Turner Construction just released the results of its 2012 Market Barometer Survey. A total of 718 executives participated in the survey. They represented the following types of companies: architecture (49 percent), construction (19 percent), real estate consulting (11 percent), corporate owner-occupant (9 percent), developer (9 percent), engineering (9 percent), real estate owners (7 percent), corporate tenant (3 percent), and broker/real estate service provider (2 percent). Eighty-four percent of respondents said their companies were committed to environmentally-sustainable practices. Executives were most likely to cite financial factors as being important to their companies’ decisions on whether to incorporate green features in a construction project. Respondents indicated that energy efficiency (84 percent) and ongoing operations and maintenance costs (84 percent) were extremely or very important to their decisions. However, more than two-thirds of executives also said that non-financial factors were extremely or very important.
The non-financial factors included indoor air quality (74 percent), health and well-being of occupants (74 percent), and satisfaction of employees/occupants (69 percent).
A large majority of executives said their companies would incorporate green features if constructing or renovating a building. Eighty-one percent of executives said their companies would be extremely or very likely to invest in energy efficiency improvements if they were undertaking a construction project, while more than half said they would invest in improved indoor environmental quality (63 percent), improved water efficiency (57 percent), and green materials (53 percent).
Although the vast majority of companies remain committed to green buildings, the percentage of executives who thought it was extremely or very likely that their company would seek LEED certification if they constructed a green building was only 48 percent, down from 53 percent in the 2010 survey and 61 percent in the 2008 survey. Among executives who said their companies were not likely to seek LEED certification, the most important reasons cited were the cost of the certification process (82 percent), staff time required (79 percent), time required for the process (75 percent), and the overall perceived difficulty of the process (74 percent).
When asked what length of payback period would be acceptable when considering green features, 44 percent of executives said they would accept five years and almost 80 percent of executives said they would accept a payback period of five years or longer. Despite the acceptance by most executives of an extended payback period, 61 percent of executives still felt that the length of the payback period was an extremely or very significant obstacle to the construction of green buildings while 62 percent cited higher construction costs.
To view the full report, contact Michael Deane at mdeane@tcco.com.
