More than 114,000 new jobs, many which came from the hard-hit construction industry, were created through the Better Buildings Initiative. This is 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. .
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.
“This Obama Initiative works for our economy in two important ways: it helps create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs while making us more energy efficient,” said The Roundtable’s CEO and President, Jeffrey D. DeBoer. “Unemployment in the construction sector continues to hover above 16 percent. Lending is still difficult to come by in many markets, so financial incentives like these proposed by the White House will leverage private investment to help propel our cities and suburbs forward into a new energy economy.”
“The Better Buildings Initiative will achieve multiple benefits with an amplifying effect – first and foremost, the initiative will create green jobs,” said Roger Platt, Senior Vice President of Global Policy & Law with the U.S. Green Building Council. “This program will also lower energy consumption, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and allow America to retain its competitive edge in the international marketplace as a leader in constructing, retrofitting and operating high-performing buildings.”
“The Better Buildings Initiative helps fill the country’s need for targeted programs with well-defined jobs creation goals,” said Ashok Gupta, senior energy economist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “This plan will help bring lenders into the retrofit market to provide financing for commercial building efficiency projects. Improving buildings’ energy performance reduces harmful pollution associated with energy production while reducing bills for consumers and making businesses more competitive.”
