Green building seems to have settled into a holding pattern. Achieving LEED Silver certification is pretty routine these days. Yet LEED-certified buildings still constitute only 2–3% of the annual U.S. production of commercial and institutional stock.
Certain classes of building owners—colleges and universities, foundations, high-profile corporations, and owners of showcase buildings—still want the plaque on the wall. But many commercial building owners are telling their Building Teams to make the project as green as possible within the budget, but forget about LEED.
TOP GREEN BUILDING ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
2014 Green Building Revenue ($)
1. Gensler $551,570,000
2. Stantec $262,592,351
3. HOK $202,805,000
4. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill $202,149,634
5. HKS $144,102,254SEE FULL LIST BELOW
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TOP GREEN BUILDING ENGINEERING FIRMS
2014 Green Building Revenue ($)
1. AECOM $299,310,000
2. Arup $159,256,059
3. Jacobs $156,916,555
4. WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff $100,000,000
5. Thornton Tomasetti $76,950,400SEE FULL LIST BELOW
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TOP GREEN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
2014 Green Building Revenue ($)
1. Turner Construction $5,417,890,000
2. Clark Group $2,637,700,000
3. PCL Construction $2,073,100,000
4. Gilbane Building Co. $1,900,209,489
5. Whiting-Turner $1,859,469,849SEE FULL LIST BELOW
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GREEN BUILDING GIANTS SPONSORED BY:
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That the concept of “green building” has been drilled into the heads of building owners is a tribute to the aggressive marketing of the U.S. Green Building Council. The USGBC, its local chapters, and its more than two hundred thousand LEED Accredited Professionals have been beating the building sustainability drum for two decades. Property owners ignore the USGBC’s mantra of “market transformation” at their own risk.
Now, the green building movement has reached a new phase. Today, the green building movement is all about eliminating toxic substances in building materials and systems and, for manufacturers, issuing environmental and health product declarations—so-called EPDs and HPDs. Whether these efforts will lead to healthier products and building environments remains an open question.
There’s also growing interest in documenting the health and productivity benefits of sustainably designed buildings. We know instinctively that “natural phenomena” like fresh air and sunshine are good for us, but producing scientifically verifiable data to prove their efficacy (not to mention cause and effect) in buildings is much more problematic.
The case for health and productivity in green buildings has to be made inferentially, through epidemiological data, as Adele Houghton, RA, and others are valiantly trying to do (see “Debunking the 5 myths of health data and sustainable design,” www.BDCnetwork.com/5Myths).
Just how far we can push building owners on sustainability is being tested by the International Living Future Institute. Judging by the tiny number of projects taking up the ILFI’s Living Building Challenge, only owners with deep pockets and tons of patience seem willing to put up with the program’s rigorous demands.
Then there’s “net-zero,” the proposition that buildings can produce more energy than they use—a topic BD+C explored in a 2011 white paper (http://bit.ly/1JUtwA2). The trick with NZs is to chop the building’s energy use by 65–70% of normal, primarily by making the envelope as tightly insulated as possible; only then should you plop the PVs and other renewables on to get to zero energy use.
Net-zero buildings are starting to pop up, although hardly in huge numbers. Last month, the California Energy Commission approved new standards to the state’s Title 24 energy code that will require single-family homes and low-rise multifamily buildings, starting in 2017, to trim energy use by 28% versus the 2013 standard, on the way to net-zero by 2020.
Getting to 100% NZ may be unrealistic for speculative commercial buildings, due to the cost of the renewables. (Achieving the 65–70% energy reduction, minus the PVs, still makes sense and should be the new target for AEC teams.) Some public utilities are resisting NZs: they don’t want to dial the power meter back to buy electricity generated by an NZ building.
The nation’s water supply is the latest resource to be threatened. California’s mandatory 25% cut in water use is a harbinger of things to come. The great bulk of water in the U.S. goes toward generating electricity and irrigating crops, but buildings account for 20–25% of freshwater use. As we noted in our 2009 white paper (http://bit.ly/1SoI649), conserving and reusing water will be an issue of national concern in the next decade.
All of the above falls under the rubric of climate change, the subject of yet another (my goodness!) BD+C white paper (http://bit.ly/1fhKY4F). No less a figure than Pope Francis has taken on climate change.
Last month, the leader of 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide issued an encyclical, “Laudito Si’,” or “Praised Be” (from a prayer by his moving spirit, St. Francis of Assisi), in which he linked “the greater part of global warming” to human activity. The document challenged the idea of humans having dominion over nature (Genesis 1:28) and called instead for mankind to “cultivate and care for” the garden of the world.
