Buildings use nearly 40 percent of all energy in the U.S. today. With the growing need of corporate real estate buyers and tenants across the spectrum to reduce their carbon footprint, construction of new energy-efficient buildings as well as retrofitting of existing buildings offers an unprecedented opportunity to the real estate sector.

According to a new U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) study from Booz Allen Hamilton, the green building sector is outpacing overall construction growth in the country and will account for over 2.3 million American jobs this year alone. The study called the 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study, reveals that the green building industry contributes more than $134 billion in labor income to working Americans.