DENVER, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP - News), today will present the first phase of its newest market research conducted in collaboration with USGBC on green building, showing that education is the fastest-growing market in this sector.

The findings are good news for the industry, given that education construction is the largest construction sector, by value, at $53 billion estimated spending for 2007.

    The first phase of the study also found the following:

    - Fiscal advantages of green building, such as energy cost savings, are a
      major motivation behind green schools and universities.
    - "Improved health and well-being" was also found to be a critical factor
      for driving education green building -- a factor that was not as highly
      rated to the overall construction marketplace from research previously
      conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction and USGBC.
    - Higher first costs are the primary challenge to building green in this
      sector. This is consistent with other McGraw-Hill Construction research
      into the commercial and residential green building markets (found in the
      Green Building SmartMarket Report and Residential Green Building
      SmartMarket Report).

The study also found a strong need for access to and information on green building products. Of particular interest were those products related to improving health, such as reducing mold and indoor air pollutants.

"The preliminary results are very exciting. With the strong education construction market and the increased awareness and industry adoption of green, this kind of research provides the information needed to pave the way for healthier learning environments for our children," said Harvey M. Bernstein, McGraw-Hill Construction vice president of Industry Analytics and Alliances. "McGraw-Hill Construction will continue to advance research in the area of green schools and will also be investigating green building in healthcare facilities in 2007."

The results to be presented at GreenBuild today are the first part of research being conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction into the education green building marketplace. The results reflect findings from a qualitative study of green school and university administrators and facility managers. The second phase, under way for completion in December, includes a broad survey of education facility professionals and in-depth interviews of education building owners. Findings of the entire research program will be presented in the Education Green Building SmartMarket Report to be released in early 2007.

With the release of its comprehensive Education Special Sector Study in December, which will provide detailed economic intelligence, analysis and trends on the education construction sector, McGraw-Hill Construction provides a comprehensive look into this market.

For more information on the report or studies, email construction_intelligence@mcgraw-hill.com or call (800) 591-4462.

About McGraw-Hill Construction:

McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP - News), connects people, projects and products across the design and construction industry. Backed by the power of Dodge, Sweets, Engineering News-Record (ENR), Architectural Record, GreenSource and Regional Publications, the company provides information, intelligence, tools, applications and resources to help customers grow their business. McGraw-Hill Construction serves more than one million customers within the $4.6 trillion global construction community. For more information, visit www.construction.com.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP - News) is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands including Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2005 were $6.0 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.

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