Are green buildings the way forward?

Yes, they are. Unequivocally so. Because buildings as they exist now cause environmental degradation. Given the scenario of global warming this is an untenable situation. Internationally 40 to 50% of primary energy is consumed in buildings. Additionally they are responsible for 40% of total carbon dioxide emissions of the world. If one stayed the course and did not take remedial step this would go up to 70% by 2020! Add to this another 8% of emissions caused by burning of fossil fuel and bio mass to facilitate heating and cooling in these buildings.

One reason for this problem is of course the unsustainable land use practices in urban areas. However it is the building sector that has to initiate the major steps to reduce carbon emissions. According to estimates of the International Panel on Climate Changes emissions by buildings in the commercials and residential sectors can be brought down by a whopping 29% by 2020. In no other sector is such a major gain possible. Most of the costs emanating from pollution caused by buildings can be eliminated by professional renovation and new construction following new age markers. Green buildings therefore carry in themselves the solution both to environmental as well as economic challenges. Not only do green buildings reduce the overall environmental footprint, they also cause overall cost reductions during the entire life cycle of the building. That apart, using these technologies presents new economic opportunities, increases industrial output, enhances social welfare, as well as the comfort and health of the occupants of the buildings. A real win win situation, if there were any.

There are several techniques which are put into use to make buildings come up the green way. One of these is the extensive use of steel frames, which reduces the building time frame, saves costs and improves thermal qualities. Steel happens to be fully recyclable and one can build a house on a raised platform, which negates any bad impact on the environment, It is far better to transport a semi-complete house on a truck than have heavily laden trucks lumber up and down the road. Houses erected with help of lightweight steel framework systems are better than conventional brick and mortar constructions in as much as they provide better insulation during the winter and keep the building cool in the winter. The use of CAD (Computer Aided Design) software makes it possible to customise the design to the specifications desired by the client.

In this type of construction the first step is to erect the framework, after which the walls are typically clad with OSB board and Vermont plank and internally fortified with gypsum board. The insulation in the wall cavity takes care of the temperature issues. The usual time frame for complete such a construction is only a few months. The concept of green building has slowly but surely gained a fair amount of momentum, the world over. If one were to define green buildings one could say that these are buildings which consume minimal and optimal quantities of water, power and energy during construction, operation and eventual demolition.

We can take care that our future and upcoming buildings follow the green code. But what about the existing buildings that are not green? What do we do about them? Well we retrofit them so as to make them comply with green specifications. The economic potential of this is colossal. The total size of the retrofitting market is nearly $400 billion in the commercial building sector. Right now the market is small but by some estimates should grow to the size of $6.6 billion by 2013. In the U.S. the total commercial buildings market at a size of 70 billion square feet of space offers an incredible opportunity to effect energy savings, reduce carbon emissions, and increase property values.

Though direct energy savings is an important factor in the decision to retrofit commercial buildings the more significant factors have to do with the desire for lower carbon footprint, higher employee output and escalation in property value. Why even the rentals of green buildings are higher. We can see that green buildings are here to stay not because of legislation and coercive policies of governments because regular business houses have realised that the old markers of development were no longer economically viable and continuing in the same vein would be disastrous, both for the environment and the businesses. The sensible way, in fact the only way forward was to follow the route of holistic development that is in sync and indeed partnership with the environment, and green buildings are a major outcome of this organic perspective of growth.