NEW YORK CITY—“We can make a huge difference because when it comes to emissions, buildings are the bad boys on the block. They are worse than transportation. They are worse than industry. Unlike cars, buildings are a long-term investment. What we choose to build today will have an impact for generations,” said Beth Haider, chief sustainability officer at Skanska, a multinational construction company based in Sweden, and ranked the fifth largest in the world by Construction Global magazine.

The existing US residential and commercial building stock is about 250 billion square feet. In 15 years, about 50 billion square feet of it will be demolished, and 150 billion square feet will receive major renovations. Another 200 billion square feet will be added.

Now, the real estate industry is in a position to make a huge difference, facing an unprecedented opportunity for the built environment to reduce global warming. That also means big business, Haider told the 175 attendees of the CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) New York professional association luncheon at 101 Park Ave. on Tuesday.