USGBC Releases Report on the Greening of the Hospitality Sector

Washington, DC, February 19, 2016—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its LEED in Motion: Hospitality report, which showcases tremendous industry growth in green building and defines the scale up opportunities for the hospitality sector. More than 109 million square feet of hotel space is currently LEED certified, and the report highlights some of the most impressive LEED-certified hotels throughout the world.

Hotels consume natural resources at an extraordinarily high rate as they are occupied 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With more than five billion square feet of space in the U.S. alone, there is an enormous opportunity for the industry to transform the impact of the built environment. 

LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) has a growing presence in the hospitality industry--and the number of LEED-certified buildings is expected to continue at a strong pace. Currently, there are more than 1,400 hotels participating in LEED representing 638.7 million square feet. Of that, there are more than 300 LEED-certified hotels comprising nearly 109.2 million square feet of space.

According to a recent study by McGraw Hill Construction, green construction in the hospitality sector has increased by 50% from 2011 to 2013 and now represents 25% of all new construction in the sector today. USGBC’s recent Green Building Economic Impact Study also found that across industries, green construction is outpacing that of traditional construction and is poised to create more than 3.3 million U.S. jobs and $190.3 billion in labor earnings by 2018.