Welcoming Remarks

In 2006 and 2009, Siemens and McGraw-Hill Construction released reports on the Greening of Corporate America with results from independent, quantitative studies conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction. The studies investigated the emerging trend of corporate sustainability, examining the business value and the level of integration of sustainability into the cultures and everyday operations of corporations across the U.S. The 2006 study demonstrated that a fundamental shift was occurring in the attitudes and practices of our nation's leading corporations when it came to the greening of their operations and commitments to sustainability, and by 2009 the new Corporate Sustainability Officer position had emerged within corporations and standard sustainability practices were being integrated into everyday operations and business growth. This presentation of the third 2012 study results will reveal how corporate sustainability has shifted since that time-offering insights into how sustainability is transforming business, and at the same time, how the corporate community is helping define sustainability.

Harvey Bernstein, F.ASCE, LEED AP
Vice President, Industry Insights & Alliances
McGraw-Hill Construction

Ari Kobb, LEED AP O&M
Director, Sustainability & Green Building Solutions
Co-Chair, Siemens Sustainability Committee
Siemens Building Technologies

Sustainability in Practice

This session will explore how sustainability is evolving beyond operational cost savings and is the right thing to do for corporate America. It is driving revenue growth, innovation and customer connections-as well as economic development across the U.S. A panel of three corporate sustainability leaders and one government leader will offer insights into how sustainability is affecting their organizations. The corporate leaders will address the types business opportunities sustainability is driving within their companies, how their efforts are serving their customers, and the challenges they need to overcome to move to the next stage of sustainability. The government sustainability leader will provide a perspective of how a city and corporations are partnering on sustainability efforts and the role that both corporations and government play in creating economic opportunity and more sustainable communities.

Moderator:
David Gottfried 
Chief Executive Officer
Regenerative Ventures
Founder
U.S. & World Green Building Councils

Panelist:
Katherine Gajewski 
Director, Mayor's Office of Sustainability
City of Philadelphia

Frank O'Brien-Bernini 
Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer
Owens Corning

David L. Pogue, LEED AP
Global Director of Sustainability
CBRE, Inc.

Alison Taylor 
Vice President, Sustainability - Americas
Siemens Corporation

Outlook Executive Conference Opening Reception

Cocktail & Networking Reception

Keith Fox
President
McGraw-Hill Construction

The Economic Outlook: Still Driving in the Slow Lane

The road to recovery is a slow one and continues to be fraught with potholes three years into the recovery. The recovery has to fight against too many headwinds. While recent data indicates that housing has turned the corner, the recovery is fragile. The overhang of homes available for sale, either through foreclosure or otherwise, will make it difficult for housing to drive the expansion. Having entered this recession with a record low saving rate and record high debt, consumers couldn't lead the recovery this time. The government had taken the lead as the 'spender of last resort'. But the debt crises in both the U.S. and Europe show that fiscal stimulus risks financial disaster. These headwinds will keep the recovery slow and fragile. A dip back into recession is still possible, especially if oil prices spike to a new record high or if Europe or the U.S. government debt negotiations deteriorates more.

Beth Ann Bovino
Senior Economist
Standard & Poor's

Building Materials & Labor Cost Trends

Economic theory holds that demand and supply will seek equilibrium. Supply shortage and/or excess demand push prices up while excess supply and/or lack of demand drive prices down. The recent recession (it is over, right?) has demonstrated this clearly. However, demand and supply are neither static nor equal across all product classes. Some building sectors simply use more of one product than others (significantly more drywall used in residential construction than in industrial) and so a change in activity in a single sector may disproportionately impact demand for a particular product. The use of some products is fading (either no longer fashionable or a better substitute has become available) while others are coming into vogue (sometimes in response to regulatory change) while the march towards truly sustainable design and the global focus on carbon reduction is impacting product selection in new ways. External factors, such as long-term demand for and availability of commodities and the impact of speculation, distort prices for commodities and therefore supply and demand for particular products. These things combine to make an interesting kaleidoscopic view that can be hard to make sense of. This presentation will investigate these factors, identify the trends and outline their impact on the construction industry as a whole.

Julian A. J. Anderson 
President
Rider Levett Bucknall

Networking Coffee Break & Sponsor Exhibits

The construction industry is starting to show signs of a recovery being felt by professionals, and the green construction market has been one filled with positive news in contrast to the overall marketplace. Building off the Dodge project starts and forecast, McGraw-Hill Construction's analysis revealed that in 2011 the share of green nonresidential construction starts was at 41% of the market, with some sectors, such as green schools and offices, having even a stronger share of activity. Additionally, McGraw-Hill Construction's market research over the last two years has shown a dramatic rise in high performance and sustainability investments in the nation's existing building stock which will be discussed. Using McGraw-Hill Construction's quarterly ENR Construction Industry Confidence Index (CICI), executive sentiment about the current construction market as well as projections for where the market will be in the next three to eighteen months will be presented. This session will also feature a presentation of the latest McGraw-Hill Construction green building market sizing and reveal the major drivers, triggers and challenges to green building facing the industry. The Green Outlook 2013 report will be available to attendees at the conference.

Harvey Bernstein, F.ASCE, LEED AP
Vice President, Industry Insights & Alliances
McGraw-Hill Construction

Real Estate & the Macroeconomy: How Did this Happen & Could it Happen Again?

We are in the midst of an unprecedented decline in real estate prices and production. Housing starts and existing sales are at record low levels, which have persisted for over 40 months. The huge U.S. mortgage market has collapsed in a sea of defaults and foreclosures, sending shock waves through the world financial system. Trillions of dollars in what were thought to be "safe" fixed-income investments have been wiped out in a short period of time. Now the questions are: When and how will the current severe decline be arrested? When will the market return to some sense of normalcy? Will the current modest recovery continue or is this yet another short pause in a continuing decline? If it is a recovery, how strong will it be and could it happen again?

Karl "Chip" Case
Professor of Economics Emeritus
Wellesley College
Senior Fellow
Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University
Founder
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are the leading measures for the U.S. residential housing market, tracking changes in the value of residential real estate both nationally as well as in 20 metropolitan regions.

Networking Coffee Break & Sponsor Exhibits

Politics & Election 2012: A Look Into the Future

Alex Castellanos 

2013 Dodge Construction Outlook

The construction industry has struggled to gain upward momentum. Against the backdrop of a hesitant U.S. economy, total construction starts were essentially flat during 2010 and 2011, and 2012 is shaping up to be more of the same. On the plus side, growth has been reported for such project types as multifamily housing and electric utilities. In addition, commercial building seems to be in the early stages of recovery, and even single family housing is showing faint signs of improvement. However, both the institutional building and public works sectors continue to retreat, adversely affected by persistently tight fiscal conditions. Will 2013 be the year when the construction industry is finally able to make the transition to a more sustained and broad-based expansion? This presentation will examine various factors, such as sources of financing and the recent trend for projects at the planning stage as provided by the Dodge Momentum Index, in assessing the 2013 prospects for major sectors of the construction industry.

Robert Murray
Vice President, Economic Affairs
McGraw-Hill Construction

Introduction by:
Roger Ferch
President
American Institute of Steel Construction

Program Close