The Sustainable Building Sector Defined
Sustainable building (or Green Building) is the practice of increasing the efficiency of buildings and their use of energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment. This is achieved through better selection of site, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal - the complete building life cycle.
Companies involved in the sustainable building sector are companies that provide products and services that facilitate environmentally responsible practices within the building industry which include:
- the use of products and materials which are safe, healthy and sustainable
- involvement in projects that respect, protect and enhance the environment
- make available comprehensive information and guidance about products, methods and project
Examples of the Elements of the Sustainable Building sector
Green building is sometimes known as sustainable building or environmental building.. While good design is essential to green building, the actual operation, maintenance, and ultimate disposal or deconstruction of the building also have very significant effects on buildings' overall environmental impact.
Effective green building can lead to
- reduced operating costs by increasing productivity and using less energy and water,
- improved public and occupant health due to improved indoor air quality, and
- reduced environmental impacts by, for example, lessening storm water runoff and the heat island effect.
Practitioners of green building often seek to achieve not only ecological but aesthetic harmony between a structure and its surrounding natural and built environment. The appearance and style of sustainable homes and buildings can be nearly indistinguishable from their less sustainable counterparts.
Green building brings together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment. There are several key steps in designing sustainable buildings: specify 'green' building materials from local sources, reduce loads, optimize systems, and generate on-site renewable energy.
Building materials typically considered to be 'green' include non-toxic, reusable, renewable, recyclable or made from rapidly renewable plant materials such as bamboo, straw and timber from forests certified that are sustainably managed. Building materials are extracted and manufactured locally wherever possible to the building site to minimize the energy embedded in their transportation.
Low-impact building materials are also used wherever feasible, for example, insulation materials may be treated with boric acid; organic or milk-based paints may be used.
To minimize the energy loads within and on the structure, buildings are orientated to take advantage of cooling breezes and sunlight. Daylighting with windows eliminates the need to turn on electric lights during the day. Passive Solar can warm a building in the winter. Thermal mass stores heat gained during the day and releases it at night minimizing the swings in temperature. Insulation is the final step to optimizing the structure. Well-insulated windows, doors, and walls help reduce energy loss, thereby reducing energy usage.
To reduce the impact on wells or water treatment plants, a range of options have been developed. "Greywater", wastewater from sources such as dishwashing or washing machines, can be used, e.g., to flush toilets, water lawns, and wash cars. Rainwater collectors are used for similar purposes.
Optimizing the heating and cooling systems through installing energy efficient machinery, commissioning, and heat recovery is an important part of the approach. To further address energy loss, hot water heat recycling is used to reduce energy usage for domestic water heating. Ground source heat pumps are also seen to be energy efficient and at heating and cooling.
Finally, onsite generation of renewable energy through solar power, wind power, hydro power, or biomass can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the building.
