Green building projects to double by 2018, led by commercial construction

Global green building is expected to double by 2018, according to a recent study by Dodge Data & Analytics.

According to the study, titled World Green Building Trends 2016, Developing Markets Accelerate Global Green Growth, the anticipated growth from 18 percent to 37 percent will primarily be driven by countries that are still developing green markets. Firms from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, China and India are reporting dramatic growth in the percentage of their projects that they expect to certify as green.

Commercial construction leads the green pack

Globally, the sector that’s leading green building growth is commercial construction.

Nearly half (46 per cent) of all respondents are expecting to do a green commercial project in the next three years, the report noted.

Key findings:

• Global green building continues to double every three years.
• Brazil expects six-fold growth in the percentage of companies that expect to certify the majority of their projects green; five-fold growth is expected in China; and four-fold growth is expected in Saudi Arabia (from 8 per cent to 32 percent).
• Building owners report seeing a median increase of 7 percent in the value of their green buildings compared to traditional buildings.
• The most widely reported benefit globally?is lower operating costs.
• Reducing energy consumption continues to be the top environmental reason for building green (selected as one of the top two reasons by 66 per cent of all respondents), protecting natural resources ranked second globally (37 per cent), and reducing water consumption ranks third (at 31 per cent).

The study identified a green project as one that is “either certified or built to qualify for certification under a recognized green standard, such as LEED, BREEAM, the DGNB System, Green Star and many other tools."

You can download the full report here.