McGraw-Hill Construction and U.S. Green Building Council Renew Alliance to Advance Sustainable Design and Construction

Press Release

McGraw-Hill Construction and U.S. Green Building Council Renew Alliance to Advance Sustainable Design and Construction
January 3, 2012 - New York, NY

McGraw-Hill Construction and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) have renewed their alliance to share green building news and analysis through GreenSource Magazine and GreenSourceMag.com. Through this agreement, which began in 2006, GreenSource will continue to be distributed to 14,000 USGBC members. The two organizations will also work together to produce thought-leadership pieces about sustainable design and construction.

“We look forward to continuing our alliance with the USGBC, enabling us to work together for the benefit of the construction industry,” said Kate Cassino, VP of Product Development, McGraw-Hill Construction. “Our commitment to sustainable design and construction will remain evident in our products and services, as well as through GreenSource Magazine.”

“Our USGBC members have come to depend on the insightful and thoughtful content put forth through GreenSource Magazine,” said Judith Webb, SVP, Strategic Development, USGBC. “We have an exciting year ahead of us in the green building movement and look forward to continuing our collaboration with McGraw-Hill Construction to advance market transformation.”

A mainstay in the green building market since 2006, GreenSource Magazine and GreenSourceMag.com are produced by award-winning editors from McGraw-Hill Construction/Architectural Record with support from BuildingGreen, Inc. and USGBC. In the past 12 months, GreenSource has received a gold Eddie Award for its website, a silver Eddie for its Sept. 2010 issue, gold Ozzie for its redesign, and a bronze Ozzie for an illustration from FOLIO: Magazine; and a silver medal, a merit award, and five awards for commissioned illustrations from the Society of Publication Designers. GreenSource is a premier provider of green content and a leader in covering noteworthy trends and best practices in sustainable design. In 2011, architects, design professionals and LEED professionals took more than 65,000 continuing education tests for Green Building Certification Institute credit from GreenSource articles and interactive presentations in print and online.

McGraw-Hill Construction is committed to advancing the construction sustainability agenda through its magazines, research and analytics, and digital products. Its thought-leadership reports on green building this past year shed light on the rise of green jobs, green building ROI, and prefabrication and modularization.

For more information, visit http://greensource.construction.com, follow @GreenSourceMag on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.com/GreenSourceMag.

About McGraw-Hill Construction:
McGraw-Hill Construction connects people, projects and products across the construction industry. For more than a century, it has remained North America’s leading provider of project and product information, plans and specifications, and industry news, trends and forecasts. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers in the global construction industry through Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record, GreenSource, and SNAP. To learn more, visit www.construction.com or follow @mhconstruction on Twitter.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global financial information and education company that helps professionals and students succeed in the Knowledge Economy. Leading brands include Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees with more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2010 were $6.2 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

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Media Contacts:
Lisa Jaycox, Manager, External Communications,
The McGraw-Hill Companies Information & Media, +1 212-512-3272, lisa_jaycox@mcgraw-hill.com

Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications,
McGraw-Hill Construction, +1 212-904-4376, kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

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McGraw-Hill Construction Debuts Dodge BidPro — a Web-based Dashboard that Serves Contractors a Customized View of Their Most Promising Projects and Markets

Press Release

McGraw-Hill Construction Debuts Dodge BidPro — a Web-based Dashboard that Serves Contractors a Customized View of Their Most Promising Projects and Markets

January 18, 2012 - New York, NY

McGraw-Hill Construction today introduced Dodge BidPro, the first-of-its-kind, web-based dashboard that pushes the most relevant and timely project data to contractors’ desktops and mobile devices. Dodge BidPro draws from Dodge’s proprietary national reporting coverage, an expansive network of local reporters and the largest database of private and public construction information. Project reports, plans and specifications, as well as invitation to bid capabilities are integrated into the product’s dashboard functionality.

Dodge BidPro utilizes graphs, charts and intuitive navigation to offer contractors a tailored view of Dodge data. Features include sorting by industry trade, project specialty, county, project type and an integrated bidding function. Utilizing intuitive logic and advanced database search technology, Dodge BidPro leverages Dodge’s deep experience in the construction project market to minimize searching for projects, identified by contractors as their leading pain point.

