According to CBRE's 2017 National Green Building Adoption Index, which ranks 30 of the largest commercial office markets in the U.S. by the share of green-certified square footage, 38% of all office space in the nation's largest markets were LEED and/or ENERGY STAR certified as of 2016.
This is a slight increase from the 37% reported in 2015, but a huge jump from 2005, when less than 5% of office space was certified. The study excluded buildings and square footage of any office that failed to renew certifications after five years.
The study reported that 22 cities, the District of Columbia, two counties, and two states have implemented laws requiring privately owned buildings to disclose annual energy consumption and publish the resulting data. Most of these policies had not reached their full phase-in of reporting by January 2016, though.
Several cities have experienced an increase in the adoption of environmental building certification after passing benchmarking and transparency laws. After Kansas City’s Green Building Adoption measure was passed, certified green square footage jumped five percentage points, and Atlanta gained five points after adopting energy benchmarking and reporting regulations.
Related Stories
| Dec 29, 2011
Decision not to fireproof the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub criticized
Some criticized the decision, reasoning that the structure could be a terrorist target.
| Dec 29, 2011
Seismic safety in question at thousands of California public schools
California regulators responsible for enforcing earthquake safety laws have failed to certify more than 16,000 construction projects in California public schools, increasing the risk that some projects may be unsafe, according to a state audit report.
| Dec 29, 2011
GreenWizard offers cloud-based LEED credit management, assessment
The company recently began offering companies the ability to run assessments for design credits, in addition to traditional product-specific LEED credits.
| Dec 22, 2011
Federal home weatherization program has impacted 6.8 million homes
More than 6.8 million homes have been weatherized using federal, state, utility, and other funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
| Dec 22, 2011
Group developing BIM data standards
A collaboration among Georgia Tech’s Digital Building Lab, the Precast Concrete Institute, the American Concrete Institute, and the American Institute of Steel Construction aims to develop global standards for transportation of three-dimensional digital models among fabricator, architecture, engineering, and construction groups.
| Dec 22, 2011
New green code spells out thermal requirement for roof retrofits
The 2012 International Green Construction Code (IgCC) includes a straightforward approach to minimum thermal requirements for roof and wall systems.
| Dec 22, 2011
AGC’s safety conference Jan. 11-13 in San Antonio
The Associated General Contractors of America’s national meeting for safety and health professionals will take place Jan. 11-13, 2012 in San Antonio, TX.
| Dec 22, 2011
Proposed New York City zoning revamp encourages rooftop solar and wind energy
New zoning regulation proposals to make it easier for building owners in New York City to make their structures more sustainable have entered the public approval process.
| Dec 15, 2011
Dayton, Ohio schools saving $2.6 million annually by building to LEED
On average, green schools save about $100,000 a year on operating costs, including energy and water savings.
| Dec 15, 2011
Building to LEED standards can pose new risks for construction workers
Workers on these projects suffer a 24% increase in falls to lower levels during roof work, which researchers attributed to the installation of solar panels, and a few other risks.
