Top 10 AEC Firms in Green Buildings and LEED Staff

With the green building movement now in its second decade, green practices have become integral in leading AEC firms. Giants 300 firms such as Gensler, Stantec, and Turner have set the standards for sustainability to the same priority as breathing – they do it automatically. The following charts list the Top 10 Green Building AEC Firms by Revenue and by Accredited Staff.*

Architecture

Top 10 Green Building Firms

Rank	Company	2011 Green Revenue ($)
1	Gensler	392,000,000
2	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	165,750,000
3	HOK	164,680,868
4	HDR Architecture	137,120,000
5	Perkins+Will	131,350,000
6	HKS	119,325,668
7	NBBJ	106,167,000
8	ZGF Architects	75,600,000
9	HNTB Architecture	62,139,956
10	RTKL Associates	60,000,000

Top 10 Green Accredited Staff

Rank	Company	2011 Green Accredited Staff
1	Gensler	1211
2	Perkins+Will	986
3	HOK	854
4	HDR Architecture	802
5	Cannon Design	397
6	SmithGroupJJR	367
7	HKS, Inc.	342
8	IBI Group	313
9	RTKL Associates	242
10	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	235

Engineering

Top 10 Green Building Firms

Rank	Company	2011 Green Revenue ($)
1	Stantec	189,400,000
2	URS Corp.	137,048,000
3	AECOM Technology  Corp.	118,000,000
4	Jacobs	102,496,836
5	Arup	60,960,000
6	KPFF Consulting Engineers	50,000,000
7	Burns & McDonnell	43,747,479
8	Syska Hennessy Group	43,150,000
9	WSP USA	34,500,000
10	Parsons Brinckerhoff	34,400,000

Top 10 Green Accredited Staff

Rank	Company	2011 Green Accredited Staff
1	AECOM Technology Corp.	914
2	Stantec	664
3	Jacobs	559
4	URS Corp.	501
5	Burns & McDonnell	272
6	Arup	233
7	Parsons Brinckerhoff	223
8	WSP USA	200
9	Clark Nexsen	191
10	Dewberry	178

Construction

Top 10 Green Building Firms

Rank	Company	2011 Green Revenue ($)
1	Turner Corporation, The	4,540,280,000
2	URS Corp.	3,875,000,000
3	Clark Group	2,324,000,000
4	Balfour Beatty US	2,137,850,000
5	Gilbane Building Co.	2,085,018,000
6	Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The	1,911,396,378
7	PCL Construction Enterprises	1,730,300,000
8	Hensel Phelps Construction	1,476,940,000
9	Holder Construction	1,061,000,000
10	Barton Malow Co.	1,005,440,388

Top 10 Green Accredited Staff

Rank	Company	2011 Green Accredited Staff
1	Turner Corporation, The	1251
2	Jones Lang LaSalle	1250
3	Gilbane Building Co.	481
4	Balfour Beatty US	446
5	McCarthy Holdings	407
6	DPR Construction	399
7	JE Dunn Construction	390
8	Clark Group	355
9	PCL Construction Enterprises	336
10	Hensel Phelps Construction	325

*Professions listed as Accredited Staff include LEED APs, LEED Green Associates, Certified Energy Auditors and Managers, Certified Sustainable Building Advisers, Green Advantage Certified Professions, Green Roof Professionals, and High-Performance Building Design Professionals.

The Summer 2012 Course Catalog has Arrived!

Come see what’s new! RedVector is continually adding new courses to help you keep pace with a rapidly changing design and construction industry, so be sure to check out the NEW Summer 2012 Course Catalog for exciting additions like:

Commercial HVAC Building Envelope: Simulation study spotlights improving airtightness in U.S. commercial buildings

Geothermal Technologies Program: Learn about this underutilized, clean and renewable heat and power source

ADA Guidelines 2010: Accessible Routes: Provides criteria for basic elements within the “Accessible Routes” established by the guidelines

The Value of Concentrating Solar Power and Thermal Energy Storage: Examines the value of concentrating solar power and thermal energy in the U.S.

