Buildings account for one-sixth of the world's fresh water withdrawals, onequarter of its wood harvest, and two-fifths of its material and energy flows Building "green" is an opportunity to use our resources efficiently while creating healthier buildings that improve human health, build a better environment, and provide cost savings.
contents 1.0 Goals of green building 1.1 Life cycle assessment (LCA) 1.2 Siting and structure design efficiency 1.3 Energy efficiency 1.4 Water efficiency 1.5 Materials efficiency 1.6 Indoor environmental quality enhancement 1.7 Operations and maintenance optimization 1.8 Waste reduction 2.0 Reducing environmental impact 3.0 Cost and payoff 4.0 Regulation and operation 5.0 International frameworks and assessment tools
1.0 Goals of green building
On the aesthetic side of green architecture or sustainable design is the philosophy of designing a building that is in harmony with the natural features and resources surrounding the site. There are several key steps in designing sustainable buildings: specify 'green' building materials from local sources, reduce loads, optimize systems, and generate on-site renewable energy.
1.1 Life cycle assessment (LCA) A life cycle assessment (LCA) can help avoid a narrow outlook on environmental, social and economic concerns by assessing a full range of impacts associated with all the stages of a process from cradle-to-grave (i.e., from extraction of raw materials through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling).
Impacts taken into account include (among others) embodied energy, global warming potential, resource use, air pollution, water pollution, and waste.
1.2 Siting and structure design efficiency In designing environmentall y optimal buildings, the objective is to minimize the total environmental impact associated with all lifecycle stages of the building project.
However, building as a process is not as streamlined as an industrial process, and varies from one building to the other, never repeating itself identically.
1.3 Energy efficiency As highperformance buildings use less operating energy, embodied energy has assumed much greater importance – and may make up as much as 30% of the overall life cycle energy consumption.
Studies such as the U.S. LCI Database Project show buildings built primarily with wood will have a lower embodied energy than those built primarily with brick, concrete or steel.
1.4 Water efficiency Bidets help eliminate the use of toilet paper, reducing sewer traffic and increasing possibilities of re-using water on-site. Point of use water treatment and heating improves both water quality and energy efficiency while reducing the amount of water in circulation. The use of non-sewage and gray water for on-site use such as site-irrigation will minimize demands on the local aquifer.
The use of non-sewage and gray water for on-site use such as site-irrigation will minimize demands on the local aquifer.
1.5 Materials efficiency Building materials typically considered to be 'green' include lumber from forests that have been certified to a thirdparty forest standard, rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo and straw, insulating concrete forms, dimension stone, recycled stone, recycled metal, and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and
/or recyclable (e.g., Tress, Linoleum, sheep wool, panels made from paper flakes, compressed earth block, adobe, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, vermiculite, flax linen, sisal, sea grass, cork, expanded clay grains, coconut, wood fiber plates, calcium sand stone, concrete (high and ultra high performance, roman self-healing concrete) , etc.)
1.6 Indoor environmental quality enhancement
Indoor Air Quality seeks to reduce volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and other air impurities such as microbial contaminants. Buildings rely on a properly designed ventilation system (passively/naturallyor mechanically-powered) to provide adequate ventilation of cleaner air from outdoors or recirculated, filtered air as well as isolated operations (kitchens, dry cleaners, etc.) from other occupancies.
1.7 Operations and maintenance optimization
Although the goal of waste reduction may be applied during the design, construction and demolition phases of a building's lifecycle, it is in the O&M phase that green practices such as recycling and air quality enhancement take place.
1.8 Waste reduction
When buildings reach the end of their useful life, they are typically demolished and hauled to landfills. Deconstruction is a method of harvesting what is commonly considered “waste” and reclaiming it into useful building material. Extending the useful life of a structure also reduces waste – building materials such as wood that are light and easy to work with make renovations easier.
2.0 Reducing environmental impact Green building practices aim to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. Buildings account for a large amount of land. According to the National Resources Inventory, approximately 107 million acres of land in the United States are developed. The International Energy Agency released a publication that estimated that existing buildings are responsible for more that 40% of the world’s total primary energy consumption and for 24% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
3.0 Cost and payoff The most criticized issue about constructing environmentally friendly buildings is the price. Photo-voltaics, new appliances, and modern technologies tend to cost more money. Most green buildings cost a premium of <2%, but yield 10 times as much over the entire life of the building. The stigma is between the knowledge of up-front cost vs. life-cycle cost.
4.0 Regulation and operation Green building codes and standards, such as the International Code Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s draft International Green Construction Code, are sets of rules created by standards development organizations that establish minimum requirements for elements of green building such as materials or heating and cooling.
5.0 International frameworks and assessment tools IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects and options for adaptation and mitigation.
UNEP and Climate change United Nations Environment Program UNEP works to facilitate the transition to low-carbon societies, support climate proofing efforts, improve understanding of climate change science, and raise public awareness about this global challenge.
GHG Indicator
The Greenhouse Gas Indicator: UNEP Guidelines for Calculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Businesses and Non-Commercial Organizations
Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a programme run by the United Nations (UN) related to sustainable development. It is a comprehensive blueprint of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the UN, governments, and major groups in every area in which humans impact on the environment. The number 21 refers to the 21st century.
FIDIC's PSM
The Project Sustainability Management Guidelines are structured with Themes and SubThemes under the three main sustainability headings of Social, Environmental and Economic. For each individual Sub-Theme a core project indicator is defined along with guidance as to the relevance of that issue in the context of an individual project.
IPD Environment Code The IPD Environment Code was launched in February 2008. The Code is intended as a good practice global standard for measuring the environmental performance of corporate buildings. Its aim is to accurately measure and manage the environmental impacts of corporate buildings and enable property executives to generate high quality, comparable performance information about their buildings anywhere in the world.
ISO 21931 ISO/TS 21931:2006, Sustainability in building constructionâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Framework for methods of assessment for environmental performance of construction worksâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Part 1: Buildings, is intended to provide a general framework for improving the quality and comparability of methods for assessing the environmental performance of buildings.