Going Green Helps Philadelphia Businesses' Bottom Line
By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Mayor Nutter has a goal of making Philadelphia the greenest city in the country and there's reason to believe there's private sector reasons to move in that direction too.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, which found that Philadelphia is, in fact, at the head of the pack of green-leaning cities, has now studied how several types of water-conserving infrastructure improvements benefit the bottom line.
Larry Levine wrote the report.
"When you talk about these different green design features, like green roofs (vegetation on a rooftop), tree-plantings, landscaping that's designed to absorb the maximum amount of rainwater, all of these things have a range of benefits from energy savings to increased rental rates and property values," Levine says.
For example, the study finds that shoppers are willing to pay 8% to 12% more for the same product if purchased in a mall or store with a mature tree canopy.
Levine sees a government and consumers both pushing the market toward greening infrastructure.