WASHINGTON—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released its LEED in Motion: Hospitality report, which showcases tremendous industry growth in green building and defines the scale-up opportunities for the hospitality sector. Nearly 134 million sq. ft. of hotel space is currently LEED certified, and the report highlights some of the most impressive LEED-certified hotels throughout the world.
“Across industries we are seeing an increase in consumer demand toward sustainability practices, and no industry is better poised to meet these demands than hospitality. This growing sector is rapidly adopting green buildings because owners and developers want to enhance their triple bottom line—people, planet and profit,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “LEED is a transformative tool that positively impacts the quality of our built space by creating a healthier, more sustainable environment that saves money and resources.”
Hotels consume natural resources at an extraordinarily high rate, as they are occupied 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to the report. With more than five billion sq. ft. of space in the U.S. alone, there is an enormous opportunity for the industry to transform the impact of the built environment.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the world’s most widely used green building rating program, has a growing presence in the hospitality industry—and the number of LEED-certified buildings is expected to continue at a strong pace. Currently, there are more than 2,070 hotels participating in LEED, representing 1.1 billion sq. ft. Of that, there are nearly 400 LEED-certified hotels comprising nearly 134 million sq. ft. of space.
According to a recent study by McGraw Hill Construction, green construction in the hospitality sector has increased by 50% from 2011-2013 and now represents 25% of all new construction in the sector today. USGBC’s recent Green Building Economic Impact Study also found that across industries, green construction is outpacing that of traditional construction and is poised to create more than 3.3 million U.S. jobs and $190.3 billion in labor earnings by 2018.