TUCSON, Ariz. - What’s the fastest growing sector of the green building movement? According to green building consultant Jerry Yudelson, not the usual architectural highlights of zero energy buildings, but the more prosaic existing building upgrades profiled in his latest green building book, Greening Existing Buildings.

“In Greening Existing Buildings, I profile the fastest growing trend in the green building movement - upgrading existing buildings. This trend is being seen throughout the U.S. and Canada, especially with the growing focus on global warming and reducing the carbon emissions from building operations,” said Yudelson.

According to Yudelson, in the first nine months of 2009, while new commercial building construction was falling, registrations at the U.S. Green Building Council for existing building upgrades were growing more than 100 percent from 2008 (end of year) totals. In fact, during that period, more than 450 million square feet of existing buildings signed up for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings – Operations and Maintenance certification program. (Source: U.S. Green Building Council)

In the book, Yudelson profiles dozens of LEED-certified renovation and retrofit projects around the U.S. and Canada, presents the business case for greening existing operations, and shows how leading real estate management companies are moving forward with building upgrades even in the face of a deep recession.

“In this book, I provide a practical and comprehensive guide to greening existing buildings, featuring energy saving green operations, water conservation upgrades, marketing strategies, corporate sustainability programs, and a 10-point best practices program for greening any real estate portfolio,” said Yudelson. “Through interviews with more than 25 green building authorities, I show how the LEED program generates more than 50 percent annual cash-on-cash returns for building owners. It’s really a no-brainer for any building owner.”

Aimed at professionals in building renovation, construction, and operations, along with those engaged in real estate finance and policy makers in government, the book provides an introduction to how sustainability thinking and green building operations are changing the commercial sector.

For more information, including sample chapters, and to purchase the book, go to www.greenbuildconsult.com/books/info/greening-existing-buildings/.

Yudelson Associates is a leading international firm engaged in sustainability planning and green building consulting. The firm’s founder, Jerry Yudelson, is one of the nation’s leading experts on green building and green development. He is the author of 11 green building books and is a frequent speaker at industry and professional conferences. For more information, visit www.greenbuildconsult.com.

Publication date: 12/21/2009