green" building efficiencies. Integral to both of these programs, and of inherent importance regardless of the standard selected, is the requirement that compliance with the standard be audited. Each of the available programs has benefits and detriments, which should be evaluated carefully by a prospective building owner in selecting a desired standard. Then, such building owner should state clearly in all building construction contracts the standard to follow, and the tier of compliance desired.

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- "LEED - U.S. Green Building Council". www.usgbc.org. Archived from the original on 2013-12-19.

Year-on-year rates help underline what is a healthy rate of growth in construction spending, up 5.8 percent overall with residential spending up 6.7 percent and both private nonresidential and public categories showing low to mid single digit gains. Nevertheless, reports out of housing have been uneven and are clouded further by the declines in single- and multi-family homes in this report.

Announces Top Ten Green Building Projects for 2011
The Committee on the Environment (COTE) from the American
Institute of Architects (AIA)
announced the 2011 top 10 green building projects.
Building Owners Get Help Tracking Performance
"The Building Performance Tracking Handbook" was developed
by the California Commissioning Collaborative with funding
from California's Energy Commission and can be applied to
commercial buildings throughout the country.