THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

摘要

An estimated $15 billion worth of green buildings are currently in design or under construction in the U.S., representing 12-15% of total public construction and about 2% of private-sector construction, according to Capital E's Gregory Kats. Although that $15 billion represents less than 5% of the total $315 billion U.S. annual construction for commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings, the category is growing at the rate of about 75% a year, according to Kats. Moreover, while the bulk of respondents to the White Paper Survey (65%) said that, in their estimation, green building was growing at less than 25% a year (and only 3% felt it was growing at more than 50% a year), nearly half the respondents (49%) were at firms that had at least attempted a sustainable design project. Forty-two percent said they had some level of experience in sustainable development, and another 39% said they wanted to know more about it ― a fairly strong indication of activity and interest.