Environmental Leader

While the green building industry added $173 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2000-08, that’s just the beginning. From 2009 to 2013, that amount will more than triple to $554 billion, according to a new report from the U.S. Green Building Council and Booz Allen Hamilton.

The return on energy savings is not near as great as the overall economic impact. From 2009-13, green buildings should help reduce energy use by about $6 billion, compared to $1.3 billion from 2000-08, according to the report, “Green building, green jobs and the economy.” (PDF).

When it comes to LEED-specific construction, which contributed about $830 million to the GDP from 2000-08, the future looks sunny. From 2009-13, the figure jumps to $12.5 billion.

Over that span, the green building sector should create about 7.9 million jobs, compared to 2.4 million from 2000-08, the report states. Those figures include jobs created directly, indirectly and by induction.

However, at least for New England, the impact of green jobs is overstated, reports the Boston Herald.

Economists at the New England Economic Partnership said that clean energy cannot be counted on to be the next “growth engine” for New England.

The “green” economy accounts for just 4 percent of the region’s employment, said Ross Gittell, an economist at the University of New Hampshire.