The general public isn’t terribly aware of green buildings in their area, according to a TD Bank survey of 1,510 consumers within major metro markets in its Maine to Florida footprint. The bank conducted the poll to better understand consumers’ knowledge of green or sustainable buildings and whether they believe these structures have a positive impact on the environment and on the health of the buildings' occupants.
“Awareness of green buildings is low, with about one-third of consumers being aware of green buildings in their communities,” says Jacquelynn Henke, real estate green strategy officer for Cherry Hill, N.J.-based TD Bank.
However, there’s good news for AEC firms hoping to make a sustainable mark on construction: not all green buildings go unnoticed. The building types most likely to get noticed and the percentage of consumers who recognized them as green:
Grocery stores 29%
Coffee shops 20%
Retailers (apparel, electronics, furniture, etc.) 19%
Drug stores 14%
Utilities 13%
Banks 8%
Source: TD Bank
Related Stories
| Sep 13, 2010
Second Time Around
A Building Team preserves the historic facade of a Broadway theater en route to creating the first green playhouse on the Great White Way.
| Sep 13, 2010
Richmond living/learning complex targets LEED Silver
The 162,000-sf living/learning complex includes a residence hall with 122 units for 459 students with a study center on the ground level and communal and study spaces on each of the residential levels. The project is targeting LEED Silver.
| Sep 13, 2010
World's busiest land port also to be its greenest
A larger, more efficient, and supergreen border crossing facility is planned for the San Ysidro (Calif.) Port of Entry to better handle the more than 100,000 people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border there each day.
| Sep 13, 2010
Triple-LEED for Engineering Firm's HQ
With more than 250 LEED projects in the works, Enermodal Engineering is Canada's most prolific green building consulting firm. In 2007, with the firm outgrowing its home office in Kitchener, Ont., the decision was made go all out with a new green building. The goal: triple Platinum for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, and Existing Buildings: O&M.
| Sep 13, 2010
'A Model for the Entire Industry'
How a university and its Building Team forged a relationship with 'the toughest building authority in the country' to bring a replacement hospital in early and under budget.
| Sep 13, 2010
Committed to the Core
How a forward-looking city government, a growth-minded university, a developer with vision, and a determined Building Team are breathing life into downtown Phoenix.
| Sep 13, 2010
Data Centers Keeping Energy, Security in Check
Power consumption for data centers doubled from 2000 and 2006, and it is anticipated to double again by 2011, making these mission-critical facilities the nation's largest commercial user of electric power. With major technology companies investing heavily in new data centers, it's no wonder Building Teams see these mission-critical facilities as a golden opportunity, and why they are working hard to keep energy costs at data centers in check.
| Aug 11, 2010
Deutsche Bank towers set to become sustainable skyscrapers
BD+C Senior Editor Jay Schneider is currently taking a tour of Germany's most sustainable buildings. One of the projects he visited was the Deutsche Bank Headquarters, Frankfurt, Germany, one of the world's largest sustainable retrofits. The Deutsche Bank's twin towers (one 34 stories, the other 36 stories) are undergoing a massive $271 million retrofit that will turn the complex into the world's most environmentally friendly skyscraper, which will be renamed the Green Towers. BD+C, April 14
| Aug 11, 2010
ASHRAE Receives NIST Grant to Study IAQ in Retail Stores
The American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has been awarded $1.5 million dollars in grant money from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to conduct a three-year research project on ventilation and indoor air quality in retail stores.
| Aug 11, 2010
Georgia Tech requires LEED Gold for all new buildings and renovations
The Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta is currently updating its facilities design standards to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold as set by the U.S. Green Building Council. Energy Ace, Inc., an Atlanta-based sustainability consulting firm is assisting Georgia Tech in preparing the Standards upgrade.