The Dodge BidPro system enables contractors to set up alerts within 23 building trades, covering excavation to roofing, plumbing to carpentry, and masonry to electrical. Contractors receive automatic alerts to new projects and their values, as well as alerts to bid date and addenda changes. Dodge BidPro also introduces a workflow tool to help contractors submit winning bids. Once a suitable project is identified, contractors can use the “Invitation to Bid” function to invite subcontractors to their online plan room and access the plans and specs, greatly simplifying the process of building a winning bid team.

“Contractors no longer need to search for bidding projects that are relevant to them.” said Kate Cassino, VP of Product Development, McGraw-Hill Construction. “Dodge BidPro delivers targeted projects that allow contractors to focus on their most promising leads and provides them with the tools to bid and win more work. The product uses an advanced, web-based technology platform that searches the Dodge database for the most relevant projects, and then pushes those to our contractor customers through easy-to-use dashboards.”

“With Dodge BidPro we have taken the power of Dodge and made it relevant to local contractors,” said Keith Fox, President, McGraw-Hill Construction. “The simplicity of the product makes it easier for contractors to find and prioritize prospects, target and build relationships, and increase their win ratio.”

For more information, visit http://www.dodgebidpro.com/tour or call 1-877-601-6001.

About McGraw-Hill Construction:

McGraw-Hill Construction’s data, analytics, and media businesses—Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, and Engineering News-Record— create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies:

McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two public companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, an education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial’s leading brands include Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Indices, Platts energy information services, and J.D. Power and Associates. With sales of $6.2 billion in 2010, the Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

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Media Contacts:

Lisa Jaycox, Manager, External Communications,

The McGraw-Hill Companies Information & Media, +1 212-512-3272, lisa_jaycox@mcgraw-hill.com

Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications,

McGraw-Hill Construction, +1 212-904-4376, kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

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BIM Adoption Expands from 17% in 2007 to over 70% in 2012, According to New McGraw-Hill Construction Report

Press Release

BIM Adoption Expands from 17% in 2007 to over 70% in 2012, According to New McGraw-Hill Construction Report

NEW YORK – January 31, 2013 – According to its latest SmartMarket Report, "The Business Value of BIM in North America: Multi-Year Trend Analysis and User Ratings (2007–2012)," produced by McGraw-Hill Construction, BIM adoption expanded from 17% in 2007 to 71% in 2012, demonstrating impressive growth despite the recent economic pressures.
"Though it may seem counterintuitive to increase spending during a recession, the research indicates that the industry is continuing to invest in a more efficient and productive future by embracing technologies and processes of BIM," said Stephen Jones, senior director at McGraw-Hill Construction and research director of the report.
"The results of the survey validate many key trends we are seeing in North America — notably, the strong growth of BIM in construction and adoption amongst owners, architects and engineers," said Phil Bernstein, vice president, strategic industry relations at Autodesk. "The results also point to the increased business benefits that all users derived from using BIM, such as better profits, more accurate documentation, less rework, reduced project duration, fewer claims and the ability to offer new services."
The report states that owners are becoming an important driving force to this increased adoption.  Patrick MacLeamy, CEO of HOK and chairman of buildingSMART International, predicted, "Over the next ten years, building owners will demand ever-increasing usage of BIM as a precondition, ushering in a new era of accuracy, quality and sophistication for the building industry."

As a way to quantify users’ level of commitment to BIM, McGraw-Hill Construction developed a BIM Engagement Index, calculated from each BIM user’s skill level, years of BIM experience, and percentage their projects that use BIM. McGraw-Hill Construction found that:

13% of BIM users demonstrate a very high BIM engagement level (e-level), requiring expert skill level, five or more years of experience, and implementation of BIM on more than 60% of their projects. 67% of the very high e-level users report a very positive ROI on BIM (25% or higher) versus only 20% of low e-level BIM users, two-thirds of whom are at negative of break-even ROI. 52% of very high e-level users experience increased profits from their use of BIM compared to the 36% average for all users.

