Recently, the green building sector has outpaced overall construction growth in the U.S., generating $167.4 billion in GDP—and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, green construction is expected to generate $190.3 billion in labor earnings by 2018, according to a 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study by the U.S. Green Building Council and Booz Allen.
Given the demands of the market, contractors should be aware of the opportunity at hand and factor sustainability into all aspects of construction, including wall and ceiling materials like drywall and insulation. Those that evaluate the long-term financial and safety benefits of sustainable practices will contribute to the growing chunk of commercial office space that’s been certified as “green” or “efficient,” which now stands at 38 percent across 30 office markets in the U.S. In October 2017, more than 19.3 billion square feet of building space was LEED-certified worldwide and an additional 2.2 million square feet achieves LEED certification each day.