Businesses Believe in Green Building Benefits, According to Report from McGraw-Hill Construction

McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies, has released its latest SmartMarket Report, Commercial and Institutional Green Building. Key findings from the report, which covers market activity, key triggers and obstacles, show an increase in the perceived value of green building among architects, engineering firms, contractors and owners over the last three years, especially as related to financial benefits:

— Decreases of 13.6% in operating costs from green building (up from 8.5% in 2005, a 60% increase)
— Increases of 10.9% in building values from green (up from 7.5% in 2005, a 45% increase)
— Increases of 9.9% in ROI from green (up from 6.6% in 2005, a 50% increase)

“Clearly, companies have been seeing green buildings pay off. In every area of business performance, the entire industry — including owners — is reporting benefits. This speaks to green buildings being equated with good business as well as responsible social practices,” said Harvey M. Bernstein, Vice President of Industry Analytics, Alliances and Strategic Initiatives at McGraw-Hill Construction. “The market has exploded. It is exciting to watch the green building transformation and the ways it has surpassed expectations in just three years.”

“Green buildings save energy and save money,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO, and Founding Chairman, U.S. Green Building Council. “Greening existing buildings offers an unprecedented opportunity to contribute energy efficiency gains that can have a huge impact on our overall energy use.”

The report was produced in conjunction with the U.S. Green Building Council as an update to the 2005 Green Building SmartMarket Report. Other major findings include:

— 77% of the industry expects revenues to grow as a result of green building.
— Education is posing a tremendous opportunity for green building, with architects, engineers and contractors reporting that the largest share of their green work in 2013 will be from the education sector.
— Nearly two-thirds of the industry report that publicity is a major reason for going green, up from only 44% in 2005. This growth signifies how much more attention green is now getting from the media.
— Green building products are becoming more common in use — further proof of the widespread adoption of green. New products are also emerging to serve this growing market.
— Mechanical products still have the strongest brand recognition among green products, followed by green plumbing and building automation systems, but brand recognition percentages are still low, thus affording significant marketing and branding opportunities.

To order a copy of the report, visit greensource.construction.com/resources/smartMarket.asp. This week, McGraw-Hill Construction also debuted two other reports: The Green Outlook 2009 and The Green Home Consumer SmartMarket Report.

McGraw-Hill Construction connects people, projects and products across the design and construction industry. For more than a century, the Company has remained North America’s leading provider of construction project information, plans and specifications, product information, industry news, and industry trends and forecasts. In print and online, the Company offers a variety of tools, applications, and resources that easily integrate with its customers’ workflows. Backed by the power of Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record (ENR), GreenSource and 11 regional publications, McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers within the $4.6 trillion global construction community. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands including Standard & Poor’s, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2007 were $6.8 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.