Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are on the forefront of environment and energy discussions in the news and in state and federal policymaking. This Earth Day, AGC looks at the GHG emissions associated with the construction industry and challenges members to take a common sense approach to reduce emissions from their equipment. See press release.
Individual construction firms emit very little GHG emissions from their equipment and energy use. Consider the size of the industry: Construction spending totaled $1.14 trillion (8.2 percent of GDP) in 2007 and employed 6.8 million people in 778,000 companies (2005). Despite its enormous size, the construction industry primarily is made up of small businesses. In 2005, 92 percent of construction firms had fewer than 20 employees. The industry includes residential and nonresidential building construction, highway construction, heavy industrial construction, municipal utility construction, and special trades such as plumbing, heating, and demolition contractors. Consider the emissions attributed to the industry: The latest figures from a recently released EPA GHG inventory indicate that the equipment from construction and mining combined emitted 0.95 percent of total U.S. manmade GHG emissions in 2007. Another recent report from EPA, see below, estimates that construction equipment and energy use accounts for 1.7 percent of total U.S. GHG emissions.
Construction Reduces Emissions From Buildings and Transportation
AGC sends an important message to the public and policymakers: the construction industry helps reduce GHG emissions from all other sectors without being a major source of emissions itself. In fact, construction and renovation ultimately are the most immediate and effective ways to improve the energy efficiency of our vertical and horizontal infrastructure.
- Improve energy efficiency of existing and new buildings and industrial facilities
- Reduce transportation congestion through expansion and improvements to vital infrastructure - roadways, airports, railways, and waterway systems - and the construction of mass transit options
- Increase availability and efficiency of energy production through upgrades to existing power plants and the construction of new sources of energy (cleaner coal-burning plants, nuclear, and alternative energy)
- Treading Lightly
- Interview, Greening the Bottom Line
- Case Study, Diplomatic Ingenuity
- Interview, A Green Future
- On the Road