BOULDER, CO—It's a measure of energy efficiency's broad-based acceptance these days that numbers can now be put on the revenues these measures are expected to produce. Navigant Research projects that worldwide revenue from energy efficient buildings is expected to grow from $307 billion in 2014 to nearly $623 billion in 2023, while cumulative revenue from energy efficient building products and services is expected to total more than $4.3 billion between 2015 and '23.

Today's building stock accounts for a substantial amount of global energy use, putting increased pressure on governments and corporations alike to reduce their carbon footprints and energy-related spending.

“Energy efficiency measures are becoming increasingly mainstream,” says Noah Goldstein, research director with Boulder, CO-based Navigant. “Governments are introducing policies to promote energy efficiency through incentives, prescriptive measures and building codes, and green building certification has shifted from a leading-edge practice to a mainstream concept in commercial real estate markets—so much so that it's becoming the de facto standard in some cities.”