Summing up the first decades of the green building trend, one expert said, “When all was said and done, there was a lot more said than done.”
Well, that adage has been turned upside down in the last ten years. Call it Green Building 2.0! A new, exciting wave of buildings for residential and commercial use boost eco-friendly design and systems using sustainable materials and methods.
The process begins with architecture. Designing and building the proper form of a structure to sustain functions allows living and working in ways that have less negative impact on the environment.
Why Do Builders Go Green?
There are several reasons why green designs are rising in numbers and stature around the world.
The Demand
Per the U.S. Green Building Council, “Buildings are responsible for an enormous amount of global energy use, resource consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions.” We’d all like that to change, and, to borrow from Gandhi’s famous line, we want to support the change we want to see in the world. That means living and working in buildings that cause less harm to the environment and perhaps even benefit it. While this vision is most prevalent among Millennials, it is taking root across all demographics.
Corporate Image
Perhaps we’re being a touch cynical here, so more positively stated, the developers of the eco-friendly buildings in which we live and work want to be responsible corporate citizens. Green buildings are good for their image because they are better for the world.
Environmental Reasons
More core than demand and image, here are the reasons and percentages of respondents in a global survey that gave them for building green:
- Reduced energy consumption – 72%
- Lowered greenhouse gas emissions – 27%
- Protected natural resources – 27%
- Reduced water consumption – 25%
- Improved indoor air quality (IAQ) – 17%
These 2012 figures from the World Green Building Council’s Smart Market Report show significant growth in most categories over 2008 numbers.
How Green Are Builders Getting?
Saying that a building is green is a sure bet only if it is sheathed in a forest green or rich emerald. When the discussion is about a building’s environmental impact, then the issue is one of degrees. It’s far easier to implement green building practices in new construction. However, the clear majority of the world’s buildings were erected before the move to eco-safe construction was popular.
In light of that, information from the Smart Market Report lists categories of green building products used around the world with recent data (2012) and projected figures for 2017. Most of the products are part of retrofitting an existing building. Here are the numbers from key categories. The first figure is 2012; the second is what is projected for 2017 based on surveys of building owners and managers:
- Electrical such as photovoltaic panels: 63% / 62% (the only category where the percentage decreased)
- Mechanical such as efficient HVAC systems: 60% / 63%
- Heat/Moisture Protection such as vapor barriers to prevent air leaks: 60% / 64%
- Building automation for lighting and other systems: 57% / 62%
- Waste Management such as recycling/reuse programs: 52% / 61%
- Furnishings such as those made with recycled and/or recyclable materials: 34% / 44%
The report states that 89% of all respondents reported making advancements in at least one category. The countries where the most buildings are being outfitted with green building materials are Singapore (100%), Brazil (96%), and South Africa (96%). By contrast, the U.K. (85%) and the U.S. (84%) are among the industrialized countries that are lagging.
Today’s Greenest Buildings
Here’s a short list to get you started on exploring structures on the cutting edge of building green.
The head office of Geelen Counterflow in the Netherlands (see above and see featured image above) has been called “the most sustainable office building in the world.” Among its green practices is the use of solar energy that generates 50 percent more electricity than required to power the building. All materials used in construction, including recycled timber, are sustainable.
The K2 apartments in Victoria, Australia, is a 92-unit development built in 2007 that is the winner of many prestigious awards. The complex boasts low greenhouse gas emissions through using less than 50 percent of the norm for electricity, natural gas, and water. Rainwater is treated for human use, and greywater is recycled as two of the development’s resource-conserving practices.
Taipei 101 in Taiwan is dubbed the world’s tallest green building for its LEED Platinum certification, the highest awarded by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design organization.
One Angel Square Manchester, UK achieved an “Outstanding” rating by BREEAM, the Building Research Established Environmental Assessment Methodology. Its green methods include a combined heat and power (CHP) plant fed by pure plant oil that produces excess electricity to send back to the grid. LED lighting, recycled waste, and rainwater are also utilized.
Other buildings worth investigating for their sustainability include Shanghai Tower in China, One Bryant Park in NYC, The Crystal in London, and the beautifully designed Micro Emission Sun-Moon Mansion in Dezhou, China.
The Central Role of Manufacturers
Green buildings wouldn’t be the success they are without manufacturers making necessary production adjustments for energy-efficient equipment systems and the parts to support them. Nowhere is this more evident than in the various fields of clean, alternative energy such as geothermal, solar, and wind. In 2015, $396 billion AUD was invested globally in renewable energy while just $180 billion was invested in fossil fuel development.
This increase in demand for clean energy means, according to one manufacturer, that, “…manufacturers of equipment used to produce carbon-based, fossil fuel-derived electricity are discovering that the designs of some of their equipment must be adapted for use with alternative energy sources.” Making those changes turns the vision of alternative energy into reality.
The eco-shift from fossil fuel-derived power to alternative/renewable sources is a flow:
- The need: Change must happen
- The vision: Change can happen
- The demand: Make the change to green buildings that use alternative energy!
- The investment: Here’s $396 billion AUD to make the changes
- The manufacturing: Here’s the equipment and parts required to change to clean, renewable energy
- The implementation: We have changed the world!
What part will you play in supporting the change you want to see in the world? It might be as simple as advocating for green building updates through the first three steps above where you live or work. If you’re a decision-maker in those settings or a building owner, an investor or manufacturer, then your role is found in steps 4-6.
The change is possible; be the change you want to see for a greener world.
Further Reading:
- China Today- Explaining China to the World – China Today
- Earthbag Building
- 6 Effective Ways to Make Your New House Green
