This morning, McGraw-Hill Construction (MHC) released its latest SmartMarket Report, “Construction Industry Workforce Shortages: Role of Certification, Training and Green Jobs in Filling the Gaps.” The report, sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council and the American Institute of Architects with support from other contributing partners, finds that 69 percent of architect, engineer and contractor professionals expect there to be a shortage of skilled labor in the next three years. With the rapidly increasing demand for green buildings, industry professionals are concerned that the supply of skilled workforce cannot keep up with the demand. While having more jobs than people to fill them seems like a good problem to have in today’s economy, the shortage cannot be trivialized.
Green building design and construction, defined by MHC as LEED or comparable sustainable construction standards, account for nearly a third of the design and construction workforce, supporting nearly 650,000 jobs. The report estimates that this figure will increase to half of the design and construction workforce by 2014.
Training programs and professional credentials are bridging the skilled workforce gap. An MHC survey of architect, engineer and contractor firms revealed that 71 percent of firms considered professional credentials as a boost to their competitiveness. 75 percent of individuals surveyed believe that having a professional credential, including LEED Green Associate or AP, brought them more job opportunities.
USGBC’s Roger Platt, senior vice president of global policy and law, commented on the report, saying: “green buildings are a clear-cut smart investment in the current economic climate because they create financial returns, have environmental benefits and positively impact job creation. Job creation and economic stability are crucial to supporting resilient and strong communities, and green buildings support the jobs of the future.”
Despite the state of the global economy and the overall decline in construction projects, green building construction has remained resilient. The growing demand for skilled green building workers is a testament to the future of the industry. Green jobs and training are the path forward as we build the green economy from the ground up.
To learn more about the role of green buildings in job creation and USGBC’s green economy work, see our fact sheet on green jobs or our website.
Christopher Davis
Certification Team Lead, Existing Buildings
Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI)
Perhaps you've heard the idea that "the greenest building is the one already built." Our friends in the historic preservation movement use this phrase to argue that tearing down an existing building and starting from scratch wastes a lot of materials and energy. And they have a point: A recent report from the National Trust for Historic Preservation concludes that it can take up to 80 years to make up for the environmental impacts of demolishing the old building and constructing the new one, even if the new one is super energy efficient.
Could this be the next star
of the green building movement?
So, granted, in most cases it's better to keep a building than to build a new one, but let's think about that creed again: The greenest building is the one already built. What if you’re not planning a new building? Does that mean your existing building is already green? Does the mere fact that something already exists mean that it exhibits certain qualities? Does the fact that you were born mean that you live a healthy, prosperous and generous life? One can argue that our experiences and aspirations say substantially more about who we are than our DNA ever will. The same holds true for buildings.
Let's face it; LEED was conceived because there are a bunch of really bad buildings out there. They use too much energy and water, and make people sick. But the solution isn't to just tear them down and start over. Existing buildings, and in particular historic buildings, tell valuable stories. They've been worked in, lived in, and loved in. They teach us about our past and form the bedrock of our communities. But just like your wise but slightly behind-the-times grandfather who doesn’t quite get what those new-fangled CFLs and LEDs are all about, sometimes we need to drag those old buildings, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century.
That's what LEED for Existing Buildings is all about. It provides a framework for measuring building performance, setting goals, implementing effective strategies and improving over time. It recognizes that a building’s DNA is important, but that the ways in which it is operated and maintained tell a truer story of sustainability.
Historic buildings are already halfway there. Most of them were built before air conditioning was standard and everyone owned a car; Back when passive ventilation, thermal mass, and access to public transportation were de rigueur. Restoring original features, like unsealing those once-operable windows, can go a long way toward achieving high performance. And we can learn a lot from these elders in the process.
LEED seeks to pull them further with contemporary best practices like water-efficient plumbing fixtures, integrated pest management and retrocommissioning the HVAC systems. By applying the best science of today in the best buildings of our past to solve the crises of tomorrow, LEED for Existing Buildings is bringing the past into the future.
Many fantastic historic buildings have been certified with LEED for Existing Buildings, such as the U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, DC (built in 1842), the Wrigley Building in Chicago (1920) and the Empire State Building (1931). One of the more remarkable projects currently underway is the greening of the Haas-Lilienthal House in San Francisco. Owned by San Francisco Architectural Heritage, this Queen Anne-style Victorian house museum built in 1886 recently conducted an eco-charette and has adopted a sustainability management plan with an ambitious goal of Gold or better using LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance.
