PHILADELPHIA, PA—With more than 34 percent of its office space regarded as “green,” Philadelphia ranked 14th of 30 markets on the 2015 Green Building Adoption Index, a joint project of CBRE and Maastricht University.
“Our 2015 study confirmed that green building adoption has been primarily a big building, first-tier city phenomenon,” says David Pogue, CBRE's global director of corporate responsibility. “It would appear that many smaller buildings in the majority of large markets still have an opportunity to be 'best in class' among their peer set by achieving these certifications.”
Although it slipped from number six in 2014, Philadelphia's green office space (defined as holding either an EPA ENERGY STAR label, US Green Building Council full-building LEED certification or both), Philadelphia continued to be one of the leading cities in the nation in a number of green categories.
The ratio of square footage to buildings is one of the lowest in the nation, trailing only New Jersey and Manhattan. This suggests that a larger share of smaller or average-sized buildings in Philadelphia are also engaged in the green building movement.
Downtown Philadelphia remains a major force in leading the way towards green buildings, with 27.3% of all downtown buildings holding ENERGY STAR or LEED certification.
USGBC says Philadelphia ranks number five in its top 10 list of the most populous cities with LEED certification. This is in large part due to the encouragement from a zoning code set in August 2012. Local institutions leading the way include the Lincoln Financial Field with energy-efficient technologies, and the new Comcast Center–expected to be the tallest LEED-certified building in the country–with a vegetative roof, erosion control, and a storm-water management system.
Executed in close collaboration with the USGBC and CBRE Research, this is the second release of the annual Green Building Adoption Index. Based on a rigorous methodology, the Index shows the growth of ENERGY STAR- and LEED-certified space for the 30 largest U.S. office markets, both in aggregate and in individual markets, over the previous 10 years.
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Steve Lubetkin
Steve Lubetkin is the New Jersey and Philadelphia editor for GlobeSt.com. He is currently filling in covering Chicago and Midwest markets until a new permanent editor is named. He previously filled in covering Atlanta. Steve’s journalism background includes print and broadcast reporting for NJ news organizations. His audio and video work for GlobeSt.com has been honored by the Garden State Journalists Association, and he has also been recognized for video by the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has produced audio podcasts on CRE topics for the NAR Commercial Division and the CCIM Institute. Steve has also served (from August 2017 to March 2018) as national broadcast news correspondent for CEOReport.com, a news website focused on practical advice for senior executives in small- and medium-sized companies. Steve also reports on-camera and covers conferences for NJSpotlight.com, a public policy news coverage website focused on New Jersey government and industry; and for clients of StateBroadcastNews.com, a division of The Lubetkin Media Companies LLC. Steve has been the computer columnist for the Jewish Community Voice of Southern New Jersey, since 1996. Steve is co-author, with Toronto-based podcasting pioneer Donna Papacosta, of the book, The Business of Podcasting: How to Take Your Podcasting Passion from the Personal to the Professional. You can email Steve at [email protected].
