Carbon pollution, and its effects on climate change and public health, is receiving renewed interest following President Obama’s Climate Action Plan – and those in the building sector are paying particularly close attention. That’s because dramatically cutting energy waste in our built environment is essential to reaching goals for lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Political positions aside, years of research have proven that reducing the growing energy needs of buildings not only creates a cleaner environment but also gives a boost to the economy. Here in the U.S., improving energy efficiency in buildings by 30 percent would create a $275 billion market for advanced technology, engineering and design services, and construction activity.
With a growing appreciation of the environmental and economic benefits of reducing energy consumption, renewed by the dialogue on carbon emissions, now is the time to make energy efficiency the driver of world-class innovations-and there’s no better place to start than with our buildings. Buildings consume 40% of all energy and present immediate opportunities to make good business decisions that are also good environmental decisions.
Hays Service