Does it pay to go green? Apparently so, according to facts and figures supplied by Dan Geiger, executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council, Northern California Chapter. Geiger, who spoke at the recent Green Building Summit, notes that a LEED-certified building at 100 Pine in San Francisco – which has one of the most aggressive building policies – has saved $228,000 from "going green."
Buildings account for 72 percent of the electricity use and 14 percent of water nationally, while about 39 percent of the office buildings in San Francisco, or 49 buildings, have either started the LEED certification process or have been certified, said Geiger, citing a study by real state company CB Richard Ellis. Of those 49 buildings, 35.4 percent have registered for LEED certification and the remaining have been LEED certified (see Buildings, the Energy Gobblers).
For more check out the slide deck from Dan Geiger's presentation at Greentech Media's Green Building Summit.
Click on the slide below to launch the slideshow:
