Green Building / Ecology
Green, eco-friendly Green building, which for many years has been successfully developing in a number of Western countries, including the US and Western Europe, is still cutting its teeth in Poland. It may be assumed that this segment accounts for only a fraction of a percent of the buildings (both residential and commercial) constructed annually. And yet our country also holds prospects for “green building,” if only for Poland’s EU membership. Patryk Mirecki Specialists claim that the stricter regulations in EU Member States will probably within 10 years make sustainable building a commonly-recognised standard in the construction and redevelopment of buildings. With its Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) of 2002 the EU introduced more restrictive standards in the field of energy efficiency for new and redeveloped buildings. As a result of the amended EPBD, probably from 2021, only the construction of energy-saving buildings will be allowed.
Costs are decisive One of the specialist portals (www. budnet.pl) observes that a significant obstacle to green building, particularly in our country, is the relatively high cost of implementation, though compensated by various savings during use. Hence, the owner of a green building should take into account the investment outlays against the background of the entire life of the real property - not just those incurred during construction. When seen from this perspective, the overall costs over the entire life cycle of a green building are actually lower than those required for traditional technologies. According to
the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the higher costs of construction are usually overestimated. This discourages investors and developers, especially the smaller ones, from projects which, in fact, bring profits - although not immediately. It is assumed that the return on investment for green buildings comes after more than ten years, while most investors consider only those projects which are expected to pay off before the end of the planned (remaining) period of real property ownership. Therefore, the longerthan-usual time horizon for the investment remains an obstacle for many investors and slows down the development of green building.
The big can do more This means that individual investors are much less likely to go for green building. After all, the purchase or construction of a house is usually the biggest investment in the life of the average family. The use of eco-friendly technologies adds to costs, and, despite the future savings from the use of green installations, the initial price is a major discouragement. That is why green building is usually implemented
Buildings are responsible for the consumption of great amounts of natural resources, contributing to the growing heaps of waste in landfills. It is estimated that 50% of global natural resources consumption is attributable to them. According to the US Green Building Council (USGBC), a sister organisation of PLGBC, buildings produce over 136 million tonnes of construction waste in the USA, which translates into 40% of waste in landfills. (Source: Worldwatch Institute). Buildings are the greatest consumers of energy – the building sector is responsible for the consumption of 45% of world energy (based on data for Europe and the USA), and 74% of electrical energy in the USA. It contributes to nearly 50% of greenhouse-gas emissions – as much as industry and transSource: PLGBC (the Polish Green Building Council) portation combined.
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by government agencies, major corporations, and real-property owners/users. Those entities prefer a longer time span for the investment and are able to wait for the financial gain that comes only after many years of using a sustainable building.
It’s bound to be better In spite of that, eco-friendly solutions in construction have been known (and used) in Poland since the 1990s, at least. It was back then that small and medium-sized construction enterprises appeared, eagerly participating in numerous construction fairs (including the largest – Poznań’s Budma), popularising wooden construction, with the use of logs, sawdust, etc., and turn-key buildings. Apart from ecofriendly materials being used to erect walls and ceilings, or roofs, buildings were (and still are) equipped with various energy-saving devices and technologies, depending on the needs and financial situation of clients. For example, the second Wrocław Green and Energy-Efficient Building fair BUDECO 2011, will feature designers of passive and low-energy houses, and producers of energy-saving carpentry, thermal insulation, heating technologies, solar solutions, such as solar collectors, and innovative water-conditioning systems. Exhibitors, besides presenting their products and ideas on energy efficiency and sustainability, will also suggest effective ways of investing in renewable energy sources and managing waste.
Of straw and clay One of the companies providing turnkey green houses (Biobudownictwo J.S.) suggests building them of clay, using the straw-bale method, based on the simple procedure of laying straw cubes and covering them with clay on both sides. There are reputedly thousands of such houses made of pressed straw and clay, and meeting all the contemporary housing standards – in the USA, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Australia, and many other eco-friendly countries. The company also boasts low construction costs – for turn-key