When most people think about green buildings, they picture a shiny new building with a green roof and solar panels, but if Betty White can host Saturday Night Live at 88, and Faluja Singh can run a marathon at the ripe old age of 100, what's stopping a Richardsonian Romanesque library or a Queen Anne house museum from becoming the next star of the green building movement?
Christopher will be discussing the connections between sustainability and historic preservation with other industry experts at this week’s AIA 2012 National Convention in Washington, DC. You can find them on Friday at 2 p.m. in session FR210: “From House Museums to the Empire State Building: Greening What's Already Here with LEED EB: O&M”
Earlier this year, USGBC launched seven new advocacy campaigns designed to highlight our organization’s public policy priorities. And local advocates sure have responded. Most recently, USGBC South Carolina hosted a day-long summit inspired by USGBC’s Common Ground on Green Schools Campaign which brought together Palmetto state educators, government officials and legislators to discuss ways to put every South Carolinian child in a green school within a generation. Nate Allen, advocacy lead at the Center for Green Schools, wrote up a blog recapping this event. You can read the original post at centerforgreenschools.org Building Common Ground Around Green Schools in South Carolina
On Wednesday, May 1, the USGBC South Carolina Chapter hosted an event to strategize pathways to bring political common ground on green schools to the Palmetto State. The event was held in Columbia at the LEED Gold Thomas Cooper Library at the University of South Carolina, and featured approximately 75 attendees.
Sen. Phil Leventis, Chuck Saylors, Nate Allen
South Carolina State Senator Phil Leventis (D- Sumter), a longtime champion of green schools and member of the 50 for 50 Green Schools Caucus Initiative National Advisory Council, keynoted the event, describing in detail the success he and his colleague SC State Representative Doug Brannon (R-Spartanburg) had witnessed this past November at the Green Schools Common Ground Summit in Warren County, Kentucky. Sen. Leventis, who is retiring after this legislative session, challenged his colleagues to work together on this critically important issue, saying “the example of bipartisanship that the Kentucky General Assembly has embraced need not be unique. We can do it here in South Carolina, and we’ve got the right factors in place to make it happen. Now more than ever, our students, teachers, staff and taxpayers deserve schools that promote learning while saving money.”
Keith Sanders, Allen Taylor and Sen. Phil Leventis
Following Senator Leventis’ remarks, Chuck Saylors, Past President of the National PTA and South Carolina resident, moderated a discussion about the specific communication points to utilize when promoting this message and how to approach lawmakers to ensure success. Saylors brought our message home saying, “every child in this state and every child in this country deserves a safe, healthy and technologically equal school where they can thrive.” Saylors called on Bill Knight, Director of Energy Management from Greenville County Schools, to present on the operational changes that have saved their school district approximately four million dollars. Knight outlined how the changes they’ve made can be implemented in any school district, and then discussed the value of real-time cost savings data in conversations about the importance of green schools.
At the end of the day, members of the USGBC-SC Chapter met to plan how they will engage legislators in their home districts on Green Apple Day of Service this Sept. 29. Kudos to USGBC-SC Executive Director Melissa Le Roy and the incredible group of volunteers who were integral to the success of this event.
Emily Kirk Willson
LEED Volume Program Manager
U.S. Green Building Council
What happens when Kohl’s Department Stores, Wells Fargo, and Subway Restaurants walk in to a room?
At the USGBC offices, it means a great conversation on green building is about to ensue – among some of the foremost business leaders in sustainability.
USGBC's Rick Fedrizzi and Scot Horst raise a toast to LEED Volume participants
Last month, we were thrilled to welcome participants in our LEED Volume Program to USGBC’s Washington, DC headquarters for full-day orientation seminars to kick-off their journey in scaling up with LEED. The LEED Volume Program allows companies to certify vast numbers of projects by integrating LEED strategies into their standard practice and internalizing the LEED process - and all at a much lower certification cost. We are currently working with 33 participating organizations that have cumulatively certified over 800 projects through the LEED Volume Program.
