GREEN BUILDING

Green building - also known as

sustainable or high performance
building - is the practice of:
Increasing the efficiency with
which buildings and their sites
use and harvest energy, water,
and materials; and
Protecting and restoring human
health and the environment,
throughout the building life-
cycle: siting, design,
construction, operation,
maintenance, renovation and
deconstruction.

The `Green Building' concept is gaining
importance in various countries, including
India. These are buildings that ensure
that waste is minimized at every stage
during the construction and operation of
the building, resulting in low costs,
according to experts in the technology.
The techniques associated with the
`Green Building' include measures to
prevent erosion of soil, rainwater
harvesting, preparation of landscapes to
reduce heat, reduction in usage of
potable water, recycling of waste water
and use of world class energy efficient
practices.
What makes a building
"green"?
A green building is a
structure that is
environmentally responsible
and resource-efficient
throughout its life-cycle.
These objectives expand
and complement the
classical building design
concerns of economy,
utility, durability, and
comfort.

Green buildings are designed to reduce the
overall impact of the built environment on
human health and the natural environment
by:
Efficiently using energy, water, and other
resources
Protecting occupant health and improving
employee productivity
Reducing waste, pollution and
environment degradation


Green buildings may incorporate
sustainable materials in their
construction (e.g., reused,
recycled-content, or made from
renewable resources);
Create healthy indoor
environments with minimal
pollutants (e.g., reduced product
emissions);
And feature landscaping that
reduces water usage (e.g., by
using native plants that survive
without extra watering).
How Homes Become Green

Homes
Schools
Commercial
Buildings
Laboratories
Healthcare Facilities


Benefits Of Green Building
Buildings have an
enormous impact on
the environment,
human health, and
the economy. The
successful adoption
of green building
strategies can
maximize both the
economic and
environmental
performance of
buildings.
Environmental benefits

Enhance and protect
biodiversity and
ecosystems
Improve air and water
quality
Reduce waste
streams
Conserve and restore
natural resources
Economic benefits

Reduce operating costs
Create, expand, and shape markets for
green product and services
Improve occupant productivity
Optimize life-cycle economic
performance

Social benefits

Enhance occupant comfort and health
Heighten aesthetic qualities
Minimize strain on local infrastructure
Improve overall quality of life


Buildings and development have significant
environmental impacts on our natural resources,
including:
According to surveys conducted in 2002, 107.3
million acres of the 1.983 billion acres of total land
area in the U.S. is developed, which represents
an increase of 24 percent in developed land over
the past 10 years.
In terms of energy, buildings accounted for 39.4
percent of total U.S. energy consumption and
67.9 percent of total U.S. electricity consumption
in 2002.

Building occupants use 12.2 percent of the
total water consumed in the U.S. per day.
Buildings, and the transportation infrastructure
that serves them, replace natural surfaces with
impermeable materials, creating runoff that
washes pollutants and sediments into surface
waters. Urban runoff constitutes a major threat
to water resources, as it has been identified as
the fourth leading source of impairment in
rivers, third in lakes, and second on estuaries.

The energy used to heat
and power our buildings
leads to the consumption
of large amounts of
energy, mainly from
burning fossil fuels - oil,
natural gas and coal -
which generate significant
amounts of carbon
dioxide (CO2), the most
widespread greenhouse
gas. Buildings in the U.S.
contribute 38.1 percent of
the nation's total carbon
dioxide emissions.
Reducing the energy use and greenhouse gas
emissions produced by buildings is therefore
fundamental to the effort to slow the pace of
global climate change. Buildings may be
associated with the release of greenhouse
gases in other ways, for example, construction
and demolition debris that degrades in landfills
may generate methane, and the extraction and
manufacturing of building materials may also
generate greenhouse gas emissions.

START THINKING GREEN