BIM, an innovative approach to design and construction for pioneering early adopters just a few years ago, is now taking its place firmly in the mainstream of the North American construction industry.

"McGraw-Hill's SmartMarket Report series on the Business Value of BIM has provided the industry with relevant research and metrics on BIM adoption and return on investment," said Mike Ozatalar, vice president and manager of Engineering, Parsons. "Parsons is proud to be a sponsor of this report and continues to provide contributions in the engineering and construction industry in BIM and integrated design and delivery solutions."

For more key findings from the SmartMarket Report "The Business Value of BIM in North America: Multi-Year Trend Analysis and User Ratings (2007–2012)," visit http://bit.ly/ViCIzO.

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About McGraw-Hill Construction: McGraw-Hill Construction’s data, analytics, and media businesses—Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, and Engineering News-Record— create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies:  The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), a financial intelligence and education company, signed an agreement to sell its McGraw-Hill Education business to investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC in November 2012. Following the sale closing, expected in early 2013, the Company will be renamed McGraw Hill Financial (subject to shareholder approval) and will be a powerhouse in benchmarks, content and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. The Company's leading brands will include: Standard & Poor's, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, Crisil, J.D. Power and Associates, McGraw-Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Company will have approximately 17,000 employees in more than 30 countries.  Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.
Media Contact: Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications,
McGraw-Hill Construction, +1 212-904-4376, kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

View the original article here

Green Building Accelerates Globally through Economic Downturn, According to New McGraw-Hill Construction Study

Press Release

Green Building Accelerates Globally through Economic Downturn, According to New McGraw-Hill Construction Study
November 13, 2012 - New York, NY

Around the world, the green building marketplace is accelerating, according to a new study being released by McGraw-Hill Construction in partnership with United Technologies today at the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in San Francisco.

The study indicates a shift in the global construction market, now viewing green as a business opportunity rather than a niche market. Overwhelmingly, firms report that their top reasons to do green work are client demand (35 percent) and market demand (33 percent)—two key business drivers of strategic planning. The next top reasons were also oriented toward the corporate bottom line—lower operating costs (30 percent) and branding advantage (30 percent). In contrast, the top reason in 2008 motivating the green building market was doing the right thing (42 percent) and market transformation (35 percent), followed by client and market demand.

"This research confirms that green building advances environmental stewardship while providing value to the market," said Geraud Darnis, president and CEO, United Technologies Climate, Controls & Security.  "It also confirms that we now see more pull than push for green buildings."

In the next three years, the sectors with the largest opportunity for green building around the world include new construction and renovation projects. Sixty three percent of firms have green work planned in new commercial projects and 45 percent in new institutional projects by 2015, and 50 percent have plans for green renovation work. In the United Kingdom and Singapore, green renovation projects were planned by the greatest number of firms at 65 and 69 percent respectively. In Brazil and UAE, new projects pose the largest opportunity. In Brazil, 83 percent of firms are planning to work on new green commercial projects over the next three years, and in the UAE, 73 percent have new green institutional projects planned.

"It is notable that over the next three years, firms working in countries around the world have green work planned across all building types, incorporating both new construction and renovation," said Harvey M. Bernstein, vice president, Industry Insights and Alliances for McGraw-Hill Construction. "The existing building market is a ripe opportunity for green building, and we are seeing that play out in the market. It is clear that green is becoming an important part of the future landscape of the global construction marketplace, and firms will need to be prepared for that transition."

Green buildings are also expected to garner business benefits for building owners. For new green building projects, firms report median operating cost savings of 8 percent over one year and 15 percent over five years, as well as increased building values of 7 percent (according to design and construction firms) and higher asset valuation of 5 percent (according to building owners).

For green retrofits, operating savings are higher than for new buildings with operating costs reported to decrease by 9 percent over one year and 13 percent over five years. Asset valuation is also expected to increase, though at more moderate levels than for new green buildings—design and construction professionals expect 5 percent increased building value from green retrofits, and owners expect higher asset valuation of 4 percent. For green projects, payback on efforts is expected within 8 years for new projects and 7 years for retrofit/renovation work.

