More than $2 Billion Growth in "Green" Construction Anticipated in Next 5 Years

"Green" buildings have gone from showcases of modern technology and good intentions, to required new construction in many areas. Materials and construction techniques are available to meet "reduced carbon footprint" requirements as well as use of "renewable" resources, and other environmental and social issues are addressed as well. As with "organic" food and other products for conscious consumers, the label can be abused by cynical businesses which see it only as augmenting their own brand. The need for truly green buildings is not just a feel-good consumer issue, however.

"The industry will be disciplined either internally or by consumers who will demand clarity," a press release quotes Tatjana Meerman, publisher at SBI, which produced a report entitled "Green Building Materials in the U.S." which is available at marketresearch.com. The report predicts that the focus on commercial buildings will carry over to private construction projects, although different materials are involved, particularly wood products. The report says that "energy efficiency, indoor air quality, sustainability, and even more abstract measures of environmental impact" will be increasingly important to consumers building or remodeling homes.

Cities like Denver, where the mayor recently authorized the city's "greenprint," represent a dual market as commercial and city buildings and even private residences are bound by voter-supported regulations, and affluent residents and others increasingly turn even more to green materials and technologies for their own homes. In some cases, technologies are being implemented privately to show support even when the direct return is not a major benefit.

The SBI report and public and private projects in cities like Denver show that "green" basically means two things: technologies and materials. For each, the name "green" needs to be earned, and the report indicates that there is concern that "greenwashing" will dilute the credibility of technologies and material sources which need to validated. Nevertheless, between personal choice and community agreement, the demand for green materials and construction is expected to increase says SBI, providing a more than $2 billion dollar annual boost to the construction industry within five years.

As early adoption of green strategies matures into familiar practices, skeptical individuals and governments will be able to see firsthand the benefits and risks involved. In Denver, power generation using city building roof space is being considered, while San Francisco has already implemented similar plans. As demand increases for effective technologies and production increases, smaller cities and towns will be able to use tested technologies as well, and techniques for handling "green" materials will become well known. As the projected increases of the SBI report continue, the term "green" will apply to newer technologies and materials, and current innovations will become standard, just as home insulation, automobile emissions reduction and other technologies have changed over time.

"Green Building to Sprout More Than $2 Billion Growth in the Construction Industry by 2011", http://www.prleap.com/pr/102643/

"Greenprint Denver", www.greenprintdenver.org