“Be green - everybody’s doing it” announced a headline in Fortune magazine this summer: “Politicians, big business, moms and pops - the national conversation is picking up steam.”

Is everybody really doing it? Well, maybe not quite yet, but we’ve definitely seen a surge in green. The sustainable movement has gone way beyond a few innovators in the building industry and into the mainstream – in homes and in offices.

New research supports the theory that green is growing. A spring 2006 GMIPoll (a global survey of 9,000 online consumers by Global Market Insite) suggests that soaring energy prices, an increase in global warming, the rise in CO2 levels, pollution, and deforestation may explain why 90 percent of Americans are concerned about the future of the environment.

Americans worry about issues including global warming, the loss of natural habitat for wildlife and the loss of tropical rain forests; however, the poll finds that the most significant concerns are pollution of lakes, rivers and reservoirs; air pollution; using up natural resources and contamination of soil and water by toxic waste.

According to the GMIPoll, Americans are willing to spend more money on green products (like recycled paper products and energy-saving lightbulbs) and incorporate green practices into their home (such as recycling).

But what about at work? According to a July 2006 poll by Mortgage Lenders Network USA, 94 percent of Americans prefer to work in a building that is designed to be energy efficient and ecologically sound.

ED+C’s staff pushed for a greener office, and we’ve incorporated green practices such as an office-wide recycling program and printing on recycled paper (see our eco-audit to the right).

ED+C research demonstrates the growth of the industry in several ways. Our Green Building Industry Awareness Study, March 2006, asks: “Have you seen an increase in the last two years in requests for environmental or “green” building design and construction? More than half reported a “slight” increase while 41 percent saw a “significant” increase.

And, unsurprisingly, everyone expects to see this trend to continue: almost 90 percent of respondents expect their firm’s environmentally considerate projects to increase in the next three to five years. Nobody said they expect a decrease…. No kidding!

Based on the e-mails and calls I receive, I know that almost everyone is doing “it” these days, and those that aren’t want in on the action. Why now? Well, we know that green buildings can be safer, healthier, more efficient, economical and even profitable, not to mention a benefit to the environment. It’s about time more people jump on this bandwagon!

If you have a seen a huge surge in the market, what do you attribute it to? Share your stories at hucalm@bnpmedia.com.

When I was a child begging my mom with the age-old “C’mon, everybody else is doing it,” she would say no way… But now, my mom is proud, and for once, encouraging me to be like everyone else, if that means being green.