Friday, September 1, 2017

Green Building in a Climate-challenged World

In today’s world, there’s much buzz around sustainable or “green” building design and construction, a method where resources are wisely used to create high-quality, more energy efficient, and healthier homes and commercial buildings.

Image source: GoSolarAfrica.org
Green design strikes a balance between high-quality building and low environmental impact. A lighter footprint translates to a longer-lasting planet, which rewards both business and the environment.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, more popularly known as LEED, is at the forefront of green building. It is a voluntary national certification process that assists industry experts in developing high-performance and sustainable residential and commercial projects. Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES), meanwhile, is an automated approach to measuring a building product’s life-cycle assessment, as well as environmental and economic impact.

Green construction technology is a wide-ranging category, covering everything from appliances to geothermal heating. It includes solar power, cool roofs, biodegradable materials, and storm water management, to name a few. The so-called zero energy home, for instance, is built to successfully operate independently of the normal electric grid– it provides its own power through renewable sources.

Green building goes beyond its many parts and materials and embraces processes and impacts that benefit the environment at large. In a planet facing changing climate, increasing temperatures, and related environmental issues, building green becomes more than just a trend, but a potential necessity.

Image source: Cellar.org
Lisa Dudzik is a contracts and claims manager from Perth, Western Australia, who lived in different parts of the world as an expat. She is also an MBA graduate and is currently pursuing an LL.M. in International Commercial Law. Read more about the construction industry by visiting this blog.

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