New report shows Canadian green building market growing steadily with owners seeing strong benefits from building green

NEW YORK and OTTAWA, June 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Canadian green building market is poised to see strong growth over the next three years, with surveyed Canadian firms expecting to grow their green practices from one third in 2014, to one half by 2017. These findings are part of a new report prepared by McGraw Hill Construction and commissioned by the Canada Green Building Council. The report, titled Canada Green Building Trends: Benefits Driving the New and Retrofit Market, is the first of its kind in Canada.

Among its many findings, the report demonstrates that companies that invest in green buildings are seeing significant dividends on their investments, including:

• 82% of building owners and developers reported decreases in energy consumption in their green buildings compared to similar buildings.
• 68% of building owners and developers reported decreases in water consumption in their green buildings.
• The median reduction in operating costs over five years for green buildings reported by the firms included in the research is 17%.
• The median payback for the investment in a new green building is reported to be eight years, a finding consistent with paybacks on studies McGraw Hill has conducted in the U.S. and globally.

In addition, green renovation projects increase building asset values, with a 4% median increase reported by architects and owners that have worked on green building projects. This is consistent with data reported globally and in the U.S. in previous studies conducted by McGraw Hill Construction, and it contributes to mounting evidence that green buildings have stronger value in the real estate marketplace.

While the above financial benefits are critical to the growth of green building in Canada, other triggers and social factors play an important role as well.

• Client demand and 'doing the right thing' were the top triggers for future green building in the Canadian construction market  with 42% of respondents selecting these triggers as one of their top two. This emphasis on a combination of business and social motives is helping to propel the strong performance of green building in the next few years, as predicted by surveyed building owners, architects and contractors
• 60% of the survey respondents, who conducted green building projects, consider the ability of green buildings to promote greater health and well-being among occupants to be the most important social reason that they chose to invest in green.

Survey respondents also recognized that building green is key to the creation of high performing buildings.

• 62% of the building owners, architects and contractors surveyed considered having a higher-quality building as an important benefit of green building.
• 73% of the firms that use a green building rating system report that better performing buildings are an important benefit of using a rating system.

"This report confirms that the Canadian marketplace recognizes that a rigorous approach to green building improves the quality of building projects and sets the stage for realizing financial, environmental and health benefits," says Thomas Mueller, President and CEO of the Canada Green Building Council. "The business case for green buildings in Canada is strong, which translates into growing demand and investment over the next three years."  

"This report is exciting because it demonstrates that the majority of the Canadian green building market recognizes the value that healthy green buildings have," says Harvey Bernstein, Vice President of Industry Insights and Alliances at McGraw Hill Construction. "As research continues to demonstrate the value of these investments on companies' productivity and the bottom line, we think that occupant health and satisfaction is going to be an even more critical driver in the future."

These and other findings are available in the Canada Green Building Trends: Benefits Driving the New and Retrofit Market Report through the CaGBC. To view a copy of the Canada Green Building Trends Report, visit the CaGBC website. This report was sponsored by Oxford Properties Group, REALpac, and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

About Oxford Properties Group
Oxford Properties Group is a global platform for real estate investment, development and management, with over 1,400 employees and over $27 billion of real assets that it manages for itself and on behalf of its co-owners and investment partners. Established in 1960, Oxford has regional offices in Toronto, London and New York, and the company's portfolio includes approximately 50 million square feet of office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hotel properties. Oxford is the real estate arm of the OMERS Worldwide Group of Companies.

About REALpac
REALpac is Canada's most senior, influential and informative voice in the real property investment industry. REALpac brings together the industry's Chief Executives to collectively influence public policy, to educate government and the public, to ensure stable and beneficial real estate property and capital markets and to promote the performance of the real property sector in Canada. Member companies include publicly traded real estate companies, real estate investment trusts (REITs), private companies, pension funds, banks and life insurance companies with investment real estate assets each in excess of $100 million, large owner/occupiers and pension fund advisers as well as individually selected investment dealers and real estate brokerages.

About Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
With 60 years of experience, Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA) helps people understand, enjoy and care for the natural environment. Our vision is for The Living City®, where human settlement can flourish forever as part of nature's beauty and diversity.  

About McGraw Hill Construction:
McGraw Hill Construction provides essential data, news, insights, and intelligence to better inform construction professionals' decisions and strengthen their market position. McGraw Hill Construction's data, analytics, and media businesses – Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, and Engineering News-Record – create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics, including Dodge MarketShare™, Dodge BuildShare® and Dodge SpecShare®. Construction data is available for North American and global markets.  To learn more, visit http://www.construction.com.

About CaGBC:
The CaGBC (www.cagbc.org) is the leading national industry organization advancing green building and sustainable community development practices. We work closely with our member organizations who are involved in the design, construction and operation of buildings and homes in an effort to make every building greener. The CaGBC reduces environmental impacts from the built environment through education/training, building certification, advocacy and information sharing. The CaGBC is the license holder for the LEED green building rating system in Canada. In addition to LEED, the CaGBC also supports the Living Building Challenge, Passive House Standard and EcoDistricts in Canada.

Media Contacts:

Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications
McGraw Hill Construction
[email protected]
(212) 904-4376

Renee Rietveld, Manager, Communications and Media Relations, CaGBC
[email protected]
(613) 288-8075

SOURCE McGraw Hill Construction