January 13, 2006—Kindergarten-through-12 school districts, colleges, and universities are increasingly interested in the benefits of green facilities, which are designed to increase the productivity and well-being of students and teachers, lower operating costs, and reduce or eliminate negative impacts on the environment. That’s according to the 2005 Green Building Market Barometer, Turner Construction Company’s assessment of the views of senior executives on green buildings.
While green educational facilities are less expensive than traditional facilities due to more efficient operations, many educational institutions dont consider long-term project costs in their planning at all, the survey found. And even for institutions that do, most still give by far the greatest emphasis to initial project costs, often forgoing the cost savings and educational benefits that green construction provides.
The 2005 Market Barometer surveyed 665 senior executives, with a special focus on Green building issues in educational facilities. In addition, the views of executives from organizations working with a wide variety of different types of facilities were solicited on the benefits and costs of Green construction. This is the second year that the Turner Construction Company has conducted the survey.
For more information, see the Turner Construction Web site.
