Green Building A ‘green’ building is a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment. Green buildings preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.

There are a number of features which can make a building ‘green’. These include:

• Efficient use of energy, water and other resources
• Use of renewable energy, such as solar energy
• Pollution and waste reduction measures, and the enabling of re-use and recycling
• Good indoor environmental air quality
• Use of materials that are non-toxic, ethical and sustainable
• Consideration of the environment in design, construction and operation
• Consideration of the quality of life of occupants in design, construction and operation
• A design that enables adaptation to a changing environment

Concept of Green Building

• Construction, maintenance and use of Green Building have significant impact on environment.

• People’s concern about environment and energy has necessitated the development of the concept of green building.

• A green building is broadly defined as the building which is sited, designed and operated to reduce negative environmental impacts and has a profound positive impact on natural environment, economy, health, productivity and society over its life cycle.Green building at present constitutes about 5 per cent of the building market.

  -The green building is evaluated by holistic approach where each component is considered in context of the whole building and its social and environmental impacts.

Objectives of Green Building

Following are the Objectives of Green Building:

1. CONSERVING THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Structures and infrastructure tend to disturb the natural environment and ecosystems significantly. Topsoil, vegetation, water cycles, animal behaviour and biodiversity in general are impacted on by the built environment.

2. OPTIMUM USE OF BUILDING MATERIALS

Building materials utilise natural resources. Obtaining these materials requires timber harvesting, cultivation, mining and quarrying. Many of these activities are currently degrading the environment. Once obtained, these materials need to be processed, manufactured and transported. Using local materials as far as possible is an easy way to be greener.

It is therefore imperative to specify the most sustainable building materials possible and to use them in the most efficient way.

3. ENERGY EFFICIENCY

By far the majority of energy is generated using non-renewable sources such as coal, gas and oil. Being non-renewable, these resources will get depleted and, as they become more scarce, become more expensive and more difficult to extract. The process of converting these fossil fuels into energy in most cases produces greenhouse gases (GHGs) which contribute to global warming.

Energy efficient buildings contribute significantly to lowering humanity’s overall energy requirements, which in turn reduces the building sector’s carbon footprint.

4. WATER EFFICIENCY

Fresh water is increasingly being recognised as a scarce resource and water systems are becoming increasingly polluted. It is estimated that buildings consume 40% of all fresh water that is used. This water is used for drinking, cooking, sanitation, cleaning and for the industrial processes that take place in many buildings.

Appropriate water harvesting, recycling and conservation can make a significant impact in preserving this most precious commodity.

5. WASTE MANAGEMENT

Buildings generate an ongoing amount of waste during their lifetimes and in their eventual deconstruction. This waste can be liquid, solid or gas and places a burden on the environment because it can’t be safely and healthily disposed of.

Recycling is one of the best ways of managing waste. Not only can the continuous waste generated by the building be recycled but the actual building itself is able to be recycled when no longer required. In effective recycling waste from one function becomes a resource for another.

The careful management of consumption, clever design and appropriate material choice can significantly reduce waste output.

6. SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Buildings have a profound effect on their occupants and users – influencing and shaping the way in which we live, learn, work, play, contemplate and relax.

The design, resolution and ongoing condition of buildings can either improve or detrimentally impact on the wellbeing of the occupants.

A built environment that promotes human dignity, safety, security, hygiene, ease of use and sound community values will promote wellbeing on an individual and collective level.

Well adjusted, balanced and cared about people and societies are sustainable. Dysfunctional ones are not.

7. HEALTH

Buildings effectively create an internal environment which profoundly affects its occupants. Air quality, light quality, acoustics, temperature and hygiene can promote or hinder health, depending on how they perform.

It has been found that buildings that are environmentally sustainable tend to promote health, which in turn improves the wellbeing of its occupants as well their productivity. There are many case studies proving that the increased productivity of occupants has been the most lucrative result of a greening process.

8. ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability includes financial and economic sustainability. Resource-hungry buildings are costly to produce and use, and this places a strain on the overall socio-economic fabric of society.

The costs of energy, water and materials are going to continue to increase as they become more scarce and an efficient building can contribute hugely towards the financial sustainability of its users or owners. Poverty and financial hardship in the world are increasing and a thoughtful and efficient built environment could realise benefits for many levels in society.

An ideal “green” project preserves and restores habitat that is vital for sustaining life and becomes a net producer and exporter of resources, materials, energy and water rather than being a net consumer. A green building is one whose construction and lifetime of operation assure the healthiest possible environment while representing the most efficient and least disruptive use of land, water, energy and resources. The optimum design solution is one that effectively emulates all of the natural systems and conditions of the pre-developed site – after development is complete.

Green building brings together a vast array of practices, techniques, and skills to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. It often emphasizes taking advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and photovoltaic equipment, and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, and reduction of rainwater run-off. Many other techniques are used, such as using low-impact building materials or using packed gravel or permeable concrete instead of conventional concrete or asphalt to enhance replenishment of ground water.

The common objective is that 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 environmental degradation

   

Goals of Green Building:

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 cradle-to-grave stages of a process: from extraction of raw materials through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling.

1. Siting and structure design efficiency

Concept is one of the major factor determining the impact on the environment. Designing the building in a manner where every aspect is aimed at reducing the damage to the environment is desirable. Sustainable design can reduce the footprints to a great extent.

1. Energy efficiency

Right from construction to maintenance to daily usage, energy consumption should be reduced as much as possible. Onsite generation of renewable energy through solar power, wind power, hydro power, or biomass can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the building.

1. Water efficiency

Reducing water consumption and protecting water quality are key objectives in sustainable building. To the maximum extent feasible, facilities should increase their dependence on water that is collected, used, purified, and reused on-site.

1. Materials efficiency

Building materials typically considered to be 'green' include lumber from forests that have been certified to a third-party forest standard, rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo and straw, dimension stone, recycled stone, recycled metal, and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable.

1. Operations and maintenance optimization

No matter how sustainable a building may have been in its design and construction, it can only remain so if it is operated responsibly and maintained properly. Ensuring operations and maintenance (O&M) personnel are part of the project's planning and development process will help retain the green criteria designed at the onset of the project.

1. Waste reduction

During the construction phase, one goal should be to reduce the amount of material going to landfills. Well-designed buildings also help reduce the amount of waste generated by the occupants as well, by providing on-site solutions such as compost bins to reduce matter going to landfills.