New Report Shows Growth in Green Building

According to a new study from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Booz Allen Hamilton, green building will support 7.9 million U.S. jobs and pump $554 billion into the American over the next four years (2009-2013), despite challenging economic times. The study also determined that green construction spending currently supports more than 2 million American jobs and generates more than $100 billion in gross domestic product and wages.

The economic impact of the total green construction market from 2000 to 2008, the study found, contributed $178 billion to U.S. gross domestic product, created or saved 2.4 million direct, indirect and induced jobs and generated $123 billion in wages.

The study was released at the USGBC’s annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, an industry gathering of representatives from all sectors of the green building movement.

“Our goal is for the phrase ‘green building’ to become obsolete, by making all building and retrofits green– and transforming every job in our industry into a green job,” says Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chairman of USGBC. “This study validates the work that the 25,000 people gathered here at Greenbuild, and every member of our movement, do every day.”

The study considered the total value of green buildings and the results include workers from the architects who design them to the construction laborers who pour their foundations to the truck drivers who deliver the materials, in recognition of the how extensive the impact of green building is, according to a USGBC press release.

“The study demonstrates that investing in green buildings contributes significantly to our nation's wealth while creating jobs in a range of occupations, from carpenters to cost estimators,” says Gary Rahl, officer, global government market, Booz Allen Hamilton. “In many ways, green construction is becoming the standard for development. As a result, it is expected to it is expected to support nearly 8 million jobs over the next five years, a number four times higher than the previous five years.”

The full report can be downloaded at www.usgbc.org/greeneconomy.