The US Green Building Council’s outstanding website is a treasure trove of green-building information.  Visit this site to learn how to certify your green building, join the USGBC and/or the South Florida Chapter, sign up for courses and workshops, purchase LEED reference guides, register for the annual Greenbuild Conference, sign up for e-newsletters, learn how to become a LEED AP … and much, much more.

Think that green building isn't taking off?  Check out the following (from the USGBC's "Green Building by the Numbers", January 2009):

•  The value of green building construction is projected to increase to $60 billion by 2010. (Source: McGraw-Hill Construction 2008; Key Trends in the US and European Construction Marketplace, SmartMarket Report)
•  The construction market accounts for 13.4% of the $13.2 trillion U.S. GDP. (Source: Department of Commerce 2008; Annual Value of Construction Put in Place)
•  By 2009, 82% of corporate America is expected to be greening at least 16% of their real estate portfolios; of these companies, 18% will be greening more than 60% of their real estate portfolios. (Source: McGraw Hill Construction 2007, Greening of Corporate America SmartMarket Report, 2007)
• The green building products market is projected to be worth $30-$40 billion annually by 2010. (Source: Green Building Alliance 2006; Green Building Products: Positioning Southwestern Pennsylvania as the U.S. Manufacturing Center)

Facts regarding the USGBC

Membership:

• 18,086 member organizations including corporations, governmental agencies, nonprofits and others from throughout the industry.
•  Since 2000, USGBC’s membership has more than quadrupled.

LEED^® Green Building Certification System

•  The LEED for New Construction rating system was first released in 2000.
• LEED for Commercial Interiors and Existing Buildings became available in 2004.
• LEED for Core & Shell became available in July 2006 for spec developments.
• LEED for Homes was launched in December 2007.
• LEED for Neighborhood Development, Retail and Healthcare are currently in pilot test.
• Over 5 billion square feet of commercial building space is involved with the LEED green building certification system. 
• By 2010, approximately 10% of commercial construction starts are expected to be green, according to McGraw Hill Green Building Smart Market Report 2006.
• Every business day, $464 million worth of construction registers with LEED.
• There are LEED projects in all 50 states and 91 countries.
• Owners of LEED-registered and certified projects represent a diverse cross-section of the industry. 

Education and Accreditation

• LEED workshop attendance -- 92,078
• LEED Accredited Professionals -- 77,434
• Greenbuild Attendees 2008 -- 28,224
• Greenbuild Attendees 2007 -- 22,835
• Greenbuild Attendees 2006 -- 13,382 

Size and Impact of the U.S. Built Environment

• Construction yields an annual output of U.S. $4.6 trillion, contributing to 8-10% of the global Gross Domestic Product encompassing a workforce of 120 million people and billions of transactions each day.  (Source: McGraw-Hill Construction 2008; Key Trends in the US and European Construction Marketplace, SmartMarket Report)
• Comprises 13.4% of the $13.2 trillion U.S. GDP.  This includes all commercial, residential, industrial and infrastructure construction.  Commercial and residential building construction constitutes 16.1% of the GDP.   (Source: Department of Construction 2008.  Annual Value of Construction Put in Place)

Energy consumption

• Buildings represent 38.9% of U.S. primary energy use (includes fuel input for production).  (Source: Environmental Information Administration 2008; EIA Annual Energy Outlook)
• Buildings are one of the heaviest consumers of natural resources and account for a significant portion of the greenhouse gas emissions that affect climate change.  In the U.S., buildings account for 38% of all CO2 emissions.  (Source: Energy Information Administration 2008: Assumptions to the Annual Energy Outlook)

Electricity consumption

• Buildings represent 72% of U.S consumption.  (Source: Environmental Information Administration (2008). EIA Annual Energy Outlook)

Water use

• Buildings use 13.6% of all potable water, or 15 trillion gallons per year.  (Source:  U.S. Geological Survey 2000, 2000 data)

Materials use

• Buildings use 40% of raw materials globally (3 billion tons annually).  (Source:  Lenssen and Roodman, 1995, Worldwatch Paper 124: A Building Revolution: How Ecology and Health Concerns are Transforming Construction, Worldwatch Institute)

Waste

• The EPA estimates that 136 million tons of building-related construction and demolition (C&D) debris was generated in the U.S. in a single year.  (Source:  .S. Environmental Protection Agency 1997. U.S. EPA Characterization of Building-Related Construction and Demolition Debris in the United States)
• Compare that to 209.7 million tons of municipal solid waste generated in the same year.  (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1997).  Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the United States. Report No. EPA 530/R-98-007)

Sectors Expected to Have Green Building Growth (Source: McGraw Hill Construction 2007)

•  Education 
• Government 
• Institutional 
• Office 
• Healthcare 
• Hospitality 
• Retail 
• The three largest segments for nonresidential green building construction -- office, education and health care -- will account for more than 80% of total nonresidential green construction in 2008.  (Source: FMI’s 2008 U.S. Construction Overview)

What’s Driving Green Building (Source: FMI’s 2008 U.S. Construction Overview)

These factors are expediting the growth of green building:

• Unprecedented level of government initiatives.
• Heightened residential demand for green construction.
• Improvements in sustainable materials.

USGBC South Florida Chapter

Our South Florida Chapter has seen similar impressive growth, as evidenced by these statistics:

South Florida Chapter Members

• December 31, 2003 -- 2
• December 31, 2004 -- 29
• December 31, 2005 -- 175
• December 31, 2006 -- 280
• December 31, 2007 -- 425
• December 31, 2008 -- 674
• June 15, 2009 -- 873

LEED Registered Buildings in South Florida

• 2006 -- 39
• 2007 -- 64
• 2008 -- 182
• 2009 -- 344 ... which is broken out thusly: New Construction (204); Core and Shell (63); Commercial Interiors (29); Existing Building (25); LEED Schools (17); LEED Homes (6)
  

South Florida's LEED Buildings / Growth of Green Building in South Florida
The South Florida Chapter's President, Kyle Abney, recently gave a well-received talk in Miami focused on the two topics above.  Afterward, he pulled out of the talk these two pdfs with information as of June 2009:  1) South Florida's LEED Buildings; and 2) Growth of Green Building in South Florida.