The naysayers were wrong – green building is not just a fad but a strong movement that will continue to build momentum.
Many local city and state governments took notice of this emerging trend early and demonstrated significant leadership. Our neighbor to the south, Connecticut, recently became one of only three states in the country to mandate that all projects over $5 million meet green building code standards. In Boston, we are fortunate to have strong leadership from Mayor Thomas M. Menino and other city government officials who drafted legislation requiring all building construction projects over 50,000 square feet to earn a minimum of 26 LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification points.
Businesses nationwide also have taken notice. For example, Wal-Mart has committed to cutting energy use by one-third in all its 7,000 stores by 2010. Today, it is difficult to find government officials or business leaders who are not embracing the benefits of green building technologies.
There are many political and business benefits to building green, but there are obvious environmental pluses as well. Of course, building green will have less of a negative impact on our natural resources, not to mention the individuals working and living in the buildings themselves. Amazingly enough, the average American spends more than 90 percent of his or her time indoors, and studies have shown there are significant benefits to working in green buildings, including dramatic increases in work productivity and improvement of workers’ overall health. People are more conscious of these benefits than ever before, especially as environmental concerns spread throughout the mainstream media. And why not? Studies have shown that buildings are contributing to our environmental concerns – approximately 65 percent of our nation’s energy consumption and 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to our nation’s buildings. With numbers like that, you would think that influencers in our industry would take notice and begin to lead the effort towards the expansion of green building projects. Well, the truth is, they have.
By June 2007, nearly 100 million square feet of LEED-certified space was constructed and more than 8,000 commercial projects were seeking certification – a 100 percent increase over the previous year. In a recent report, McGraw-Hill Construction forecast that the green building market is predicted to be worth between $10.2 billion and $20.5 billion by 2010. The report also said that 86 percent of the architecture, engineering and construction community currently participates in green building activities.
Studies are showing that the cost of building green is not quite as intimidating as once thought and most costs that are accrued are insignificant when compared to the overall benefits to building tenants and owners. Many real estate investors are realizing there is money to be made by building green through premium rents, faster lease-ups and increases in the overall value of their buildings over time. As economic uncertainty spreads throughout the region, it is critical that industry leaders accept the challenges and continue to push the green agenda.
Strong Partnerships
Owners, developers, architects, consultant engineers, general contractors and subcontractors must navigate the uncharted green building waters together. No single industry group can do it alone. First, we must begin collaborating on green building construction projects much earlier in the process.
Architects, designers and engineers have led the green movement for some time simply because most components of the LEED process revolve around design decisions. But general contractors can also play an integral role in the process. For example, contractors can execute new construction methods, raise the bar on recycling efforts, closely document LEED compliance throughout the construction process and assist project teams in finding creative ways to reach and exceed clients’ green building goals.
Contractors also can play a critical role by educating others about the green building movement and the LEED-certification process. Often, when construction professionals hear that a project is trying to achieve LEED certification, they immediately assume the project will be more expensive than more traditional projects. But the fact is that materials and labor do not have to be more expensive for LEED-certified buildings. The key is to integrate materials and labor into the design early, and involve the subcontractors, architects, engineers and general contractors from the very beginning of the process during the design phase and material selection. General contractors and subcontractors must be responsible for closely tracking and understanding the industry trends that drive the costs of materials and labor so that they can provide valuable counsel to clients and design partners long before the first shovel hits the ground.
Suffolk’s Manulife Financial headquarters building construction project on the South Boston waterfront is the most notable example of innovative green building strategies being incorporated into a major corporate facility early in the process. The project’s architects, engineers and contractors successfully designed and built the impressive LEED-certified building with notable green components, such as a rooftop garden to provide extra insulation and reduce storm run-off, and an internal 6-story atrium that optimizes natural lighting. The end result was an environmentally friendly building that communicated Manulife’s commitment to efficiency, vision and cost-management.
As we all become more familiar with the intricacies of green building design and the requirements necessary to deliver quality-driven, environmentally friendly buildings, our partnerships and lines of communication will strengthen, resulting in more creative thinking and problem-solving that will help raise the bar for future green buildings and collaborations. This will spur more green building activity and investment.
Specialized employee training around green design will be critical – everyone from developers and architects to general contractors and subcontractors must become involved. Last year, Suffolk launched a LEED training program to educate its workforce about the principles of green building. The program is unique because it is offered to construction professionals and non-operational employees alike, providing an in-depth overview of sustainable design and the LEED point system. Employees who participate in the training are taught new ways to approach building design and sustainable building practices through teamwork and collaboration. Once the overview course work is completed, employees are provided curriculum based on their specific job functions – for example, Suffolk field employees learn about the green building materials necessary to incorporate in their actual building projects, while employees in the business development and marketing departments learn ways to speak about LEED and green building technologies to prospective clients and the media. In addition to job-specific training, employees are provided LEED curriculum that is tailored to individual projects and necessary to become LEED-accredited.
Interestingly enough, no one seems to understand the importance of the green building trend more than college graduates just entering the workforce. It is clear that LEED is helping to drive the engagement of young workers and new-hires. Young people are truly energized and excited about these green building initiatives and are anxious to learn more and participate in the LEED process. This enthusiasm for green initiatives can be seen in nearly all young employees. They are practically demanding LEED training, and their passion and willingness to start a career in construction is an especially encouraging sign, particularly as many baby boomers in the construction industry retire.
In the years ahead, green building can be a magnet that attracts more young people into our industry. As industry leaders, we need to be ready to welcome and retain those young people by leveraging training and employee development programs that encourage more creative green building methods and collaboration with partners in the LEED process.
Real estate and construction companies must continue to look for ways to become directly involved in the green building movement. Explore green technology options in your own work facilities. Create internal recycling campaigns. Build partnerships with other firms to develop unique green ideas. Simply raising awareness of the benefits of green building will be an important first step in this grassroots campaign that is steadily spreading across our entire industry.
It’s safe to say that green building is here to stay. Embrace it. Promote the benefits to others. The result will be stronger working partnerships, a well-trained workforce of the future, and environmentally friendly buildings that will benefit everyone in our communities.