Needless to say, these seminars packed a full house of industry thinkers and business leaders. Representatives from Hines, Kohl’s Department Stores and Wells Fargo attended for the Operations & Maintenance track. Falabella, KeyBank, Kum & Go, Subway Restaurants and Wells Fargo attended for Design & Construction. As some of these organizations have engaged service providers to assist in developing their LEED strategies, representatives from CBRE, DMV KEMA, GBR Green, Green Concepts International, Sebesta Blomberg, Shiffler and Viridian attended in support of their clients’ work. For a full list of organizations in the LEED Volume Program, check out our Participants page.
Round of applause: USGBC's Scot Horst, Mahesh Ramanujam and Rick Fedrizzi
As industry leaders, the insight from our seminar participants was priceless. For example, one of our Volume participants has introduced an element of gamification to their LEED process. They’ve set up a competition among their eight general contractors to gauge how well they perform with LEED. Their contractors receive points based on whether they’re able to achieve LEED credits – and their score informs future business. If they miss a LEED credit, their total score decreases. What did this company have to say about their experiment in gamification among contractors? “It works...it totally works.”
USGBC leaders - including Rick Fedrizzi, CEO; Mahesh Ramanujam, COO; Jim Craig, CFO; and Scot Horst, Vice President of LEED – also joined the gathering, raising a celebratory toast to conclude each seminar and to thank the participants for their leadership in green building. Having this face time with our Volume Program participants was a valuable – and educational – experience for all.
As I mentioned in my last blog, there are some wonderful advancements in the Southeast that need celebrating. Here’s an update from the Commonwealth of Virginia that keeps the state on the leader board.
Green Building in the Southeast (Part Two)
With a stroke of the pen last week, Governor Bob McDonnell signed legislation that will ensure that Virginia remains among the list of pacesetting states that are leading by example and building green public buildings. The High Performance Buildings Act, effective July 1 of this year, is an important next step in the Commonwealth’s continued appreciation for government buildings that are designed to not only use less energy, water and other resources, but also provide dividends back to Virginians in the form of healthy buildings, locally-sourced materials and operational cost savings.
Gov. McDonnell approves the High Performance Buildings Act
The benefits of green public buildings are many, but at the end of the day it’s about leadership. Commitments like these (as found in Virginia and 22 other states) demonstrate responsible stewardship of tax dollars while planting important seeds for growing the state economy. It’s this kind of leadership that sets entire markets on course to achieve a greater potential. For example, Virginia currently holds the #7 spot for the total number of LEED projects (392 certified and 1137 registered).
Green government buildings are nothing new to the Commonwealth. Virginia holds the #5 spot for most LEED buildings owned or occupied by state government. The course was first set by former Governor Kaine’s 2007 executive order, “Energy Efficiency in State Government” (or EO #48).
Since that 2007 EO, Virginia Senator Chap Petersen (Fairfax) worked with USGBC chapters and others on an annual attempt to turn this commitment to high-performing green government buildings into a more formal state policy. Those efforts garnered little momentum in the legislature, compelling then Governor Kaine to expand upon the 2007 EO, which was set to expire in June of 2011. In 2009, Governor Kaine issued a more comprehensive order, “Greening of State Government” (or EO #82).
Critical to the bill’s passage this time around, Delegate Chris Jones (Suffolk) sponsored a version of the bill in the House of Delegates with Governor McDonnell on his side. The Governor and the Delegate shared a common vision for government buildings that set the right example for saving energy, water and money. The new law requires public buildings to be built to the Virginia Energy Conservation and Environmental Standards (VEES), first established by the earlier executive orders. The VEES establishes a set of criteria for healthier, more efficient and lower-impact public buildings and offers LEED as an important compliance pathway, evidenced by the nearly 30 LEED buildings owned and occupied by the Commonwealth (and many more in the pipeline).
One day after McDonnell approved this Act, Governor Jerry Brown of California took a similar act of leadership in strengthening the State of California’s already impressive commitment to green public buildings – both new and existing (read more here). When it comes to accelerating the green building marketplace, we're seeing leadership from coast to coast. We commend Governor McDonnell, Delegate Jones and other legislators for their work to leave a legacy of high performance buildings in the Old Dominion state.
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