Other significant findings include:

"We’ve been on the ground watching the markets shift to green around the world. Today, there are green building councils in 92 countries around the world—more than double what it was when we first looked at the green building market globally in 2008," said Jane Henley, president of the World Green Building Council. "The business case is helping move the markets, and this study underscores the importance of measuring and reporting those benefits."

"This study validates what we’ve experienced the past couple of years — that the business community has fully embraced green building as a strategic business imperative that also happens to have a strong societal benefit.  We see this as a success of LEED and all the rating systems that have helped drive green building movement globally," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council.

The study also revealed that approximately 48 percent of the work by U.S. respondents was green—with that share expected to increase to 58 percent by 2015. These results are consistent with McGraw-Hill Construction’s 2013 Dodge Green Construction Outlook that sized the green building share of new construction starts in the U.S. to be 44 percent by value, and up to 55 percent by 2015.
The findings are drawn from a McGraw-Hill Construction survey of firms across 62 countries around the world. Firms include architects, engineers, contractors, consultants and building owners. The sample was drawn from firm members of the World Green Building Council in 62 countries, other global industry associations, and the ENR Top Lists. Of the respondents, 92 percent are members of Green Building Councils around the world. The results include a feature of 9 countries around the world with sufficient sample for statistical analysis. The study expands and contrasts against McGraw-Hill Construction’s 2008 Global Green SmartMarket Report study. Given the survey sample source, McGraw-Hill Construction compared the sample against a non-GBC member audience, which was comparable in terms of involvement in green and planned activity. Further, the U.S. sample was consistent with McGraw-Hill Construction’s extensive analysis of the U.S. construction market through its Dodge project data.

The study was produced in partnership with United Technologies with support from the World Green Building Council and the U.S. Green Building Council. Other research association partners include the Chartered Institute of Buildings, International Federation of Consulting Engineers (Fédération Internationale Des Ingénieurs-Conseils), Association for Consultancy and Engineering, Conseil International du Bâtiment (International Council for Building), Architect’s Council of Europe, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. A separate survey of global manufacturing firms was also conducted.

The results of the study will be presented today in San Francisco at the International Summit at the Greenbuild Conference and Expo at the Moscone Center—West Building, with remarks by Geraud Darnis, president & CEO United Technologies Climate, Controls & Security at noon pacific time and presentation by Harvey Bernstein at 4:15 p.m. pacific time. The study will also be discussed at a panel from 11:00 to 11:30 a.m. pacific time on Wednesday, Nov. 14, at the McGraw-Hill Construction Booth #3539 in the Moscone Center—North Building Exhibit Hall. The panel will feature executives from McGraw-Hill Construction, United Technologies Climate, Controls & Security, World Green Building Council and U.S. Green Building Council.

For more key findings from the 2012 World Green Buildings Study, visit http://bit.ly/ZD4zz5. The full report containing these and other study results will be published as part of McGraw-Hill Construction’s SmartMarket Report series, with global release anticipated in the first quarter of 2013.

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About McGraw-Hill Construction:
McGraw-Hill Construction’s data, analytics, and media businesses—Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, GreenSource, and Engineering News-Record— create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
McGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, J.D. Power and Associates and Platts, a leader in commodities information.  With sales of $6.2 billion in 2011, the Corporation has approximately 23,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

About United Technologies:
United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries.

Media Contact:
Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications,
McGraw-Hill Construction, +1 212-904-4376, kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

View the original article here

McGraw-Hill Construction's Laura Viscusi Honored at min's "Sales Executive of the Year" Awards

Press Release

McGraw-Hill Construction's Laura Viscusi Honored at min's "Sales Executive of the Year" Awards
June 28, 2012 - New York, NY

McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), today announced that Laura Viscusi, Vice-President Integrated Media for McGraw-Hill Construction, and Publisher, Architectural Record, has won min's "Sales Executive of the Year" Award in the Sales Team Leader, Single Title, B2B category. The award ceremony took place at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. The event honors the most successful and innovative sales professionals in magazine media.

