Report: Green business indicators show a downturn

Jan 29, 2012

The latest State of Green Business report shows several indicators have taken a downturn.

The GreenBiz report, now in its fifth year, looks at the sustainability efforts of US businesses through the lens of 20 indicators such as carbon emissions, e-waste recycling, vehicle fleet emissions, toxic emissions, energy efficiency, employee commuting, corporate sustainability reporting, and more.

Three indicators are of special interest to New WOW readers:

  • Green office space. Both the number of new and existing buildings registering for LEED certification dropped from 2010 to 2011. According to the report authors, this will cause  a drop in certified green office space in the year to come. Green office spaces command a higher premium in the marketplace (rents are 4% higher for Energy Star–rated buildings and 5 percent higher for LEED-certified buildings) and show greater occupancy rates than non-green spaces. 
  • Employee commuting. The report states, “The American workforce hasn’t shaken its love affair with driving just yet, but there are promising signs for the future.” In spite of a half percentage increase in the number of American commuters driving solo, ridership on public buses and trains rose 2% last year. Other promising trends – an increased interest in measuring individual carbon emissions from commuting and a study showing that Millenials (18 to 34-year-olds) are actively trying to drive less.
  • Employee Telecommuting. Telecommuting showed minor gains in the number of households reporting working from home at least three days a week. IDC Research indicated 8.6 million telecommuter households in 2011, up 100,000 from the previous year. The report authors claimed “The cubicle is doomed, but just how long a plank it will walk is still unclear.” Plantronics and Cisco were mentioned for having interesting, successful telecommuting programs. 

 To learn more

Blog: The State of Green Business 2012 

Webinar: The State of Green Business 2012 - The Good News and Bad, February 7, 2012. 

Graphic source: The State of Green Business 2012, Greenbiz.com, January 18 2012.
Data source: IDC

 

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