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The US green building sector will triple its contribution to the country’s economy over the next four years from its current level of $173 billion to $554 billion, according to a report from the US Green Building Council.

The report, which was drawn up together with consultants Booz Allen Hamilton, also indicates that green buildings should reduce energy costs by around $6 billion during the same period and create up to 7.9 million jobs.

The green construction sector in the US currently supports over 2 million jobs and generates more than $100 million in gross domestic product and wages.

The US Green Building Council’s 19,000 members generate $2.6 trillion in annual revenue and employ around 14 million staff across 29 different industry sectors.

“In many ways, green construction is becoming the standard for development,” says Gary Rahl of Booz Allen Hamilton.

Rick Fedrizzi, president and CEO of the US Green Building Council, would like to see the term ‘green building’ become obsolete when all buildings, retrofits and industry jobs are green as a matter of course.

For further information:
www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6435
www.boozallen.com/

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