Green building stays safe from economic downturn

A new McGraw-Hill study estimates that the green building industry will grow in the next five years to be a $96 billion to $140 billion market, up from $10 billion in 2005 when the industry first kicked off.

Turner Construction Co. surveyed 754 commercial real estate executives and found that 75 percent did not expect to see any downturn in green building because of the credit crises.

Why are people willing to put a little more upfront at a time where money is tight?

The answer: the savings that will come.

Approximately two-thirds of architects surveyed by the American Institute of Architects cite operating costs as the reason why their clients are interested in green building.

"For a while, those of our members who build green were reporting that they seemed to be more immune from the housing downturn because of increased consumer demand for energy-efficient homes," said Calli Schmidt, director of environmental communications for the National Association of Home Builders.