Energy Efficiency Build: Creating Jobs Nationwide
More than 114,000 new jobs, many which would come from the hard-hit construction industry, would be created through the Better Buildings Initiative, a White House plan to make existing commercial and multifamily buildings more energy efficient, according to a new analysis released today by The Real Estate Roundtable, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. This key initiative, announced by President Obama in February, combines financial and other incentives to improve energy efficiency in the nation’s commercial and multifamily buildings stock.
The biggest job driver in the Better Buildings Initiative, which accounts for more than 77,000 of the new jobs, is a redesigned tax deduction for energy efficiency upgrades of buildings. The joint analysis also shows how the initiative would have a rippling effect throughout the economy to generate more manufacturing, production, and service jobs – and demonstrating how public funds can leverage significant private investments to expand the benefits to the economy.