"I'm thrilled about this award and honored to be recognized among such a distinguished field of industry professionals," said Viscusi. "It takes an environment of support, vision and trust to help us ensure our customers' success in this rapidly evolving marketplace. I'm happy to say we have that environment at McGraw-Hill Construction."

In announcing Viscusi's award, presenters noted that Laura knows the importance of staying adaptable and connected to her audience, advertisers and sales team. Her commitment to excellence and inclusiveness, coupled with her natural creative talents have served her and her company well.  She has increased business across all three of the publications for which she has sales responsibility, including Architectural Record, GreenSource, and SNAP, with Architectural Record continuing to drive the highest volume of new customers in its competitive set.

"We celebrate Laura's success and congratulate her on this award. Her tenacity for achievement and enthusiasm for the customers and industry she serves is well-known to all who call her a friend, mentor, colleague or competitor," said Keith Fox, president of McGraw-Hill Construction. "She has strengthened Architectural Record's leading position and market share by marrying our reach and engagement with innovative programs that work for architects and for our customers. Like our media brands, she delivers."

The Sales Team Leader of the Year Award is the latest in a string of awards for Architectural Record and its staff.  In 2012, the magazine and website have received BtoB's Media Power 50 award, the Grand Neal Award, ABM's top Neal Award for overall excellence, and awards for the Best Use of Social Media, Best Integrated Package for "New York: The Death and Life of a Great American City," and Best Single Issue of a Magazine for its September 2011 issue about 9/11, Ten Years Later. Record's recent launch of its new Continuing Education app is seeing thousands of downloads, and it has surpassed 320,000 followers on Twitter.

For more information, visit http://construction.com/.

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About McGraw-Hill Construction:
McGraw-Hill Construction connects people, projects, and products across the construction industry. For more than a century, it has remained North America's leading provider of project and product information, plans and specifications, and industry news, trends, and forecasts.  McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers in the global construction industry through Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record, GreenSource, and SNAP.  To learn more, visit www.construction.com or follow @mhconstruction on Twitter.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
McGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011 its intention to separate into two public companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide.  McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Indices, Platts energy information services, and J.D. Power and Associates.  With sales of $6.2 billion in 2011, the Corporation has approximately 23,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries.  Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

Media Contact:
Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications,
McGraw-Hill Construction, +1 212-904-4376, kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

View the original article here

Quality and Value Driving Growth in the Green Building Market—According to New McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket Report on Green Homes and Remodeling

Press Release

Quality and Value Driving Growth in the Green Building Market—According to New McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket Report on Green Homes and Remodeling
Energy efficiency efforts become standard in new construction and remodeling projects, while remodelers place high value on waste management and sustainable materials.

May 1, 2012 - New York, NY

McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), today released its latest SmartMarket Report: New and Remodeled Green Homes: Transforming the Residential Market at the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) National Green Building Conference and Expo. The report includes McGraw-Hill Construction's estimate that the green homes share of the construction market was 17% in 2011, equating to $17 billion, and expected to rise 29%-38%  by 2016, potentially a $87–114 billion opportunity, based on the five-year forecast for overall residential construction.

The report reveals that two of the key factors driving this market growth are the fact that green homes are seen as having higher quality and that they save consumers money.

"In the current residential market, there is an enormous need to differentiate your homes for consumers," says Harvey Bernstein, Vice President of Industry Insights and Alliances at McGraw-Hill Construction. "When builders are able to offer homes that not only are green, but also offer the combination of higher quality and better value, they have a major competitive edge over those building traditional homes."

This report, produced by McGraw-Hill Construction in conjunction with the NAHB and Waste Management, is designed to provide key insights into product and market opportunities in the single-family home building and remodeling industries. It is backed by proprietary research surveys and the power of the McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge database.

"NAHB builder and remodeler members were surveyed on their green building practices, which allowed us to shine a light on the state of the green market in this new report," said NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg, a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. "The results highlight the tremendous growth in green building, and the potential market opportunities that lie ahead. As more projects seek green certification, NAHB and the NAHB Research Center stand ready to meet the demands of this exciting and ever-changing market."

Factors driving the growth in the green home building and remodeling market include:

Higher quality for both new home builders and remodelers. For those doing a high volume of green homes (at least 60% of the homes they build), its importance is magnified, with 90% who regard higher quality as an important trigger for building green, compared to 72% of builders overall.Customers are strongly value-driven—around two-thirds of builders and remodeler respondents state that customers request green homes or remodeling projects in order to lower their energy use or save money, more than twice any other factor.Higher first costs for building green are noted by a much lower percentage of builders as an obstacle now than they were reported in 2008.

The study also reveals the key practices and technologies taking over in the residential marketplace as a result of the shift toward green:

More than 80% report that energy efficiency is making today's homes greener compared to two years ago. Use of energy-efficient features is pervasive in the market—the top practice by nearly all surveyed builders and remodelers, regardless of their level of green building activity.Indoor air quality is growing in importance and focus for home builders. 60% of home builders believe that efforts to improve indoor air quality make homes greener than they were two years ago, and 95% of high volume home builders report including features that impact air quality.More than half consider durable materials one of the most important features in their homes today. In particular, remodelers emphasize this key aspect of their projects. Durability and better materials are key reasons why green homes and remodeling projects are considered of higher quality.

"These findings confirm the shift we've seen in the market," says Jim Halter, Vice President, Construction Solutions for Waste Management. "Builders and remodelers are placing more emphasis on energy efficiency, increases in sustainability focused waste management practices and more products made from post-consumer materials. These important factors are pushing our industry forward."

The key findings from the study were presented by McGraw-Hill Construction on May 1 at a plenary session at NAHB's National Green Building Conference and Expo in Nashville, Tennessee, followed by a panel of industry experts discussing its impact on the market. For a copy of the report, visit http://analyticsstore.construction.com/index.php/new-and-remodeled-green-homes-transforming-the-residential-marketplace-2012.html .

About McGraw-Hill Construction:
McGraw-Hill Construction's data, analytics, and media businesses—Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, and Engineering News-Record—create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two public companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, an education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Indices, Platts energy information services, and J.D. Power and Associates. With sales of $6.2 billion in 2010, the Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

About The National Association of Home Builders:
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 140,000 members involved in home building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for this year.

About Waste Management, Inc.:
Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company's customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com.

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Media Contacts:

Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications,
McGraw-Hill Construction, +1 212-904-4376, kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

Liz Thompson, Media Relations Manager
National Association of Home Builders, 202-266-8495, ethompson@nahb.org

Robert Kidwell, Communications Specialist
Waste Management, 713-512-6318, rkidwell@wm.com

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McGraw-Hill Construction Announces Dodge BuildShare—an Advanced Analytics Platform That Connects AEC Professionals to the Firms Behind the Projects, Delivering Unprecedented "Relationship IQ"

McGraw-Hill Construction Sweets Introduces New Mobile App for Design Professionals

Press Release

McGraw-Hill Construction Sweets Introduces New Mobile App for Design Professionals
With this app, design professionals can search for building product information quickly on iPhones and Android devices

April 16, 2012 - New York, NY

McGraw-Hill Construction Sweets, the one-stop source of building product information for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) community, has developed and launched a new mobile app that enables design professionals to search and download specs, CAD, BIM, catalogs, data sheets and more quickly and easily on their iPhones and Android devices. Design professionals can choose from the thousands of building products via Sweets Search or by "MasterFormat Browse" to find the products that meet their design vision.

"We're very excited about this new Sweets mobile app," said Michael McNerney, senior product director, McGraw-Hill Construction. "Sweets.com is the leading source of building product information, and now design professionals will be able to find product information—from wherever they are. Whether in their offices or out in the field, they'll be able to get CAD files, BIM objects, specs and product catalogs on their smart phones."

Sweets has over 75,000 registered users who perform more than 3 million product category searches each year. Users can search, compare, and select from thousands of product catalogs, computer-aided design (CAD) details, three-part specifications and building information modeling (BIM) objects. Sweets mobile offers what designers need when and where they are making design decisions.

"The new Sweets mobile app is in line with our continued strategy to make our content easily accessible to AEC audiences on their platforms of choice," added McNerney. "Our depth and breadth of content has always been the strongest in the marketplace and now access is easier than ever before."

Furthermore, this new Sweets mobile app provides building product manufacturers who currently list their product information on Sweets with even greater access to design and construction professionals.

The Sweets mobile app can be downloaded at the iTunes Store, Android Market and at http://construction.com/sweets/apps/. For more information, visit http://www.sweets.com or call 1-877-601-6001.

About McGraw-Hill Construction:
McGraw-Hill Construction's data, analytics, and media businesses—Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, and Engineering News-Record— create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two public companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, an education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Indices, Platts energy information services, McGraw-Hill Construction, and J.D. Power and Associates. With sales of $6.2 billion in 2010, the Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

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Media Contact:
Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications,
McGraw-Hill Construction, +1 212-904-4376, kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

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McGraw-Hill Construction Receives Six Neal Awards

Press Release

McGraw-Hill Construction Receives Six Neal Awards

NEW YORK – March 14, 2013 – McGraw-Hill Construction's Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record (ENR), and GreenSource received six Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards from American Business Media at its 59th annual awards luncheon in New York City. Hailed as "the Pulitzer Prize of business journalism," the prestigious Neal Awards recognize editorial excellence in business-to-business publications.
"I am thrilled that Architectural Record, ENR, and GreenSource have been recognized as the best of the best by business-to-business journalism’s preeminent awards. McGraw-Hill Construction's media businesses and services remain the leading resources for intelligence and insights into the construction industry, and today’s awards validate the editorial excellence they bring to the table every day," said Keith Fox, president, McGraw-Hill Construction.
Architectural Record, which took last year’s top prize, the Grand Neal Award, continued its success with awards for Best Theme Issue of a Magazine: "Building for Social Change" (March 2012), Best Cross-Platform Package: "Building for Social Change," (March 2012), and Best Single Issue: "New Life for the American City" (October 2012).  Essential to the profession for over 120 years, Architectural Record's magazine and website provide industry news and analysis, as well as coverage of design trends, building science, and professional strategies for architects and design professionals.
"We are excited and honored with these awards, which recognize the talents and commitment of the Record staff," said Cathleen McGuigan, editor-in-chief of Architectural Record. "We have a very strong and collaborative team of editors, writers, and designers, and I am so pleased to see their efforts recognized by these highly prestigious awards. We are also thrilled that GreenSource has been recognized as the Best Website for two years running."
Two awards went to ENR's editorial staff: Best Subject-Related Series: "Critical Infrastructure," and Best News Coverage: "Recovering After Superstorm Sandy."  ENR was also selected as a finalist for this year’s Grand Neal Award.  ENR is considered the primary trusted source of news, analysis, commentary, and data for the construction industry.
"I am so proud of the ENR team, who continues to bring the best reporting on the most relevant topics to our industry," said Janice Tuchman, editor in chief, ENR. "We are honored to have won Neal Awards in two categories, recognizing outstanding journalism."
GreenSource received the award for Best Website: GreenSourceMag.com for the second year in a row.  A mainstay in the green building market since 2006, GreenSource and GreenSourceMag.com are produced by McGraw-Hill Construction and BuildingGreen, Inc., with support from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). GreenSource is a leader in covering noteworthy trends and best practices in sustainable design.
For more information about the awards, view the online Neal Awards gallery, which showcases all 2013 winners and finalists at http://www.abmassociation.com/abm/2013NealAwardsGallery.asp.

