Green Building Construction Accelerates Globally through Economic Downturn

This is great news and not unique to construction (from what we have seen).  The new, growing green economy has some real strength and is accelerating in many areas (take a look at  some of our stories or listen to the shows at:  http://renewablenow.biz/renewable-construction.html

You will notice, too, that LEED and other efficient buildings have enjoyed very high lease occupancy rates. Major cities see side-by-side buildings with clear imbalances between some that are full, others not so much.  Combine that with the fact that the heavily leases efficient buildings and also costs their owners much less in operating expenses.  Makes for some pretty happy owners.

Some of this is driven by more stringent building codes, such as those we reported on in Dallas last week.

Send us any stories--if you find some--that reinforce or conflict with this article's findings:

• Green building has become a long-term business opportunity with 51% percent of study firms planning more than 60 % of their work to be green by 2015, up from 28 percent of firms in 2012

• The largest opportunity areas for green building globally are in new commercial construction and renovation of existing buildings

Around the world, the green building marketplace is accelerating, according to a new study being released by McGraw-Hill Construction in partnership with United Technologies today at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in San Francisco.

The study indicates a shift in the global construction market, now viewing green as a business opportunity rather than a niche market. Overwhelmingly, firms report that their top reasons to do green work are client demand (35 percent) and market demand (33 percent)—two key business drivers of strategic planning. The next top reasons were also oriented toward the corporate bottom line—lower operating costs (30 percent) and branding advantage (30 percent). In contrast, the top reason in 2008 motivating the green building market was doing the right thing (42 percent) and market transformation (35 percent), followed by client and market demand.

"This research confirms that green building advances environmental stewardship while providing value to the market," said Geraud Darnis, president and CEO, United Technologies Climate, Controls & Security. "It also confirms that we now see more pull than push for green buildings."

In the next three years, the sectors with the largest opportunity for green building around the world include new construction and renovation projects. Sixty three percent of firms have green work planned in new commercial projects and 45 percent in new institutional projects by 2015, and 50 percent have plans for green renovation work. In the United Kingdom and Singapore, green renovation projects were planned by the greatest number of firms at 65 and 69 percent respectively. In Brazil and UAE, new projects pose the largest opportunity. In Brazil, 83 percent of firms are planning to work on new green commercial projects over the next three years, and in the UAE, 73 percent have new green institutional projects planned.

"It is notable that over the next three years, firms working in countries around the world have green work planned across all building types, incorporating both new construction and renovation," said Harvey M. Bernstein, vice president, Industry Insights and Alliances for McGraw-Hill Construction. "The existing building market is a ripe opportunity for green building, and we are seeing that play out in the market. It is clear that green is becoming an important part of the future landscape of the global construction marketplace, and firms will need to be prepared for that transition."

Green buildings are also expected to garner business benefits for building owners. For new green building projects, firms report median operating cost savings of 8 percent over one year and 15 percent over five years, as well as increased building values of 7 percent (according to design and construction firms) and higher asset valuation of 5 percent (according to building owners).

For green retrofits, operating savings are higher than for new buildings with operating costs reported to decrease by 9 percent over one year and 13 percent over five years. Asset valuation is also expected to increase, though at more moderate levels than for new green buildings—design and construction professionals expect 5 percent increased building value from green retrofits, and owners expect higher asset valuation of 4 percent. For green projects, payback on efforts is expected within 8 years for new projects and 7 years for retrofit/renovation work.

- See more at: http://renewablenow.biz/renewable-construction.html#sthash.Vxlo3XW7.dpuf