The deteriorating environmental conditions indicate a dire need for sustainable and environment friendly measures like green building practices. Aimed at preserving the environment, such practices can bring about a major difference to the environmental condition. They can help in making earth a better place for the current and upcoming generations.
Enhancing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use energy, water, and other raw materials, green building practices help in preserving the natural environment around us. They are based on the concept of using environment friendly activities for constructing a building that can serve a purpose. Green building practices promote the use of eco-friendly products for roofing material, building material, cabinets, counters and the flooring.
Use products such as reclaimed lumber, recycled plastic, recycled glass or natural products such as bamboo, cork and linoleum which are made of natural, renewable materials.
As per the United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Green building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building is also known as a sustainable or high-performance building.”
Benefits of Green building practices:
Green building practices offer a number of benefits, ranging from environmental to economic to social.
Environmental benefits:
- They help in the judicious use of water
- Reduction in wastage of natural resources
- Green building practices help in improving the air and water quality
- They are also effective in protecting biodiversity and ecosystems
Economic Benefits:
- Green building practices help in minimizing the operating costs
- They enhance the occupant productivity
- These practices promote the use of green product and services
Social Benefits:
- Green building practices enhance the quality of life
- They keep a check on the use of local infrastructure
- They help in improving the occupant health and wellbeing
Certainly, the wide-ranging benefits offered by green building practices highlight their potential efficacy in bringing about a major change in the current environmental conditions.
