35% of Design, Construction Jobs Now Green, Awards for Excellence in Green Residential Building

Green Building Jobs Rising With Market

In the first study on green jobs in the building design and construction industry, McGraw-Hill Construction finds that 35% of architects, engineers and contractor (AEC) positions are now green.

About a third of the industry’s workforce work on green projects, amounting to 661,000 jobs. Over the next three years, they expect the share of green building jobs to rise to 45%.

The number of green building jobs today matches the size of the green building market, which constitutes 35% of the design and construction industry. As green building takes a bigger share of the market, those jobs are growing proportionally – by 2014, green building is expected to have 48-50% share of the construction market. 

They define "green jobs" as those involving over 50% of work on green projects or designing and installing uniquely green systems. It doesn’t include related support or administrative professionals, manufacturing, production or transportation-related services. 

"Green jobs are already an important part of the construction labor workforce, and signs are that they will become industry standard," says Harvey Bernstein, vice president, Industry Insights and Alliances for McGraw-Hill Construction."

Trades jobs (carpenters, HVAC/boilermakers, electricians, concrete/cement masons, and plumbers) are expected to see the greatest growth in green jobs; 15% of trades today are green jobs, and this is expected to increase to 25% in three years.

Respondents view green jobs as having more opportunity (42%) and better career advancement (41%).

Training is essential for getting and maintaining green jobs; 30% of green job workers say they needed major training when they started, and most report they’ll continue to need  formal education and training programs. Hiring firms agree; 71% of hiring decision makers maintain that being green-certified increases competiveness.

The research was announced at Greenbuild International Conference & Expo currently taking place in Toronto.

Awards for Excellence in Green Residential Building

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is announcing the 2011 LEED for Homes Awards at the conference, for leadership in residential buildings. 

The 2011 awards recognize innovative multi and single family projects, production builders, affordable housing projects and developers, an overall commitment to LEED for Homes, and Project of the Year.

"Healthy, high performing residential projects don’t have to cost more, and that is evidenced in many of this year’s winning projects" says Nate Kredich, Vice President, Residential Market Development, USGBC. "LEED builders continue to push the envelope in areas of innovation and affordability, and so we tip our hats to the dedicated leaders represented in this year’s winners circle."

2011 Project of the Year: GO Home, Belfast, Maine, built by GO Logic.

With a small footprint of 1,500 square feet, the three-bedroom LEED Platinum residence uses minimal energy and was built at construction costs comparable to a building a standard home. As a net zero and passive house it uses 90% less energy than a comparable conventional home. The project will be replicated across a 36-home community in Maine.

Outstanding Single Family Project: Power Haus, built by Josh Wynne Construction, Sarasota, Florida. 

This home produces more energy than it consumes thanks to features like passive ventilation, cooling and lighting. It earned the lowest Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score on record in the U.S.

Outstanding Multi Family Project: KB Home’s Primera Terra residential community in Playa Vista, California. 

The optimized 52-unit building’s envelope maximizes performance. KB Home controlled costs by performing cost/value reviews and proved that a LEED Platinum project can be designed and built without a significant increase in construction costs.

Outstanding Production Builder: ActiveWest Builders Meadow Ranch Development in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

This LEED for Neighborhood Development project was designed with an aging population in mind – it was developed to meet the changing needs of active adults looking to downsize but maintain homeownership.

Outstanding Affordable Housing Project: LEED Platinum Juneberry Lane project, developed by Clackamas Community Land Trust in Oregon City, Oregon.

The project, built on a high density infill property, consists of 12 subdivisions of six duplexes, providing permanently affordable homes for families with modest incomes. Buyers are required to invest sweat equity towards landscaping and home maintenance projects, helping to sustain its aesthetics while building a cohesive community.

Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Housing: Affordable housing developer New Hope Housing of Houston, Texas.

New Hope develops safe, affordable for adults with limited incomes, having built 634 SRO units since 1993. Each improves the aesthetics of the community, enhances the health and safety of an often marginalized population, and spurs additional development.

In 2010, New Hope Housing committed to pursue LEED certification for all its housing projects, and earned LEED Platinum for its 2424 Sakowitz community – the first LEED-certified affordable multifamily housing project in Texas.

Outstanding Program Commitment: Habitat for Humanity of Kent County in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Committed to LEED certification for all new and gut-rehab projects, they have certified 70 projects since 2007 and have 90 more in the pipeline. 

Through partnerships with local high school, college and universities, numerous LEED-certified homes have been built and used as learning laboratories, enabling the next generation of designers and builders to learn how to build a simple, decent, affordable and very sustainable home.

Learn more about LEED for Homes: