Environmental Issues

Green Buildings

Environmental issues are of paramount importance in today's context and awareness about one's environment, a vital necessity. Eco friendly houses are slowly and steadily coming into the limelight. Over the last few years there has been an attempt to make people aware of their homes, a place where they spend a large part of their lives. There is no better place to begin one's understanding of the environment than from one's home.

Studies have revealed that our homes not only guarantee protection from the elements of nature but also have a significant bearing on our being. This realization has led to the emergence and consequent development of the novel concept of green building. It incorporates the eco friendly ways of constructing, functioning, upkeep and demolition of houses. Green buildings erected, keeping these things in mind not only enhance their longevity but also contribute significantly to ecological improvement. The construction of green buildings reaps in several benefits. Not only does it help in improving the quality of the surrounding environment but also brings down the waste levels in water. It also aids in the preservation of natural resources along with enriching the ecosystem.

Buildings are in fact responsible for about 40% or more of greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world. Global awareness of these issues and the realization of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address other environmental degradation issues have led to the rapid formation of green building councils around the world. With an aim to dramatically improve the sustainability of the built environment by bringing significant changes in the methods of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining and operating, the World Green Building Council was established. It is a union of national green building councils with a mission to accelerate the transformation process of the global property industry towards sustainable development. Its present members are GBC Australia, Canada GBC, Emirates GBC, India GBC, Japan SBC, Mexico GBC, New Zealand GBC, Taiwan GBC, United Kingdom GBC and the USGBC. These nations together represent more than 50% of the global construction activity, and include more than eight thousand companies and organizations worldwide.

Each of these national green building councils, like the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the U.K. Green Building Council (UKGBC), etc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to popularizing sustainable building practices within the nation. Their members include building owners and end-users, real estate developers, facility managers, architects, designers, engineers, general contractors, subcontractors, product and building system manufacturers, government agencies, etc. Together, they work to develop and promote structures that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live in.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system, developed by USGBC, is an effective step towards implementing the sustainable buildings or Green buildings initiative. As an efficient rating tool for green building design and construction, LEED provides standards for building owners and occupants and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.

Certain prerequisites need to be taken care of during the construction of a green building. This includes the use of materials that are less prone to cause environmental pollution and can be recycled after use; steps to ensure that the polluted water does not contaminate the sources of water, minimum use of toxic materials like mercury and steps to help in sustainable development of the environment.