Green Business in 2009: Companies “Outdid One Another” in Green Building Race Last Year

Greener Buildings has released its second annual State of Green Business report and made it freely downloadable (after a brief registration) as a 62-page PDF.

At the main Green Buildings Website they’re devoting two weeks to highlighting different aspects of the report, and on February 5th the highlighted topic had a direct bearing on commercial HVAC, to wit:

State of Green Business 2009: Building Energy Efficiency Rises Again

The upshot: 2009 begins on the heels of last year’s explosion of greenness, during which the “move to improve the efficiency of existing commercial and industrial buildings revved up” due to “a combination of rising energy prices, improved technologies, and the recognition that even during lean times, investments in more efficient real estate can pay handsome dividends.” All indications are that this is a trend with legs.

But the economic situation also factors in:

Despite the successes, energy efficiency measures often get short-circuited, especially in a down economy. Facility managers are more aware of the benefits of efficiency improvements than ever, but investment levels have not enjoyed a similar increase, according to a survey by Johnson Controls. Seventy-two percent of respondents said they pay more attention to energy efficiency, up 10 percent over the year before. But the number of those who expected to make capital investments in the area remained flat. Similarly, another study found that while more commercial real estate executives are seeking greener office space, they are less inclined to pay premiums for it.

We recommend the report as a whole, which features a great deal of solid information to help facilities managers and other parties make responsible decisions in 2009 for HVAC and other building systems.