'Going green' hot idea in construction, but trickle-down effect has been slow

Green is arguably the hottest color in building construction. The more green-minded certifications a building has, the better its street credit.

Yet, as the green revolution ramps up the front end of the building process, with more construction and architecture firms jumping on the bandwagon, it has yet to domino fully through related areas, such as real estate marketing, appraisals, mortgages and the buyers themselves.

“There’s been a lot of work in the past five years to get the supporting industries up to speed,” said Aurora Sharrard, director of innovation with the Green Building Alliance on the South Side. But the chasm is far from closed, she said.

On the commercial side, companies such as PNC and Citigroup are leading the world in LEED-certified buildings, which means they “get it,” Sharrard said.

Read the full story in the Pittsburgh Business Times