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Despite dramatic drops in construction activity in 2009, revenues for contractors declined even further in 2010. According to Engineering-News Record (ENR), the Top 400 Contractors—the firms in the U.S. with the most overall reported revenue—declined 10.8 percent from 2009 to 2010. Yet green building activity has increased over this same period. The Top 100 Green Contractors—those reporting the highest revenue from sustainable projects—reported an increase of 3.2 percent in revenues from green projects, growing from $43.1 billion to $44.4 billion. In terms of percentage of firm activity, that also increased, rising from 33.6 to 38.8 percent.
Not all green is created equal. The growth was driven by a dramatic increase in a few concentrated sectors. Up from 13.6 percent in 2009, 18.8 percent of green revenues in 2010 were in government office buildings.Healthcare comprised 17.2 percent of green revenues in 2010, up from 14.8 percent in 2009. At 17.6 percent, education remained steady from 2009 to 2010.
The value of the government-office sector may decrease after 2011 with the expiration of funding provided under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and budget cuts expected by agencies. However, it is clear that what does get built will be green.
Countering this boom, sustainable commercial offices decreased significantly in share of green activity and in total value. However, when private construction picks back up, green activity should as well.
Every year, sustainable buildings continue to take a larger share of the market, bringing more business opportunity to green contractors. Soon this competitive advantage will dissipate and green expertise will become a business imperative.
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