Green Buildings: Helping the Planet, Helping Our Pockets

Green buildings come in many forms and all of them save energy and can cut operating costs when it comes to water, energy, waste disposal, and maintenance. But while the expansion of green buildings is happening all around us, many are still unaware of the growth and the benefits.

In an op-ed in The Huffington Post, NYIT President Edward Guiliano, Ph.D., discusses this phenomenon. “Green affordability has arrived gradually over a few decades and been easy to miss,” he writes.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, certified buildings use 25 percent less energy and 11 percent less water. Today, more people in the United States work in solar industries than in coal or oil and gas.

And the shift is global. Guiliano says, “We think of developing countries as being poor in wealth, but they’re poor in energy too. One out of every six people on Earth lives without electricity, but as green technology gets affordable, they may put solar devices on their rooftops and leapfrog the grid.”

By 2018, the number of global companies that expect to have more than 60 percent of their building projects “green-certified” will more than double (from 18 to 37 percent). Much of the growth will occur in developing nations. Universities like NYIT help ensure that the workforce is properly trained and educated to join the ranks of the energy management elite across all fields.

“Oil and coal will not disappear tomorrow. Patterns of energy use lie embedded in our infrastructure, issues are varied and complex and the technology is growing incrementally. We’re at a tipping point,” he concludes.

Read President Guiliano’s entire op-ed on The Huffington Post.

This op-ed is part of an NYIT thought-leadership campaign designed to help generate awareness and build reputation for the university on topics of national relevance. Read more op-eds by NYIT experts.