The U.S. green building market is growing exponentially, according to McGraw-Hill Construction’s Green Outlook 2011: Green Trends Driving Growth report. The value of green building construction starts was up 50 percent from 2008 to 2010 — from $42 billion to $55 billion to $71 billion — and represented 25 percent of all new construction activity in 2010. According to projections, the green building market size is expected to reach $135 billion by 2015.
Green building is the bright spot in an otherwise tough economy, and in some sectors that rate of growth has been remarkable. In nonresidential building, the green building market share is even higher than the overall market. Today, a third of all new nonresidential construction is green — a $54 billion market opportunity. In five years, nonresidential green building activity is expected to triple, representing $120 billion to $145 billion in new construction, and $14 billion to $18 billion in major retrofit and renovation projects.
To break it down further, health care construction this year is expected to grow its green share to as much as 40 percent (valued at $8 billion to $9 billion in 2010). Education (valued at $13 billion to $16 billion in 2010) and office green construction (valued at $7 billion to $8 billion in 2010) also remain strong sectors, showing high increases in market share, due in part to the fact that bigger projects are the most likely to “go green.” This year, the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED specification is mentioned in 71 percent of all projects valued at more than $50 million.
“It’s an amazing area of opportunity at a time when the construction market is extremely challenged,” said Harvey Bernstein, vice president, Global Thought Leadership and Business Development, McGraw-Hill Construction. “In today’s economy, firms that specialize in green or serve this market are seeing a tremendous advantage — and they’re doing good at the same time. Green building leads to healthier places for us to live and work in, lower energy and water use, and better profitability.”
McGraw-Hill Construction’s Green Outlook 2011 is produced by a staff of researchers, economists and analysts, drawing from its Dodge project database, its construction market forecasts, proprietary market research, and secondary research, as well as extensive data and trend analysis. More information and specific green building projects can be found in the Green Outlook 2011 report and on the GreenSource website at http://greensource.construction.com/projects. To order a copy of the report, visit http://construction.com/market_research.
