Green Construction Jobs are in the LEED for Chicago
February 21st 2009
The average LEED project size is approximately 150,000 square feet (reflecting the generally large, commercial or public sector nature of LEED projects to date). The USGBC also states an average project cost per square foot of approximately $250. This yields an average total project cost of almost $38 million per project. With nearly 1,700 LEED-certified projects in 2006, the total green building market - as seen through the LEED lens - approaches $65 billion. Of course, the USGBC figures capture total construction expenses, including much more than just building materials, let alone the fundamental product categories that are the main focus of this report.
A general rule of thumb that can be applied to commercial construction projects is that materials make up approximately 45% of total project costs. If we then assume that at least one third of those materials went to satisfy LEED credits or were otherwise green, then just over 15% of total project expenses were for green materials. That translates to 
a LEED centric green materials market of approximately $10 billion. Increasing that number by 50% to account for non-LEED green material sales brings us to a grand total figure of $15 billion for 2006 - roughly on par with competing estimates and representing a reasonable green materials universe for the $2.2 billion subset of green materials addressed in this report.
Virtually every component currently used in commercial or residential construction could be replaced with a substitute that is relatively green compared to the existing technology.
Whether the green product exceeds its predecessor in energy efficiency, recycled content, recycle ability, health benefit or any other criteria, the fact of the matter is that the green market is theoretically almost the same size as the existing, non-green market.
While that process has certainly begun across a range of materials and technologies, 
we can’t touch on all of them in a single report and instead will focus on several of the major categories of building components where the sheer volume and value of materials demand attention. Each of the product segments listed below represents a target for green alternatives because each represents a significant source of existing revenue for building material vendors, green or otherwise.
By focusing on these major categories, we gain insight into the movement of other, complementary product categories that will generally track and trend along with the leading product segments.
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Author: Dennis Brian Smith
Free LEED AP exam resources. Special offer for 12 full length practice exams. For new construction NC v2.2 based on LEED New Construction v2.2 Reference Guide Third Edition published by (USGBC). http://www.leedappractice.com
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