Report: Can Green Buildings Save Green?

Oak Brook, IL, December 8, 2006--"Green Buildings and the Bottom Line," a 64-page "White Paper" that assesses the financial costs and benefits of environmentally sustainable buildings, is now available online from 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, said they will 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 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.

Print the Article