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Survey Gauges Attitudes Toward LEED, Green Building Construction

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The Allen Matkins/CTG/Green Building Insider 4th Annual Green Building Survey results were just released. The survey was conducted by Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP, and CT Energetics, Inc. According to the two companies, their survey of green building professionals is the largest of its kind in the United States. More than 1,600 construction and design professionals participated. While the survey is not lodging-specific, it does offer an interesting glimpse at the current state of U.S. green building.

Design and construction professionals continue to overwhelmingly support green construction (96.8 percent in 2007, 93.5 percent in 2008, 92.3 percent in 2009). Support for obtaining (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) LEED certification remains strong but has declined (77.4 percent in 2007, 66.4 percent in 2008, and 61.7 percent in 2009). Support for the time and effort to obtain LEED certification remains near 62 percent. As one of the reasons for the slight decline in support for LEED, the survey authors suggest that certification-related costs are undergoing additional scrutiny under current economic conditions.

When asked the top reason for building to LEED standards, respondents said to “save energy and other operating costs.” Eighty-eight percent of respondents said they are more likely to include energy saving or sustainable elements in their future construction projects—a 14 percent increase from the previous year. Approximately 45 percent of survey participants believe the risks of building green projects are greater than those of non-green projects. When asked what measures they or their clients are taking to reduce risk, 57 percent said they are working with green consultants and 50 percent have implemented a measurement and verification process (commissioning, for example).

Of those respondents who have helped build and/or certify a LEED-New Construction project to the Gold level, 51 percent reported a cost premium of 4 percent or higher and 30 percent reported a premium of less than 3 percent. Potential explanations for the variation in reported cost premiums include: impact of project team experience, impact of building type, and variability in local building codes.

Carbon Offset Purchasing Remains Constant

The survey found that nearly 17 percent of respondents have gone through a carbon footprint analysis for their companies. That number is up only slightly from 2008. Also, 41 percent of respondents believe that carbon footprint analysis is an important element of their firm’s strategy, up 3 percentage points from the previous year. The purchase of carbon offsets stayed the same from 2008 to 2009—at about 7 percent.

Globally, survey authors say green building accounted for $553 billion in business activity in 2009. It is the fastest growing sector of the building industry with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 108 percent through 2015. As the economy recovers, green building has the potential to create a boom in green construction jobs, materials, products and buildings. As green building codes continue to be adopted, the additional cost of building green projects will continue to decrease. Green building also has the potential to make the United States more energy dependent.

The lodging industry has quickly become a leader in new green construction and renovation, with more than 1,000 LEED projects in the pipeline (47 properties now certified—21 of which are at the Gold level). As the economy recovers from its worst downturn since the Great Depression, it will be exciting to watch the evolution and explosion of green building.

To download the Allen Matkins/CTG/Green Building Insider 4th Annual Green Building Survey, click here.

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