Why are Sustainable buildings a critical part of a livable future?

Why are Sustainable buildings a critical part of future?

Why are Sustainable buildings a critical part of a livable future?

Why are Sustainable buildings a critical part of future?

By nature, the construction industry is the biggest consumer of natural resources. But with the increasing concern of climate change, the construction industry has immense pressure to reduce carbon footprints. While there are several challenges to adopting sustainable buildings, there are also immense benefits.  

The construction industry can implement green buildings and sustainable architecture as the best practice to decrease impacts on human health and environments. The concept of green buildings isn’t limited to just eco-friendly designs; it is about making a living for the future generation. 

Why are sustainable buildings an important part of your future lifestyle? 

The green building concept is beyond the walls of buildings, as it also includes the community, site planning, and proper usage of energy, water, and other natural resources. The growth and development of our societies have a tremendous consequence on the natural environment. 

The industrial design, development, and operation of the constructions we live and work in consume our natural resources. Here are the quick facts that help you to understand the necessities of passive design. The construction of buildings takes,  

  • In total, 68% of electricity consumption 
  • More than 40% of total energy 
  • Discard 30% of waste 
  • Emit more than 35% of carbon dioxide 
  • Use over 12% of water  

Thus, from usage to emission, the construction industry has a massive impact on the environment. The construction machinery works on fossil fuels. As per the statistics, the construction industry accounts for a whopping 36% of global energy while emitting more than 40% of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  

Furthermore, the shipping and the fabrication of the materials also added to the carbon emission. Mining for coal and other raw materials can occur water and air pollution. The production of concrete has resulted in 2.8 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the air, and it is only increasing at a rapid pace.  

The construction can also result in dangerous waste, and improper disposal of waste can result in water and air pollution, affecting human and marine lives.  

Effects of greenhouse gases 

Greenhouse gases have far-ranging environmental and health effects. Climate change has consequences on our  

  • Ocean: Ice Sheets are melting, the extra water in glaciers will cause sea-level rise and cause flooding. 
  • Weather: Warmer Temperature makes weather more extreme, this means not only intense major storms, floods and heavy snowfall but also longer and more frequent droughts.  
  • Food: These changes in weather post more challenges, growing crops becomes more difficult. Water supplies are diminished. 
  • Health:  
    • Climate change will directly impact people’s physical health. 
    • In urban areas the warmer atmosphere creates an atmosphere that traps and increases the amount of smog. Exposure to higher level of smog may poses many health issues like asthma, heart disease and lung cancer. 

What is green building? 

A green building is a building constructed to reduce negative effects on our environment and humans. The green building is the one which uses sustainable design strategies and concepts that focus on the appropriate and efficient use of resources —water, energy, air, materials and land — in order to reduce the development’s environmental impact during its lifecycle, and to make the whole development a highly ‘sustainable living community’ space. 

Features of the Green building: 

  • Minimize its ecological footprint 
  • Achieve sustainable building and community design 
  • Enhance the development’s air and water quality 
  • Have increased operational efficiency 
  • Achieve a clean community, where the environment is protected from pollution 
  • Prepare the community for future and resilient to change 
  • Be a healthy community , where highly livable outdoor environments encourage      opportunities for excursive activity and interaction 

Advantages of green building  

Green buildings have seen a huge popularity thanks to the many benefits they have over traditional buildings that range from environment to social and economic. Here’s how green buildings are making an impact on real estate, residents and the environment.  

  1. Real estate developer/ Architect implementing sustainable buildings on their next project 

There are various advantages of green building for real estate developer, some of them are, 

  • Cost Reduction 
  • Increased productivity 
  • Improved health 
  • Waste minimization 
  • Better use of materials 
  • Environmental protection 
  • Lesser noise pollution 
  • Higher quality of life 
  • Emerging market 
  • Room for experimentation 
  1. The User living in sustainable buildings 

Green buildings are all about improved lifestyle, high-performance buildings and sustainable designs. Besides, you can avail many benefits by living in a green building including,  

  • Better indoor air quality 
  • Improved health and comfort 
  • Reduced energy consumption 
  • Decreased operating costs 
  • Preservation of natural resources 
  • Enhanced productivity of occupants 
  1. The Environment and Community around sustainable buildings

Green buildings incorporate unique construction features that ensure efficient use of resources such as water and energy.  

  • Energy efficiency 
  • Water efficiency 
  • Reduced strain on local resources 
  • Eco-friendly  

Although green buildings avail several benefits, it is still in its development phase. The residents and the real estate companies have to face several challenges associated with them.  

Challenges associated with green buildings 

Transforming conventional buildings into sustainable ones is a time-consuming process. There are many challenges to face, and the cost of the building material is a prime challenge. As per the World Green Building Trends 2018 Smart Market report,  

  • More than 40% of firms reported that cost is the topmost challenge to adopt passive design practices.  
  • Almost 34% of firms reported that they face client demand but fear of high costs.  

However, there are more tangible advantages to adopting green buildings, which will help you to enhance the value of your sustainable building.  They result in lower operation costs and imply a better NOI and CAP rate on your buildings. In a 2016 study, building owners also reported that green buildings commanded a 7% increase in asset value over traditional buildings. 

Final thoughts 

With the increasing amount of environmental impact of every industry, more construction projects will require sustainable construction practices. The sooner you adopt eco-friendly practices, the better you will be to tender large construction projects, overtaking the competition.