Demand for energy efficient buildings on the rise, survey reveals

Demand for green building activity is poised to grow in the next three years, according to a new survey.

The World Green Building Trends 2018 Smart Market Report is based on a global survey of more than 2,000 industry participants including architects, engineers, contractors, owners, specialists/consultants and investors from 86 countries.

Almost half of industry respondents expect that the majority of their construction projects will be green by 2021. According to the report, business benefits include 8% operating cost savings in the first year and increased building asset values of 7%.

Climate change remains a driver for green building, with 77% of the respondents listing lowering greenhouse gas emissions as an important reason for their organisation to be engaged in green building. In every region the most important environmental reason for green building was reduced energy consumption.

The report reveals that in the UK, the strongest driver for green building is environmental regulation. UK companies face a number of compliance obligations in this area including ESOS (the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme), and SECR, the government’s new streamlined energy and carbon reporting framework.

According to the report, barriers to green building have declined over time although cost is still a concern.  The research showed that as part of the business case for green building, industry expects an increase in savings in operational costs within five years.