Pre-Greenbuild 2010 Blog By Malcolm Lewis

Malcolm Lewis is Chairman and CEO of CTG Energetics.


As everyone travels to Chicago for the annual Greenbuild Conference, one’s thoughts turn to what we might expect at this year’s conference: What will the mood be? What new trends and technologies will be revealed? My predictions are described below:

• The mood will be very upbeat, and there will be more attendees at this year’s Greenbuild than at any prior one.


• Green building is the major growth element in the real estate industry in 2010.


• The demand for booth space for the GreenBuild Expo has far out-stripped supply.


• The participants will report that their business is turning up faster than the general economy.


• International uptake of LEED continues to expand, making it the dominant global green brand.


• The proportion of total LEED registrations from outside the US has skyrocketed this year.


• A new LEED International Roundtable is being convened in Chicago with representatives from 18 countries to discuss how to make LEED more appropriate and adaptable worldwide.


• Increased adoption of sustainability as a major corporate driver.


• Many corporations now have CSO’s (Chief Sustainability Officers) and are integrating sustainability into every aspect of their business model.


• Evidence that LEED Certification is a value-added driver for commercial real estate.


• Developers and brokers are seeing green projects sell or lease more quickly.


• There is increased consumer awareness and expressed market demand for green building.


• Emergence of LEED-EB O&M as a major force in the real estate market.


• The proportion of LEED certifications for Existing Buildings is growing rapidly.


• The “Volume” path of certification for LEED-EB O&M is taking off for portfolio clients.


• Development of numerous web-based tools for applying sustainability.


• The new Green Building Information Gateway (GBIG) tool developed by USGBC will be introduced.


• The new Sustainable Workplace tool developed for US General Services Administration by CTG and Noblis will be introduced.


• Legitimization of GHG Emissions as a critical driver for public policy and private action.


• Work continues to move towards defining “regenerative buildings” ... buildings that actually improve the environment, rather than just being “less bad”.

So those are my quick predictions. We will report to you what our perspective is at the end of the conference. CTG will be set up at booth 1635 in hall F2 - please drop by and see us!!

Contact: ctg@ctgenergetics.com