The report from the American Sustainable Business Council claims a nationwide commitment to "green building standards" can help deliver 10% of nation's carbon reduction goal per the Paris agreement last December. The ASBC report also cited a recent study from the U.S. Green Building Council indicating that green construction is trending upward and will support more than one-third of the U.S. construction sector by 2018.

The San Francisco meetings are the first follow-up to the COP21 U.N. Convention of Parties climate change discussions held last December in Paris, according to information from the Clean Energy Ministerial. The focus of the meetings was an expansion of the international collaboration in "clean energy research, development, demonstration and deployment to combat climate change, drive economic growth, and help ensure energy security."

"Holding CEM7 in San Francisco is an exciting opportunity for the United States to showcase one of America’s prime technology innovation ecosystems that is providing real-world solutions to combat climate change and drive the clean energy revolution in the U.S. and around the world," said Ernest Moniz, secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy.

CEO and co-founder of the ASBC David Levine said green building will be an essential component toward achieving the nation's climate change goal.

“Green building is an important part of addressing climate change, which, if unmitigated, will cost billions in economic damage over coming decades,” Levine said. “We found that green building could make a big dent in the carbon reduction goals our country committed to under the Paris climate agreement. At the same time, this win-win strategy is proven to create jobs and deliver cost savings for businesses and consumers alike. Policy makers should do what they can to accelerate the green building trend.”

The growth rate of green building is outpacing conventional construction, and it will support more than 3.3 million jobs in the U.S. to the tune of $190.3 billion in labor earnings by 2018, according to the report from the ASBC.  

One study cited in the report also found green building reduced the operating costs of new projects by 13.6%; for existing buildings, 8.5%. New projects also had a 10.9% value increase while existing buildings saw a 6.8% increase, according to information in the report. LEED-certified buildings, those that meet certain green building standards, are estimated to provide as much as $1.2 billion in savings. LEED-certified buildings use approximately 25% less energy, it reads.

The report, “How Green Building Helps the U.S. Economy,” also highlights additional benefits to green building:

• Green jobs have high growth potential
• Green buildings save money for homeowners and businesses
• Green buildings mitigate the cost of environmental degradation
• Green buildings contribute to the satisfaction and productivity of occupants
• Governments are realizing costs savings due to green buildings

Read the full report here (PDF).