​CBRE, in partnership with Maastricht University of the Netherlands, recently announced the launch of the Green Building Adoption Index, which quantifies the dynamics of the growing market for green building space.  The study used Environmental Protection Agency ENERGY STAR® and U.S. Green Building Council LEED statistical data from 2005 through 2013 encompassing more than 34,000 buildings in the top 30 U.S. markets.

The study found that Minneapolis boasts the highest percentage of green commercial space with 77 percent, followed by San Francisco, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta.  The study also confirmed that adoption of green standards has seen explosive growth over the past decade.  Since 2005, ENERGY STAR-labeled buildings increased nearly 600 percent, and the proportion of buildings that are LEED certified increased by more than 1000 percent.  View the complete results of the study online.

The Green Building Adoption Index is the first project completed under CBRE’s Real Green Research Challenge (RGRC), an initiative to fund leading-edge sustainability research and innovation in commercial real estate.  An independent judging panel, which included BOMA International President Henry Chamberlain, chose five projects last year to receive RGRC financial awards of $1 million.