A growing number of organizations are now offering building owners financial incentives for making their buildings sustainable and energy efficient. For example, a Freddie Mac program called Green Advantage® offers rental properties better loan pricing on financed energy and water efficiency improvements. The program is so popular it generated $9 billion in total loan volume in just 16 months.
Municipalities across the nation also offer incentives for building projects that obtain LEED certification (the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system). The State of Nevada, for instance, provides property tax abatements to private sector building owners and developers for buildings that earn LEED certification. And cities like Cincinnati give property tax abatements for residential and commercial buildings constructed or renovated to meet LEED standards.
Incentives to build green come from consumer preferences as well. A recent Harris Poll found that more than 80 percent of renters surveyed believed that green properties offer better places to live. A new study by AMLI also confirmed that 84 percent of apartment residents thought that living in sustainable or green residences was important. High-performance buildings constructed to LEED criteria are attracting tenants, and these projects save owners money through energy and water efficiencies during long-term building operations.
With so many financial reasons to construct environmentally responsible buildings, choosing materials that contribute those sustainable efforts is key. Cold-formed steel (CFS) framing can help create sustainable, LEED-certified buildings in a variety of ways.
www.buildsteel.org/why-steel/sustainability/earn-green-going-green-cold-formed-steel-framing/