By Rose Law Group Reporter
Real Estate Daily News reports that with 31.4 percent of its office space considered “green,” Phoenix ranked 18 out of 30 markets on the National Green Building Adoption Index 2015, a joint project of CBRE Group, Inc. and Maastricht University.
Despite scoring in the bottom half of most green building categories, metropolitan Phoenix showed improvement in several areas and moved up three positions to 18th overall.
Meanwhile, however, for the first time ever, Arizona has cracked the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED top 10.
LEED is the world’s most widely-used and recognized green building rating system. Arizona is tied with New York at number 10 and that’s saving both local families and businesses big dollars.
The CBRE Group report Monday said the total percentage of green square footage increased to 31.4 percent, a significant gain from last year’s 28 percent. The market increased in both ENERGY STAR labels and the percentage of square footage holding LEED certification, which increased to 14.4 percent from last year’s 12.1 percent.
Gonzo Gonzalez, head of USGBC’s Arizona chapter, said the LEED ranking goes to show the green advancements that have been made within Arizona over the past few years in both the public and private sector.
The Valley’s green building practices are not reserved for office properties.
For example, REI’s currently-under-construction, 400KSF distribution center in Goodyear is being designed with sustainability in mind. The building will be designed using LEED standards and the company aims to achieve a minimum of LEED Gold® certification.
