Numbers predicted by the International Energy Agency in its annual World Energy Outlook underscore the need for businesses to go green to preserve their bottom lines.

The IEA foresees oil selling for $113 per barrel in 2035 and that worldwide energy demand in that year will be 36 percent higher than today’s levels. In noting this, the IEA also points out that oil, coal, and natural gas will remain the primary sources of energy even as renewable sources increase.

We could engage in heated debates over the potential effects this sort of fossil fuel use will have on the environment. But we’d overlook the economic imperative that exists placing environmental considerations aside. 

Consider this: as energy use per person is forecast to increase, world population numbers will increase concurrently. That means more people using more energy depending on finite sources of fossil fuel. Water, too, is becoming a more precious commodity, especially when many of our wettest states have faced droughts and shortages, mainly as a result of population growth.

Anyone in high school-level economics can do the supply and demand work… prices are likely to raise. Businesses that are seeking to make profits on tightening margins certainly have an interest in decreasing their exposure to the risk of volatile and rising energy, water, and operating costs.

Perhaps, though, those high school economics classes are the future – the “Generation Green” that is the central theme of the annual Greenbuild conference this week in Chicago.

Simply put, for years the discussion on building green has centered on environmental considerations such as climate change. That divisive debate has done little to build consensus. Can we agree that taking measures to try to keep energy consumption as low as we can helps protect our bottom lines? Can we agree that finding ways to build efficiently will mean more resources to support economic growth in our cities?

These are the questions we should be asking. While the “first generation” of green buildings have come under intense scrutiny for how much energy they save over similar non-green buildings, the truth is that today’s green buildings incorporate a decade of lessons learned, providing demonstrable evidence that companies can save money and lower their use of energy and water in significant ways if they are designed and operated thoughtfully.

At Skanska, we’re expecting that the investment we made in energy efficient features at our office space on the 32^nd Floor of the Empire State Building – now LEED® Platinum space – will pay for itself within five years. From that moment on, we’re saving money.  And the energy savings we can quantify may be dwarfed by the productivity of our staff that comes from building the right kind of space to support how we work, using systems and materials that support better health.  We’re starting to see similar stats from many of our clients.

Many of us have grown up in an era of cheap oil. The buildings we have built and occupied reflect that past reality.  Today, we find ourselves in a new normal where captains of real estate alongside today’s emerging green professionals realize and deliver the value to market that high performance, green buildings can afford.  With these buildings, the return on investment is optimized through the engagement and participation of building occupants and operators.

We’ve already seen the effect spikes in oil prices can have on corporate profits. Since buildings remain the largest users of energy in the country, it is building tenants, owners, and builders who have the biggest opportunity to make changes that will safeguard resources and control operational costs in the years to come.  Because buildings last generations, the decisions we make today can set a course which avoids energy risk in the future.

The upfront costs of building green are lower than ever.  The time is now to make thoughtful investments in high performance green buildings and retrofits.  Today’s investment and steps to conserve will help ensure that a generation from now, our cities and communities will be able to survive and thrive financially.

About the Author
Elizabeth Heider is a Senior Vice President at Skanska USA Building and a board member of the United States Green Building Council.