Francis criticized the rich (and rich nations) for exhibiting “consumerist, material behavior” and spoke ardently about the impact of global warming on the poor, saying it “strike[s] in a special way the weakest on the planet.”
The encyclical is sure to be a lively topic of discussion at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Paris later this year.
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TOP GREEN BUILDING ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
 | Company | 2014 Green Building Revenue ($) |
1 | Gensler | $551,570,000 |
2 | Stantec | $262,592,351 |
3 | HOK | $202,805,000 |
4 | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | $202,149,634 |
5 | HKS | $144,102,254 |
6 | Perkins+Will | $141,700,000 |
7 | EYP | $123,018,162 |
8 | SmithGroupJJR | $107,641,818 |
9 | NBBJ | $85,400,000 |
10 | Callison RTKL | $82,631,703 |
11 | Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture | $74,000,000 |
12 | Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates | $67,965,453 |
13 | HGA Architects and Engineers | $57,000,000 |
14 | Perkins Eastman | $54,870,000 |
15 | Page | $52,630,000 |
16 | DLR Group | $52,000,000 |
17 | NORR | $44,278,868 |
18 | LPA | $43,528,857 |
19 | Fentress Architects | $41,750,000 |
20 | CannonDesign | $38,000,000 |
21 | Ennead Architects | $34,796,000 |
22 | EwingCole | $34,440,000 |
23 | ZGF Architects | $33,493,286 |
24 | HDR | $32,880,000 |
25 | Kirksey Architecture | $28,599,985 |
26 | Westlake Reed Leskosky | $27,710,000 |
27 | Ballinger | $27,080,000 |
28 | Payette | $26,638,080 |
29 | FXFOWLE Architects | $22,256,391 |
30 | Clark Nexsen | $21,630,000 |
31 | Moody Nolan | $20,715,180 |
32 | Wilson Architects | $20,600,000 |
33 | S/L/A/M Collaborative, The | $20,439,860 |
34 | CO Architects | $19,480,100 |
35 | HNTB | $18,604,100 |
36 | Flad Architects | $17,660,000 |
37 | SRG Partnership | $16,766,690 |
38 | Integrus Architecture | $16,690,126 |
39 | RS&H | $16,415,000 |
40 | Corgan | $15,390,000 |
41 | Morris Architects | $13,430,000 |
42 | NAC|Architecture | $13,229,101 |
43 | WDG Architecture | $13,215,519 |
44 | Harley Ellis Devereaux | $13,090,000 |
45 | Mithun | $12,804,000 |
46 | Symmes Maini & McKee Associates | $12,700,387 |
47 | LMN Architects | $12,330,000 |
48 | Legat Architects | $12,293,000 |
49 | Good Fulton & Farrell | $12,259,531 |
50 | Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio | $11,947,249 |
51 | Goettsch Partners | $11,505,000 |
52 | Moseley Architects | $11,393,012 |
53 | Francis Cauffman | $10,949,531 |
54 | Cooper Carry | $10,827,210 |
55 | Beyer Blinder Belle | $10,453,704 |
56 | Architects Hawaii Ltd. | $9,520,000 |
57 | Dattner Architects | $9,305,995 |
58 | BWBR | $8,784,742 |
59 | GWWO | $8,725,190 |
60 | Albert Kahn Associates | $8,200,000 |
61 | Cambridge Seven Associates | $8,030,000 |
62 | Little | $7,790,593 |
63 | Carrier Johnson + Culture | $7,580,000 |
64 | Gresham, Smith and Partners | $7,513,000 |
65 | BRPH | $7,152,357 |
66 | Cooper Robertson | $6,769,000 |
67 | Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates, Inc. |
$6,263,792 |
68 | Margulies Perruzzi Architects | $6,230,000 |
69 | HMC Architects | $6,192,991 |
70 | LS3P | $6,188,109 |
71 | Davis Brody Bond | $5,614,182 |
72 | GBBN Architects | $5,500,000 |
73 | Fanning/Howey Associates | $5,442,418 |
74 | Array Architects | $5,380,120 |
75 | Shepley Bulfinch | $4,980,000 |
76 | VOA Associates | $4,406,969 |
77 | GreenbergFarrow | $4,390,000 |
78 | PBDW Architects | $4,272,003 |
79 | DesignGroup | $4,111,920 |
80 | Hastings+Chivetta Architects | $3,869,389 |
81 | Bergmann Associates | $3,714,104 |
82 | Sheehan Partners | $3,600,000 |
83 | Wight & Company | $3,565,861 |
84 | Emersion Design | $2,800,000 |
