Sunday, February 27, 2011

Green Building Benefits

QUESTION:

Hello Nate,I hope all is well. I just had a class last night and one of the students is interested in doing a research paper on green building. I recall that this is your specialty - is that right? She is a bit lost and I can't help much with that subject. I was wondering if you could recommend any good books, or ideally, any good journal articles which discuss the economics of green building - ie. cost benefits analysis/ long term benefits. Anything you could suggest would be appreciated.


RESPONSE:

No problem. There aren't nearly as many resources on the cost effectiveness as I'd like to see, but I'll share what I know. The USGBC tries to collect all of this and has a list under "Research Publications" Here's the link: http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=77

One of the sub-headings is "Cost Analysis of Whole Buildings". The 2009 Kats and the 2007 paper by Langdon are probably your best bets for general cost / benefits studies.

As for the value of green buildings, CoStar Advisor has put out some reports: http://www.costar.com/josre/doesGreenPayOff.htm

I think the New Buildings Institute has one as well, but I didn't find it in my quick search.

Here's one on the benefits of increased productivity: http://www.costar.com/uploadedFiles/JOSRE/JournalPdfs/04-Green-Buildings-Productivity.pdf

Here's another good one on financial benefits / feasibility of green buildings (globally focused): http://www.wbcsd.org/Plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?DocTypeId=25&ObjectId=MzQyMDQ

This should get your student started. The USGBC site has lots of papers, but I should warn you that they're a mix of quality, with very few being from peer reviewed journals. If she refines the research question a bit more (what component of green buildngs? energy efficiency? re-sale value? increased occupant comfort? reduced risk of cancer? which type of green building? commercial offices? schools? homes? etc.) feel free to contact me for additional info. Not really any good books on the benefits, but some decent ones on how to design / build a green building if she does a search on the subject.

Nathan

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