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About McGraw-Hill Construction:
McGraw-Hill Construction’s data, analytics, and media businesses—Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, GreenSource, and Engineering News-Record— create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), a financial intelligence and education company, signed an agreement to sell its McGraw-Hill Education business to investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC in November 2012. Following the sale closing, expected in early 2013, the Company will be renamed McGraw Hill Financial (subject to shareholder approval) and will be a powerhouse in benchmarks, content and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. The Company's leading brands will include: Standard & Poor's, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, Crisil, J.D. Power and Associates, McGraw-Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Company will have approximately 17,000 employees in more than 30 countries.  Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.
Media Contact:
Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications, McGraw-Hill Construction, +1 212-904-4376, kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

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Better Metrics of Green Benefits Needed, According to New McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket Executive Brief on Decision Making for Green Building Investments

Press Release

Better Metrics of Green Benefits Needed, According to New McGraw-Hill Construction SmartMarket Executive Brief on Decision Making for Green Building Investments 
September 24, 2012 - New York, NY

McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), today released its latest SmartMarket Executive Brief: Determining the Value of Green Building Investments: A Perspective From Industry Leaders on Triple Bottom Line Decision Making, in partnership with URS, at the White House's 2012 GreenGov Symposium. The report provides the findings of qualitative research conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction through interviews with sustainability leaders in the education, healthcare, retail, manufacturing and federal government sectors on their perspectives about decision making for green building investments.
The report reveals that in order for green building to continue to gain market share at a comparable rate to the past decade, more far-reaching benefits need to be documented and demonstrated to organizational leadership for them to increase their level of green investments. These include benefits across the spectrum of financial, environmental and social benefits—often referred to as the "triple bottom line."
"To date, owners have acted on compelling benefits from their green investments, mainly savings in energy, water, waste and lowered operating costs," said Harvey Bernstein, Vice President of Industry Insights and Alliances at McGraw-Hill Construction. "However, these are only a fraction of the advantages offered by green buildings—missing is a quantification of the full triple bottom line benefits from these investments, especially around the social benefits to human performance and well-being."
The study includes recommendations on actions needed in the industry in order to accelerate green investments across the built environment:

Evaluate social, environmental and financial goals together when making decisions on green building investments;
Create green building benchmarks through standardization and disclosure of operational building costs;
Compile data and case studies that establish the value of nonfinancial benefits of green building;
Create better tools using a more thorough, industry-consensus definition of lifecycle costing based on impacts across the triple bottom line;
Assemble a public database of green project measures across the triple bottom line.

"The data confirm that sustainability is vital to business growth, for us and for our clients. The demand for business to demonstrate its ability to create value for all its stakeholders is paramount," said Lidia Berger, Vice President, Sustainable Practice Director – Facilities at URS. "URS understands how to design, implement and measure the value of sustainable investment. Most importantly, we can provide our clients with a measurable return on investment based on projects' economic, social, and environmental impacts."
Through in-depth interviews with sustainability leaders, the report finds that organizations are using lifecycle cost analysis of operational savings to demonstrate the ROI of green and to justify green building projects. However, most respondents report there is a need for more data about the non-financial benefits of green to encourage their organizations to increase their investment in green building. This report also reveals the need for standardized measures that can fully capture the impact of green building across the triple bottom line.
The results of the study will be presented today at 3:15 p.m. as part of the Economic Valuation session at the White House's 2012 GreenGov Symposium in Washington, DC.
For a copy of the report, visit http://analyticsstore.construction.com/index.php/smartmarket-executive-brief-determining-the-value-of-green-building-investments.html.
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About McGraw-Hill Construction:
McGraw-Hill Construction's data, analytics, and media businesses—Dodge, Sweets, Architectural Record, and Engineering News-Record—create opportunities for owners, architects, engineers, contractors, building product manufacturers, and distributors to strengthen their market position, size their markets, prioritize prospects, and target and build relationships that will win more business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers through its trends and forecasts, industry news, and leading platform of construction data, benchmarks, and analytics. To learn more, visit www.construction.com.
About The McGraw-Hill Companies:
McGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. With sales of $6.2 billion in 2011, the Corporation has approximately 23,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.
Media Contact:
Kathy Malangone, Senior Director, Marketing Communications,
McGraw-Hill Construction, +1 212-904-4376, kathy_malangone@mcgraw-hill.com

View the original article here