85 | KSQ Architects | $2,611,118 |
86 | Cuningham Group Architecture | $2,556,420 |
87 | Lord Aeck Sargent | $2,476,857 |
88 | Ashley McGraw Architects | $2,435,000 |
89 | LK Architecture | $2,250,000 |
90 | Glumac | $2,027,219 |
91 | Harvard Jolly | $1,968,458 |
92 | PBK | $1,890,000 |
93 | Schrader Group Architecture | $1,855,670 |
94 | MG2 | $1,832,176 |
95 | Environetics | $1,748,169 |
96 | Zyscovich Architects | $1,747,869 |
97 | SB Architects | $1,744,834 |
98 | FitzGerald Associates Architects | $1,658,373 |
99 | FKP Architects | $1,500,000 |
100 | Eppstein Uhen Architects | $1,339,509 |
101 | Sherlock, Smith & Adams | $1,339,000 |
102 | RNL Design | $1,337,083 |
103 | RBB Architects | $1,330,000 |
104 | BBS Architects and Engineers | $1,300,000 |
105 | Baskervill | $1,285,739 |
106 | Rosser International | $1,212,366 |
107 | ai Design Group | $1,188,425 |
108 | Ziegler Cooper | $1,186,240 |
109 | Montroy Andersen DeMarco | $1,100,000 |
110 | Ware Malcomb | $1,063,550 |
111 | OZ Architecture | $1,050,000 |
112 | Nadel | $1,000,000 |
113 | KZF Design | $989,021 |
114 | Solomon Cordwell Buenz | $762,670 |
115 | Massa Multimedia Architecture | $723,450 |
116 | ATA Beilharz Architects | $626,361 |
117 | Schenkel & Shultz | $581,000 |
118 | BSA LifeStructures | $574,281 |
119 | DLA Architects | $540,000 |
120 | Luckett & Farley | $518,525 |
121 | Heery International | $375,194 |
122 | Nelson | $360,000 |
123 | WD Partners | $250,000 |
124 | Vocon | $185,600 |
125 | STG Design | $138,000 |
126 | SEI Design Group | $128,000 |
127 | TEG Architects | $127,971 |
128 | Mancini•Duffy | $124,000 |
129 | Inventure Design Group | $120,000 |
130Â | Jencen Architecture | $104,000 |
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TOP GREEN BUILDING ENGINEERING FIRMS
 | Company | 2014 Green Building Revenue ($) |
1 | AECOM | $299,310,000 |
2 | Arup | $159,256,059 |
3 | Jacobs | $156,916,555 |
4 | WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff | $100,000,000 |
5 | Thornton Tomasetti | $76,950,400 |
6 | KPFF Consulting Engineers | $41,000,000 |
7 | Syska Hennessy Group | $37,823,379 |
8 | Burns & McDonnell | $29,488,874 |
9 | Vanderweil Engineers | $23,139,900 |
10 | BR+A Consulting Engineers | $20,000,000 |
11 | Dewberry | $18,118,196 |
12 | Jensen Hughes | $16,710,000 |
13 | Environmental Systems Design | $15,720,000 |
14 | Affiliated Engineers | $15,140,000 |
15 | Leidos | $14,652,000 |
16 | DeSimone Consulting Engineers | $13,498,472 |
17 | TLC Engineering for Architecture | $13,362,608 |
18 | Hankins & Anderson | $11,418,635 |
19 | KJWW Engineering Consultants | $8,963,871 |
20 | RMF Engineering | $7,900,000 |
21 | STV | $7,780,000 |
22 | Heapy Engineering | $7,343,298 |
23 | I. C. Thomasson Associates | $7,000,000 |
24 | Smith Seckman Reid | $6,704,367 |
25 | Henderson Engineers | $5,030,593 |
26 | Walter P Moore | $5,002,742 |
27 | Hixson Architecture, Engineering, Interiors | $5,000,000 |
28 | M/E Engineering | $4,757,876 |
29 | Magnusson Klemencic Associates | $4,591,790 |
30 | Ross & Baruzzini | $4,500,000 |
31 | Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon | $4,427,000 |
32 | Spectrum Engineers | $4,238,285 |
33 | KCI Technologies | $4,100,000 |
34 | P2S Engineering | $4,080,000 |
35 | Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering | $3,900,000 |
36 | Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers | $3,819,638 |
37 | OLA Consulting Engineers | $2,645,200 |
38 | TTG | $2,150,138 |
39 | LaBella Associates | $1,974,346 |
40 | Coffman Engineers | $1,320,000 |
41 | SIGMA7 Design Group | $1,308,789 |
42 | GHT Ltd. | $1,200,000 |
43 | Core States Group | $923,849 |
44 | TBC | $773,334 |
45 | H.F. Lenz Company | $646,521 |
46 | Wick Fisher White | $602,000 |
