 When planners consider going on board with green construction for a new building, they may struggle with misguided estimates on how a new model will affect costs.
Private sector firms, government agencies, and non-profit groups have studies that comparison between new green building practices and the traditional status quo, and many have come to the same conclusion: building green saves money.
At the same time, studies like a “Business Realities and Opportunities” report by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development have shown that building industry operators, either through ingrained ideas about cost estimating or lack of knowledge about the benefits of new models, consistently underestimate the real value of ecological construction.
Large consulting firms working on behalf of public agencies have found that the upfront cost rise of using green materials is often negligible, but that’s only part of the picture. The way building green saves money is often hidden, but ‘life cycle’ cost estimates show the true savings, including huge cuts in the output of heating and cooling, electricity and water utilities across the board.
Savvy investors and public officials involved in local government building initiatives have found, using the old adage ‘It takes money to make money’, that small upfront investment can pay for itself many times over when a smart addition of green features to a building creates a far better end result that will better justify the expenses of a new building or expansion.
Unfortunately, those holding the cash for new development are sometimes obliged to convince their contractors or advisers: the WBCSD study surveyed builders and found evidence that the majority of them put upfront cost increases of green building in a higher bracket, over 15%, and underestimated a statistic on the industry’s contribution to carbon emissions by almost 30%.
Statistics like these show how it’s an uphill struggle to persuade some industry participants those changes in markets and technologies have made green building a much more affordable and effective practice than it was just several years ago. However, the facts speak for those who argue that green building saves money by boosting sale prices and market values, lowering energy expenditures, and creating a lot of “soft value” by adding desirable features to new buildings. So, when faced with misconceptions about the cost of green building, use these points to your advantage and don’t let unfounded resistance cost a project a good end result.
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