Water efficiency will become increasingly important to green building efforts in the U.S. during the next five years, according to the newly released “Water Use in Buildings: Achieving Business Performance Benefits through Efficiency” report.
Water efficiency will become increasingly important to green building
efforts in the U.S. during the next five years, according to the newly released
“Water Use in Buildings: Achieving Business Performance Benefits through
Efficiency,” a SmartMarket Report sponsored by Chicago
The report, which examines the significance of water use in commercial
buildings, indicates that a greater emphasis will be placed on water
sustainability and the products that help promote it.
Following are some of the study's major findings:
*42% of building owners report
that three-quarters of their projects include water-efficient practices in
*85% of commercial building
industry players say that water efficiency will be a very important part
of green building in the year 2013, up from 69% in 2008.
*50% of building owners expect
they will incorporate water-efficient practices into at least 50% of their
The findings indicate that
companies planning to utilize water-efficient technology will experience a 15%
reduction in water use, a 10-11% decrease in energy use and operating cost
reductions of 11-12% on average.
Commercial building industry
players, including architecture/engineering firms and contractors, also stated
that water-saving sinks were among the product categories they most closely
associated with water efficiency. About 43% of industry players said they most
frequently thought of water-saving bathroom sink faucets.
“The SmartMarket Report provides
insight into the increasing importance of sustainability,” said John
Fitzgerald, director of marketing for Chicago Faucets. “We understood that sustainability
would continue to be significant, but now we see that our efforts are even more
vital to the building industry and its future.”
Water Efficiency: Is it the Key to Future Green Building?
July 15, 2009