First-cost —how much more (if any) it costs to incorporate green features into a building project.
Life-cycle costs are different. When we factor in energy savings over time, or increased durability, or enhanced worker productivity, green design features and materials become much easier to justify.
Please us today to find out the cost of your Green Project.
The following resources have been suggested from the The Green Issue Feature on “What Does Green Really Cost?” by Peter Morris and Davis Langdon.
The Cost of Green Revisited: Re-examining the Feasibility and Cost Impact of
Sustainable Design in the Light of Increased Market Adoption
Lisa Matthiessen, Peter Morris, Davis Langdon, 2007
The Cost of Green Revisited
This update to the previous report (“Costing Green: A Comprehensive Cost Database and Budgeting Methodology”) revisits
the question of cost of green construction. The report updates original building cost comparisons and examines both a
larger sampling of buildings and additional building types. The report concludes that projects continue to achieve LEED
standards within their established budgets, despite the recent dramatic rise in overall construction costs.
The Cost & Benefit of Achieving Green Buildings
Davis Langdon, 2007
Info Data Green Buildings
This report assesses the cost of achieving specific levels of green (using the Australian Green Star system) by comparing the
budgets of green buildings to similar non-green buildings and concludes that there is a 3% to 5% premium for a 5-Star
building, with an additional 5% for a 6-Star building. The report notes that standards in the country have been set so that
reaching 4 Stars is usually easily achievable.
Managing the Cost of Green Buildings
G. Syphers, et al., Kema, 2003
Managing Cost
This report focuses on managing costs for greening public buildings in California. It concludes that in California, new state
construction projects should be able to reach at least LEED Silver within available budgets.
Costing Green: A Comprehensive Database and Budgeting Methodology
Lisa Matthiessen, Peter Morris, Davis Langdon, 2004
Costing Green
This comprehensive assessment of the cost of green uses several different methodologies, including comparing original budget
to final budget and comparing green buildings to non-green buildings of similar type and use. The report also includes
a point-by-point assessment of the cost premiums associated with LEED.
LEED Cost Study
prepared for the U.S. General Services Administration, 2004
Cost study news
This study, commissioned by the GSA to estimate costs for greening new federal building construction, focuses especially
on two building types: federal courthouses and office buildings. A baseline cost for each building type was established as
well as cost impacts resulting from any modifications to bring the design into LEED compliance above and beyond what is
required by the GSA. The study concludes that cost premiums could range from about 1% to 8%, depending on the level
of LEED achieved.
The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings: A Report to California’s Sustainable Building Task Force
Greg Kats, Capital E, 2003
Cost and Financial Report
A number of recently constructed green buildings were assessed to determine financial benefits as well as initial costs. The
report compares original budgets to completed budgets to calculate the green premium and concludes that green adds, on
average, about 2% to the original cost of a building. LEED was used as the measurement of green.
