The most recent issue of EL Insights reports that the U.S. green building market value will jump from $71.1 billion now to $173 billion by 2015.
Commercial green building is expected to grow by 18.1 percent annually during the same time period, from $35.6 billion to $81.8 billion.
In the report, green building is defined as development with resource use and employee productivity in mind. The high project growth is attributed to a growing recognition of green building's potential cost savings and incentives from the government, like the multi-million dollar Sustainable Communities Challenge Planning Grant program and the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program.
Green renovation is also expected to be a major part of future green building, largely due to government projects like the Recovery through Retrofit initiative, which offers $80 billion in energy and environmental retrofits for federal buildings.
Green building growth will create many changes in the greater building market, according to EL Insights. For example, construction workers will increasingly pursue green training programs, companies will spend more money on green building technology, and homes with green features will do better on the real estate market. These changes will lead to cost savings for building and home owners, who will benefit from lower energy and heating bills.
Source: Fast Company, Ariel Schwartz (07/10)
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