Dive Brief:

• BuildingGreen Inc. President Nadav Malin acknowledges that green is being folded into existing practices and regulation, but says the need for it is more urgent than ever due to induced climate change and other environmental impacts.
• Improved efficiencies reduce per-unit energy demands and pollution impacts, but population and economic growth more than negate that progress.
• Even better green building techniques are available if there is motivation to implement them.

Dive Insight:

Malin makes his argument from an ecological perspective, but he has an ally in the economic perspective. The demand for green or sustainable or resilient construction may have come from environmental advocates, but a good portion of its acceptance comes from those who have found out the techniques have quick pay backs by cutting operating costs. We'll have to see if the same dynamic holds as more demanding standards evolve.