environmental Strategist, between the lines: As noted, “The study also found a strong need for access to and information on green building products.” In other words, educational institutions and their vendors are looking for competitive environmental intelligence and the one who delivers it will be indispensable.
The competitive environmental intelligence “New Report Assesses Financial Advantages of Green Buildings” supports paying more on the front side to gain long term sustainable benefits. Professionals working with educational institutions, contractors, architect’s, municipalities…., need to point out a sustainable platform begins with the development and execution of an environmental Management Strategy (eMS) www.estrategist.com
Schools are a Hot Market for Sustainable Design
December 13, 2006
Consulting-Specifying Engineer
A recently released market research study from McGraw-Hill, conducted in collaboration with U.S. Green Building Council, shows that education is the fastest-growing market in the sustainability sector.
The findings are good news for the industry, given that education construction is the largest construction sector, by value, at $53 billion estimated spending for 2007, say the study’s authors.
This first phase of the ongoing study also found the following:
- Fiscal advantages of green building, such as energy cost savings, are a major motivation behind green schools and universities.
- Improved health and well-being were found to be critical factors for driving education green building—factors that were not as highly rated for the overall construction marketplace in previous research.
- Higher first costs are the primary challenge to building green in this sector. This is consistent with other research into the commercial green building markets.
The study also found a strong need for access to and information on green building products. Of particular interest were those products related to improving health, such as by reducing mold and indoor air pollutants.
New Report Assesses Financial Advantages of Green Buildings
GreenBiz.com, 11 December 2006 – “Green Buildings and the Bottom Line,” a 64-page White Paper that assesses the financial costs and benefits of environmentally sustainable buildings, has been published by Building Design+Construction .
“The green building movement has shifted from one focused largely on environmental issues, to one that is increasingly concerned about financial performance,” said Robert Cassidy, chief editor of Building Design+Construction. As a result, green building has attracted greater attention from the financial and real estate investment community in the last year.
In recent months, two major public employee pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTERS, have announced plans to invest a combined $620 million in green buildings. Fireman’s Fund has begun to offer a 5% discount on property insurance for certified green buildings. Citigroup is subjecting 89 of its U.S. properties to review under the U.S. EPA’s Energy Star program. Bank of America is building a showcase green office building in midtown Manhattan, and Wachovia has committed to sustainable design for its planned corporate and investment banking division building in Charlotte, N.C.
“Developers, investors, and pension funds are looking at green buildings as a promising new investment opportunity,” Cassidy told an audience at Greenbuild, the recent conference of the U.S. Green Building Council. “But they want to know: Are green buildings more profitable than conventional buildings? Do they lease up faster? Are they better places in which to work and study?”
The report ( Download-PDF – free registration required) describes the financial factors of green building for 10 key types of buildings: office buildings, retail shopping, hotels, restaurants, housing, industrial buildings, schools, college/university facilities, and government buildings.
The White Paper ends with a 10-point “Action Plan” for government officials, design professionals, environmentalists, contractors, and the public to act on.
“Green Buildings and the Bottom Line” is the fourth in an award-winning series of annual reports on the green building movement by Building Design+Construction.
This article is reproduced with kind permission of GreenBiz.com.
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