GREEN BUILDING TO BECOME A $140 BILLION MARKET IN FIVE YEARS

Going green will turn into Gold. With the Federal Government and the State of Florida on the Green bandwagon, the incentatives alone will make financial sense to "Go Green" - READ ON.


‘Going green’ not an easy concept to explain


WASHINGTON – May 5, 2009 – “Green” building has in recent years become a staple for commercial and residential property practitioners and, by one projection, is well on its way to becoming a $140 billion market within five years. At the same time, many realty agents and brokers, engineers, interior designers, appraisers and other industry insiders are still trying to get a full understanding of the ins and outs of sustainable building and its value to themselves as well as end-users. The disconnect on green building that often exists between tenants and landlords or between brokers and clients leaves the field wide open for educators to step in – and also to cash in. Brokers well-versed in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and “who can teach the economic and analytic tools [to their clients] are going to be in demand because 99 out of 100 brokers still don’t know what LEED really means and the value that it adds,” says David Klein, of NAI BT Commercial in San Francisco. While some state realtors agencies now offer continuing education classes that cover energy and water use, site selection, and other areas of sustainability, the focus to date has been on residential property. A shift could be underway, however, as commercial brokers become more interested in education that caters to their specific market. In response, EcoBroker International and the National Association of Realtors are developing commercial curricula; and the National Sustainable Building Advisor Program has created the Sustainable Building Advisors course as a standardized program. Similar CE opportunities are popping up at the state level, on the Web and even at individual firms like Jones Lang LaSalle, which has established its own Sustainability University where employees and clients can learn about the movement.

Source: Sustainable Industries (04/09) Redell, Charles
at http://www.sustainableindustries.com/greenbuilding/43648142.html