The green building industry will rebound in 2011 in spite of the continuing slow economic recovery in most developed countries, based on an analysis of 10 major trends. More people are going green each year, and there is nothing on the horizon that will stop this trend. However, in 2010, the slowdown in commercial real estate put a crimp in the start-up rate for new green building projects. In putting together my Top Ten Trends for 2011, I�m taking advantage of conversations I�ve had with green-building industry leaders in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Australia, as
Related Links: The Top 10 Green Building Trends for 2011 Earth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit green-building resource and research organization, selected its top 10 green-building trends to watch for the next 12 months. 1. Affordable green. In the existing homes market, energy upgrades are now available through new programs that include low-cost audits and utility bill-based financing. 2. Sharing and comparing home energy use. The sharing of home-energy consumption data is becoming more commonplace in social media. 3. Outcome-based energy codes. Under these, owners can pursue the most-effective retrofit strategy for their buildings, but they must achieve a pre-negotiated performance