47 | CJL Engineering | $555,600 |
48 | William Tao & Associates | $546,936 |
49 | Cardno Haynes Whaley | $532,998 |
50 | Davis, Bowen & Friedel | $463,856 |
51 | Newcomb & Boyd | $452,499 |
52 | KLH Engineers | $400,000 |
53 | G&W Engineering | $380,000 |
54 | Swanson Rink | $326,000 |
55 | GRW | $324,478 |
56 | Degenkolb Engineers | $253,000 |
57 | Dunham Associates | $200,000 |
58 | Primera Engineers | $196,502 |
59 | Peter Basso Associates | $166,924 |
60 | Highland Associates | $150,000 |
61Â | Kamm Consulting | $112,850 |
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TOP GREEN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
 | Company | 2014 Green Building Revenue ($) |
1 | Turner Construction | $5,417,890,000 |
2 | Clark Group | $2,637,700,000 |
3 | PCL Construction | $2,073,100,000 |
4 | Gilbane Building Co. | $1,900,209,489 |
5 | Whiting-Turner Contracting, The | $1,859,469,849 |
6 | Skanska USA | $1,834,690,000 |
7 | Balfour Beatty US | $1,577,739,459 |
8 | Structure Tone | $1,575,056,000 |
9 | DPR Construction | $1,388,791,729 |
10 | Walsh Group, The | $1,232,601,253 |
11 | Lend Lease | $1,163,570,000 |
12 | Mortenson Construction | $929,420,000 |
13 | Hensel Phelps | $845,530,000 |
14 | Brasfield & Gorrie | $837,177,438 |
15 | Clayco | $832,200,000 |
16 | Holder Construction | $787,000,000 |
17 | Suffolk Construction | $763,470,000 |
18 | Austin Industries | $728,961,236 |
19 | Power Construction | $667,000,000 |
20 | McCarthy Holdings | $628,004,703 |
21 | B.L. Harbert International | $610,675,947 |
22 | Level 10 Construction | $593,628,098 |
23 | JE Dunn Construction | $575,049,405 |
24 | JLL | $566,830,628 |
25 | Messer Construction | $415,443,911 |
26 | Sundt Construction | $397,496,910 |
27 | Manhattan Construction | $368,669,000 |
28 | James G Davis Construction | $366,306,975 |
29 | Shawmut Design and Construction | $350,000,000 |
30 | HITT Contracting | $329,000,000 |
31 | Adolfson & Peterson Construction | $289,145,568 |
32 | James McHugh Construction | $271,125,151 |
33 | C.W. Driver | $255,790,000 |
34 | LPCiminelli | $243,852,939 |
35 | Bernards | $218,000,000 |
36 | Yates Companies, The | $211,300,000 |
37 | Hoffman Construction | $204,074,149 |
38 | Haskell | $201,324,612 |
39 | W. M. Jordan | $180,694,693 |
40 | Kraus-Anderson Construction | $179,300,000 |
41 | Flintco | $173,300,000 |
42 | Clune Construction | $162,008,781 |
43 | O'Neil Industries | $142,136,811 |
44 | Barton Malow | $139,776,372 |
45 | Donohoe Construction | $138,965,000 |
46 | Harkins Builders | $135,000,000 |
47 | McGough | $127,000,000 |
48 | Beck Group, The | $122,681,120 |
49 | Pepper Construction Group | $113,882,000 |
50 | CORE Construction | $110,998,214 |
51 | Weis Builders | $103,148,687 |
52 | LeChase Construction Services | $102,000,000 |
53 | Coakley & Williams Construction | $96,770,000 |
54 | Choate Construction | $94,034,740 |
55 | Fortis Construction | $91,700,000 |
56 | Hill & Wilkinson | $79,047,848 |
57 | Paric | $79,000,000 |
58 | Gray Construction | $61,059,190 |
59 | Andersen Construction | $55,000,000 |
60 | Linbeck Group | $54,000,000 |
61 | Hoar Construction | $51,543,000 |
62 | Boldt Company, The | $48,868,481 |
63 | Rodgers Builders | $45,519,382 |
64 | KBE Building Corp. | $44,469,691 |
65 | Haselden Construction | $40,432,619 |
66 | S. M. Wilson & Co. | $39,578,049 |
67 | Robins & Morton | $35,944,634 |
68 | Alberici Constructors | $33,150,177 |
69 | Hill International | $29,000,000 |
70 | Leopardo Companies | $28,926,710 |
71 | Schimenti Construction | $27,000,000 |
72 | Walbridge | $23,000,000 |
73 | Stalco Construction | $19,000,000 |
74 | Weitz Company, The | $15,579,000 |
75Â | Batson-Cook | $15,449,094 |
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