-By AnnMarie Marano

According to the USGBC, the following sectors are leading the charge in LEED certification: commercial office at 346 certified projects, government-owned properties at 284, education at 131. Trailing behind is the retail industry at 31 certified projects, healthcare at 20, and hospitality at 13 (this number includes restaurants).

The Fails Management Institute (FMI) 2008 U.S. Construction Overview states that $21.2 billion worth of green, nonresidential construction was put in place was in 2006. It projects that by this year, all new nonresidential construction will employ the use of green building principles—a 58 percent increase.

So who will be ahead of the game? According to a McGraw-Hill Construction Green Building SmartMarket report published in 2006 (an update to which will be out this coming fall), sectors expected to have the most green building growth holds true with the current USGBC numbers previously mentioned: education at 65 percent, government at 62 percent, institutional at 54 percent, office at 48 percent, healthcare at 46 percent, hospitality at 22 percent, and retail at 20 percent growth.

It seems the same industries continually are awarded the most LEED-certified projects over the years. The answer to why might simply be the difference between the public and private sectors.

"Public entities are charged with being stewards of their constituents' resources, not just for today, but for tomorrow, next year, and the next decades," explains Teresa Burrelsman, LEED AP, and sustainable design program director at Seattle-based architecture and design firm Callison. According to Burrelsman, in the private sector, human health, environment, and beauty are very low on the list of priorities.

"Public organizations, therefore, have a different time horizon for return on investment (ROI), and they must look at elements such as public open space, air quality, and species health that in private sectors are 'external' to their cost pro formas. This is starting to change, but slowly," she says. "As consumers put demands on private developers and corporations, businesses are creating more sustainable products and buildings and finding reduced operating costs is just good business."

So the tide will change once consumers increase their willingness to put their money where their environmental spirits are. "Studies show that 20 percent of consumers will pay more for sustainable options and more than that will pay for items associated with health, wellness, and balanced lifestyles. So design and construction will realign to match," says Burrelsman.

Adding to this environmental shift will be the high-profile building industry organizations' adoption of energy-efficiency programs, such as Architecture 2030 Challenge (established by architect Edward Mazria in 2002), which will force sustainability into the mainstream more than ever before.

Burrelsman also believes that we'll see the most progressive developers in the leading sectors continue to push the boundaries of sustainability on the same budget but with different thinking patterns and solutions.

Holley Henderson, IIDA, LEED AP, principal at H2 Ecodesign in Atlanta, agrees that the private sector typically follows public in green initiatives but also says the reasons why clients pursue LEED certification vary. "The front runners seem to be ROI in the form of energy savings or increased productivity. Some also want to be leaders in their community, and it is important for them from a marketing and customer expectations standpoint. Education seems like one of the market sectors where it just makes sense from an academic and funding perspective," she explains.

Educational institutions see themselves as leaders and the interests of the students and faculty drives that group, says Michael Arny, president of the Leonardo Academy, a nonprofit organization based in Madison, Wisc., dedicated to advancing sustainability. As far as government goes, he says, the mission to do good for the people inspires that industry. But mainly, the push to grow the numbers of certified buildings will revolve around awareness of LEED successes, which will eventually turn into healthy competition.

"Policy is what's driving education and government sectors," says Michelle Russo, LEED AP, director of green content and research communications at McGraw-Hill Construction. McGraw-Hill is seeing a trend in increasing legislation being passed at the local and state levels mandating a change in school construction. Studies that have such findings as increased performance and fewer allergies with access to more daylight are driving these mandates. "Because it's dealing with people's children, it pulls at more heartstrings," Russo says of the education sector.

Although retail and hospitality seem to be taking a while to jump on the green bandwagon, Henderson says that retail is certainly starting to realize the value of LEED certification. "Now, they are deeply entrenched," she explains. "I'm not sure if the numbers represent the full magnitude of the LEED Retail (NC and CI) program. Not only the numbers, but who is involved has made a considerable impact. This is one of the markets I am most excited about as it gets to the mainstream consumer."

With hospitality, especially at the top tier of the sector, the need for a significant element of luxury plays against them. For instance, having three shower heads in one stall or non-refillable amenities like hand soap and shampoo is a direct challenge to green buildings.

"Their cost structure is oriented a little bit differently, but there has been some real interest coming from the hospitality sector in the past year from both chain perspectives and individual operators. It's becoming a standard way of looking at construction in the future," says Russo.

Healthcare will also be making its way up the ladder, as a separate McGraw Hill study has displayed a (seemingly obvious) connection between the mission of a hospital and the purpose of a green building. "One holdback is how heavily regulated they are," Russo says.

"[Healthcare professionals] don't see an ROI right away because they're always running and operating," she says. "You don't get the same cost benefit analysis, but because of some really big projects being done right now, I think we will start to see a pick up [in the healthcare realm], as well."

First, LEED certification programs have to get on the radar screen. Arny explains, "Then when leaders come up and get really good examples, that's when it really takes off. It just takes different amounts of time to penetrate different communities."