WBCSD: Green Building Dramatically Cheaper than Generally Assumed

The world business council on sustainable development (which has published many facinating reports) has just released a report entitled 'Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Business Realities and Opportunities' (PDF) advocating green building and debunking some of the myths about how much this costs.

Geneva, 21 August 2007 - Survey finds green costs overestimated by 300% and a need to foster zero net energy construction. Key players in real estate and construction misjudge the costs and benefits of "green" buildings, creating a major barrier to more energy efficiency in the building sector, a new study by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) reports.

Respondents to a 1400 person global survey estimated the additional cost of building green at 17 percent above conventional construction, more than triple the true cost difference of about 5 percent. At the same time, survey respondents put greenhouse gas emissions by buildings at 19 percent of world total, while the actual number of 40 percent is double this.

So save a copy to your hard drive and keep it safe for the next time you want to argue for higher building standards...remember this is from an organisation where CEO's get together it is not a green group.

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