Building Support

The green building movement is hitting its stride, as evidenced by the regular stream of news releases and other reports crossing my desk, attesting to new buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system. Another indicator just arrived in the form of a survey by Turner Construction Company of 719 building owners, developers, architects, engineers and consultants on green building issues.

As might be expected, the survey found that those who work most closely with sustainable building practices were far more likely to recognize the benefits. Roughly three-quarters of executives at organizations involved with green buildings reported that these buildings generated a higher return on investment (ROI) than other buildings. Among executives lacking direct experience with green buildings, fewer than half believed that green buildings generate increased ROI.

When asked to compare a list of benefits generated by green buildings with those generated by non-green buildings, a significant percentage of executives cited the following benefits:

Greater health and well-being of occupants (86%)

Higher building value (79%)

Higher worker productivity (76%)

Higher return on investment (63%)

Higher asking rents (62%)

Higher occupancy rates (52%)

Higher retail sales (40%)

The survey dovetails with other recent studies. For example, a report released last month by Davis Langdon Adamson offered compelling evidence that if there is any premium associated with building green, it is far less significant than a range of other factors that affect building cost.

And a study released last fall, drawing on national data for 100 green buildings -- considered the most definitive cost-benefit analysis of green building ever conducted -- found that investments in green buildings pay for themselves 10 times over.

Despite the evidence, resistance remains high. The Turner Construction study found that the largest obstacles to widespread adoption of green building techniques are perceived higher construction costs (by 70% of all executives), a general lack of awareness regarding the benefits of green buildings (by 63% of all executives), and short-term budget horizons (by 53% of all executives).

Bottom line: Before we can build more greener buildings, we need to build a better business rationale, and a better means for communicating it, than has been done to date. But the foundation appears to have been set.

September 16, 2004 in State of the Art | Permalink

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