And don’t forget—all new RedVector courses are now mobile-ready and accessible via iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ and more for faster, easier online learning!

Download the Summer 2012 Course Catalog TODAY!

California’s High-speed Rail Plan Approved, but not Certain

California lawmakers have given the OK to the state’s largest-ever construction project—the nation’s first high-speed rail line. However, there are still many obstacles ahead.

Last Friday, state legislature narrowly approved the allocation of $4.5 billion in state funds for rail improvements and to begin construction of the first segment in Central Valley. The move allowed the state to collect $3.2 billion of the $10 billion in federal bonds which were approved for the project in 2008. So far, only about $13 billion of the total estimated $68 billion has been allocated for the project.

There are no guarantees regarding where the rest of the funding will come from. Congressional republicans have said they will block any further funding for the project and investors have not bought into the project as predicted. California voters are also becoming wary of the project; a field poll showed that if the 2008 rail bond was put to vote today, it would fail.

In addition to the funding issues, farmers and local land owners are intensifying their efforts to derail the project that will leave 1,500 acres of fertile farm land unusable and disrupt more than 500 agricultural businesses. But that is a small price to pay for the environmental benefits the project will bring, including:

·         Reduced air pollution/smog and improved air quality

·         Reduced dependence on foreign oil (saving 12.7 million barrels/year)

·         Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 12 billion lbs./year

Long-Term Transportation Bill: Deal Reached

After nearly 33 months of short-term funding extensions, House and Senate negotiators have reached an agreement regarding the Surface Transportation Bill that will streamline the environmental project review process. A Final Conference Agreement report was submitted to the White House today and is currently awaiting President Obama’s approval.

The new legislation—which is a compromise between the $109 billion two-year bill the Senate approved in March and the three-month bill approved by the House in April—will authorize $79.4 billion for highways, $17.1 billion for transit, $1.4 billion for highway safety programs, as well as funding to last until September of this year.

The bill also includes provisions that will make important changes in surface transportation policy, including accelerating highway and transit project approval and reducing the number of federal surface-transportation programs and funding categories. In addition, a $1.75 billion funding boost will be given to the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act over the next two years, up from just $122 million a year now.

Major cutbacks included:  

•  language that would have allowed quick approval for the Keystone pipeline;
•  a provision that would block the EPA from regulating coal ash as hazardous waste; and
•  $1.4 billion in aid for the Land and Water Conservation Fund

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica called the measure “the jobs bill for the 112^th Congress,” adding that it “provides necessary, real reform that focuses our limited resources on critical infrastructure needs.”

LEED 2012 to LEED v4: What You Need to Know

Responding to feedback from industry professionals, the USGBC has decided to delay the launch of LEED 2012 until at least June 1, 2013. Along with the date, the name has also been changed—to LEED v4. To compensate, LEED 2009 has been extended for a full three years, allowing time for incentive teams to initiate the shift between LEED versions. The setback was based on three main concerns:

1. The proposed changes in the rating system were too extensive, too quickly.
2. Some of the changes needed more refinement as newer approaches need to be applied.
3. Many of the resources required to achieve needed credits would not be available by the time LEED 2012 would have been launched.

The evolution from LEED 2009 to LEED v4 next year promises to bring a stronger user experience along with better performance management features that will increase efficiency and improve indoor environmental quality. Some of the most important changes we can expect are:

• New Market Sectors: Data Centers, warehouses and distribution centers, hospitality, existing schools, existing retail, and LEED Homes Midrise will all be included in v4.
• A More Rigorous Rating System: Along with advances in technology and acceptance of LEED and green building practices, the rating system will become more stringent.
• Credit Weightings: In line with the rating system, the credit weightings will also have higher standards.

Stay tuned to RedVector and the GreenView blog for the latest LEED v4 updates!