Green Building Statistics: Demand is High, Design Experience is Low

We'll be signing off today for the holiday weekend, but before we do that, I want to point out a couple of interesting green building statistics: one group collected by NAHB and the other which was mentioned during yesterday's Green Building Initiative webinar discussing insurance and surety issues for green construction projects. During the webinar, one of the panelists noted that only 20 percent of his company's (XL Specialty Insurance) insured design professionals consider themselves "very experienced" in green design- obviously a percentage to which XL is paying close attention in the context of green risk management.

On a different track, the National Association of Home Builders recently released figures from a survey of multi-family builders and developers. While 74 percent of respondents said that their buyers and renters are willing to pay more for green amenities, the median additional amount that they're willing to pay is just 2 percent. Some other stats of note: 89 percent of respondents (again, multi-family builders and developers, nationwide) said they are currently installing energy-efficient appliances and lighting in their projects, 79 percent are installing low-E windows, 64 percent are incorporating recycled materials, and 50 percent are installing greater insulation than required by local code (that figure jumps to 70 percent among respondents based on the West Coast). From a risk management perspective, as more developers specify these- and other types- of green building materials, products, and systems, design professionals must continue to increase their working knowledge of those installations in order to better shield themselves from potential liability.

Have a great Labor Day and we'll be back with you next Tuesday!

• Study Finds Multifamily Builders are Embracing Green (MHN)