04.21.09 | Trends in Green Building

• McGraw-Hill estimates the green building industry will be worth $60 billion by 2010 – EcoHome, April 2009
• According to Freedonia Group, a leader in business research study, recycled-content (e.g. fly ash, slag) concrete sales reached $9.5B in 2008, representing 15% of green building materials. Demand is forecasted to grow at about 8.5% per year, reaching $14.3B in 2013. Among green building materials, concrete is second only to floor coverings in dollar volume.
• In the US, buildings account for:
  • 48% of total energy use [1] and 70% of electricity use [2]
  • 12% of water consumption [3]
  • 30% of greenhouse gas emissions [4]
  • 30% of raw material use [5]
  • 30% of waste output/136 million tons annually [5]

  References:
  1. U.S. Energy Information Administration statistics
  2. 2003 U.S. DOE Buildings Energy Databook
  3. U.S. Geological Service, 1995 data.
  4. U.S. Energy Information Administration statistics
  5. US Green Building Council