Green buildings are designed, constructed, renovated and operated to be resource efficient – they minimize environmental impact while increasing biodiversity and producing their own energy for consumption by the building as a means of mitigating urban heat island effects.
Green building may be more expensive than conventional construction, but tax incentives can help mitigate costs. Continue reading to discover some of the most innovative and remarkable examples.
Energy Efficiency
Green building encompasses a broad array of practices and technologies, from solar and other renewable energy production, water efficiency, materials efficiency, indoor environmental quality enhancement, operations optimization optimization and waste and toxics reduction to operations maintenance optimization and waste minimization.
Energy efficiency in green buildings can be achieved in various ways, including installing energy-saving lighting and appliances and using solar-powered water heating systems. Natural lighting can also help lower electricity usage.
As part of their green building strategies, other green building techniques include rainwater catchment systems to limit run-off; using green roofs, rain gardens and soil to increase groundwater recharge; using local non-toxic building materials like straw, recycled metal, concrete compressed earth blocks wood sheep’s wool bamboo to reduce import of harmful materials and to rely less on imported and harmful ones – such as sustainable materials with lower embodied carbon emissions during procurement, processing and manufacturing with reusability after service life has concluded – thus contributing to reduced GHG emissions during procurement processing manufacturing as well as being non-toxic and non-polluting over their service life span reducing dependency.
Materials
Green building materials are designed to last and require less maintenance and replacement than their conventional counterparts, minimizing maintenance and replacement costs as well as emissions from harmful chemical emissions. Furthermore, these eco-friendly building products typically utilize non-toxic materials and emissions-reducing solutions such as recycled stone and metal as well as non-toxic flooring sealants sourced locally for further reduction of transportation impacts. Wood certified as coming from sustainably harvested forests or rapidly renewable plant sources like bamboo or straw as well as recycled stone and metal are common green construction materials used by green builders.
Water conservation is also an integral aspect of green building, achieved through rainwater harvesting, graywater recycling and energy-efficient plumbing fixtures. Some green buildings even generate their own energy using solar panels for further reduction of fossil fuel and other carbon-based energy sources.
Information on green building materials can be found through many resources, from general overviews to detailed product listings and specification guidelines. Green building rating systems outlined in Tools and Resources provide an excellent starting point for familiarizing yourself with their criteria, while more in-depth research may require customized vetting criteria that address red list chemicals, carbon limits and other considerations.
Indoor Air Quality
Green buildings must provide their occupants with healthy air to preserve both health and productivity, which includes controlling indoor air pollutants by ensuring ventilation systems are functioning optimally, maintaining relative humidity below 60%, prohibiting smoking in the building near operable windows and air intakes, using only low-emitting / non-toxic materials, green housekeeping products and green cleaning solutions as well as avoiding chemical-based cleaning products. Poor indoor air quality can contribute to respiratory diseases, cardiovascular problems and cognitive problems; certain populations such as children, elderly adults and those living with preexisting conditions are more at risk for these issues than others.
Studies have demonstrated that residents in green buildings report less frequent symptoms such as cough, headache and lethargy than occupants in conventional buildings. This may be attributed to lower emissions from consumer products and building materials and greater focus on air quality through filtering, source control and source reduction rather than simply ventilation alone.
Sustainability
Green buildings reduce waste produced and released into the environment, as well as helping preserve and restore critical natural habitats that support life. They use sustainable materials, energy and water sources during their construction and ongoing operation in order to minimize their environmental footprint.
Green building practices help provide access to clean drinking water. Some examples are rainwater capture and reuse systems, low water usage showerheads and toilets, drought-tolerant landscaping designs and recycling construction materials into construction materials.
Many green builders work with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to spread sustainability technologies to communities in need, particularly developing nations. Others invest in projects to restore natural areas to make up for water consumed by green buildings – this may take place locally or globally – in order to offset their use. Such efforts lead to greater environmental awareness while reducing human activity’s negative impacts on our planet, while providing economic benefits through higher occupancy rates and improved resource utilization.