According to the 2015 U.S. Green Building Economic Impact Study, conducted by the U.S. Green Building Council, the green building sector is anticipated to provide 2.3 million American jobs this year – a result of construction growth. The green construction rate is outpacing conventional construction and is expected to increase further still.

In addition to national jobs, green construction will see an increase in building’s contribution to individual states’ tax contributions, along with environmental asset indicators at both the national and state levels. By 2018, total state earnings related to LEED are expected to reach to $8.4 billion. In Texas, 1.26 million jobs in the green building sector are expected between 2015-2018. Green will provide significant in energy, trash, water and maintenance costs. 

 Green Building Impact Study Predictions

Listed are other findings from the study:

• Residential green construction spending is expected to grow from $55 million in 2015 to $100.4 million in 2018.
• Residential construction will represent 44.75 percent of all green construction in 2018.
• Commercial green construction spending is expected to grow from $95.6 million in 2o15 to $123.6 million in 2018.
• Green building contributes $134.3 billion to the labor income of working Americans.
• By 2018, green construction will provide more than 3.3 million jobs and $190.3 billion in labor earnings.
• Between 2015-2018, the Gross Domestic Product is expected to reach $303.5 billion.

Green Building Sees Massive Growth

Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC’s CEO, told Builder that he praises green building for its massive growth. 

“Green building is playing a massive role in the U.S. construction sector, the clean and efficient energy sector, and the U.S. economy as a whole,” Fedrizzi said. “More than 2.3 million U.S. workers are taking home $134 billion annually in large part because of green building programs like LEED. Demand for green building will only continue to grow as individuals, businesses and institutions continue to prioritize sustainable approaches to the design, construction and operations of our built environment.”

David Erne, a senior associate at Booz Allen, told the news source that LEED played a huge role in green success.

“Our research shows that green building has created millions of jobs and contributed hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, with the construction of LEED-certified buildings accounting for about 40 percent of green construction’s overall contribution to GDP in 2015,” Erne said. “This industry is certainly on the rise, and aggressive growth in the green building sector is anticipated over the next four years.”