How Would the Answers be Different Today?
I was reading the November 16th issue of BusinessWeek and stumbled upon an article about how a "recent" Turner Construction survey of commercial real estate executives determined that 75% of such executives - including developers, rental building owners, brokers, architects, engineers, etc. would not be deterred from building "green" by the credit crunch, and that 83% of them would be "extremely" or "very" likely to seek LEED certification for buildings they plan to build in the next three years. The further I read it became obvious that the "article" was a shameless promotion of a Brazilian energy producer (when I looked closely at the page, I realized it was a "Special Advertising Feature"), but the Turner survey results hung with me. Was this really the case despite the cratering of commercial real estate development? Who had they surveyed? How recently? And was anyone really planning to build something in the next three years? I had to check it out.
It turns out the survey was completed in September of 2008 - a world away from the reality of September 2009. That said, I would love to know what the same executives are saying today. The population they surveyed looks diverse in terms of what role they play in commercial real estate, but did they talk to small developers and owners as well as the big players? Turner completed similar surveys in 2004 and 2005. Turner Construction, please release another survey soon and give us a better sense of who's providing answers, as I think that provides a necessary context for understanding the results. In other words, if the little guys as well as the bigger players see the long-term benefits/efficiencies of building green compelling enough to spend the money on LEED certification at a time when little money is available, I'd find that compelling - and heartening.
