Green Building Consultant Makes 2007 Industry Predictions
-- Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 1/25/2007 8:10:00 AM
Jerry Yudelson, author of “Marketing Green Buildings” and “Developing Green,” released his 2007 predictions for developments in the industry. He predicts:
1. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED for Homes standard will debut with more than 5,000 homes registered in the program within the first six months, representing the commitment of 50 builders at an average of 100 homes.
2. Green homebuilding will soar, even before LEED for Homes is released, owning to the pent-up demand by buyers looking to save energy, and builders looking for an edge in the marketplace among the “eco-elite” buyers. Also, the availability of a federal $2,000 per home tax credit for energy-efficient homebuilding through the end of 2009 should work as a strong incentive for many.
3. Cumulative LEED certifications under all systems will be more than 1,000 certifications for the first time. This will be a long way from 350 certifications at year-end 2005 and about 670 certifications as of December 2006.
4. Cumulative LEED project registrations under all systems (excluding single-family homes) will approach 10,000.
5. More than 50 additional cities will adopt some form of green building ordinance or mandate, as more cities start to implement their commitment to the “U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement” and as the political agenda in Washington, D.C. changes.
6. More than 10 additional states will adopt incentive programs or mandates for their own buildings. There are more than 15 states with specific green building programs. Look for additional strong actions in California, Oregon and other states where “pro-green building” governors returned to office.
7. More than 30 additional LEED Platinum projects will be certified, effectively tripling the number of such landmark buildings.
8. Attendance at Greenbuild 2007 in Los Angeles will top 20,000 for the first time. The far greater population in Southern California and the growth of the green building industry in general will play a role in growing the total attendance for Los Angeles this fall more than 50%.
9. LEED will register more than 100 non-U.S. and non-Canadian projects for certification for the first time.
10. The number of LEED APs will grow by 15% or more, to a total exceeding 38,000 by the end of 2007.
Yudelson chairs the industry’s annual conference, Greenbuild, the world’s largest green building event. He also is a leading green building marketing consultant. He is a former board member of the U.S. Green Building Council and serves on national standards committees for LEED for New Construction and LEED for Core and Shell development.
