Green Real Estate Survey Results: Energy Efficiency Retrofits Gain Ground in Recession
GREENBUILD 2009 -- NREI and USGBC announced the results of the 2009 Green Building Survey: "Doubling Down on Green: Why Sustainability Endures in the Face of a Recession."
November 11, 2009
An overwhelming majority of developers and corporate executives -- more than 86 percent -- consider green design to be as important or more so now than it was before the recession.
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NREI and USGBC announced the results of the 2009 Green Building Survey: "Doubling Down on Green: Why Sustainability Endures in the Face of a Recession" at Greenbuild 2009 |
National Real Estate Investor and the United States Green Building Council collaborated on the survey of developers, corporate real estate executives and government officials.
"Doubling Down on Green: Why Sustainability Endures in the Face of a Recession" indicates that 68 percent of developers own or manage at least some green properties (up from 60 percent last year), and five years from now 89 percent expect to (about the same as last year).
Will those projects be USGBC LEED certified? All of the respondents say they have at least heard of LEED; three-fourths of corporate and developer respondents say they are familiar with it. That is quite an improvement from two years ago. A majority say LEED is an effective system for energy savings.
Energy efficiency: Retrofits are in
With financing for new construction effectively on hold for the past year, 73 percent of developers are retrofitting existing properties for better energy efficiency.
The retrofit number is slightly higher for government respondents, although only a third of them indicate that they have been influenced by stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Incentives: Just looking
Only half of the developers surveyed report having cashed in on any type of tax incentive, rebate, discount or grant.
About two-thirds of them cite tax incentives, however, when asked which financial "carrots" are most beneficial.
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Almost 70 percent of developers currently have some green buildings, and more are on their way in five years. |
Government respondents report it takes five years or longer to recoup retrofit costs. Corporate real estate executives are more optimistic, reporting that it takes closer to three or four years to recover the costs.
"Doubling Down on Green: Why Sustainability Endures in the Face of a Recession" will be a Special Supplement to National Real Estate Investor and Retail Traffic magazines later this month.
Comments
Very interesting read
Twila Martin
RE/MAX Professional Group
Posted by: Twila Martin | November 12, 2009 09:37 AM
It's really overwhelming!Despite of economic recession there is improvement.
Posted by: mikewarren | November 12, 2009 10:38 AM
Los Angeles was one of 25 communities selected to receive a slice of $452 million in Recovery Act funding under the Department of Energy’s Retrofit Ramp-Up Initiative. The initiative promotes the concept that communities, governments, private sector companies and non-profit organizations will work together on pioneering and innovative programs for concentrated and broad-based retrofit projects.
A simple example of how the Retrofit Ramp-Up Initiative would work would be to have the same construction crew upgrade all the homes on the same block at the same time. The White House notes that this way of doing business, “…Saves contractors time and money. They can pass the savings on to their customers. And it’s just a much more efficient way to operate.”
Biden said the program, part of $80 billion in the Recovery Act for a clean energy economy, will help consumers save money on their energy bills, lower greenhouse gas emissions and create green jobs.
The models created through this program are expected to save households and businesses about a $100 million annually in utility bills, while leveraging private sector resources, to create what funding recipients estimate at about 30,000 jobs across the country during the next three years.
Posted by: Jodi Summers | June 7, 2010 09:53 PM