What is Green Building Anyway?
Green building is the practice of designing and constructing buildings that minimize negative impact on human health and the environment, while using resources—such as water, energy and materials—as efficiently as possible.
Did you Know? This law is expected to reduce annual energy and water costs by 20%, in waste-water production by 38% and construction waste by 22%. Source: www.buildinggreen.com |
Sustainable building, a term that is often used interchangeably with green building, includes some of the same practices but also emphasizes societal demands, such as accessibility, aesthetics, cost, functionality, safety and historical preservation.
Natural building, on the other hand, places a strict focus on using building materials that are renewable, natural and locally obtained.
Even though environmentally minded buildings have come and gone throughout the last century or more, today’s green building movement is only about 20 years old.
As a result of its relative newness, the rapid advances in building technology and the multitude of voluntary programs and memberships available, it can be hard to keep the facts straight when it comes to learning more about green building.
Green building organizations vary by location and in terms of capability—whether they provide resources, grants, education, referrals, etc. Some notable contributors include the U.S. Green Building Council, the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council, Green Building Initiative, Green Globes, BuiltGreen, EarthCraft and many more.
Green Building Certifications
Some of these organizations have also developed certifications to recognize excellence in green building—not just in the design and construction of a structure, but also in operation, maintenance and its eventual removal. Some examples of national “green” designations include:
- LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is the most widely accepted green building assessment system. LEED Certification is determined by awarding “points” for performance in sustainable siting, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere quality, materials and resource use, indoor environmental quality and innovation in the design process. usgbc.org/leed
- Energy Star Certification
A partnership between the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and a variety of manufacturers, Energy Star is designed to identify and recommend products, such as building materials, appliances and even entire homes, which reduce energy consumption and pollution. energystar.gov
- National Green Home Certification
A program of the National Association of Homebuilders offers training and online scoring tools for residential construction. Homes can earn certification by third-party verification on similar criteria as LEED buildings, with the added component of homeowner education. nahbgreen.org
Why is Green Building Necessary?
With a long list of benefits such as reducing waste, conserving resources, increasing health and productivity, improving air and water quality, and minimizing strain on our infrastructure, the more appropriate question might be “What took us so long?”
Existing structures in the U.S. account for 70% of the nation’s electricity consumption, 40% of raw materials use, 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually) and 12% of potable water consumption. The intention behind green building maintains that those figures (and others) could be easily and drastically cut.
Even though green practices are not yet mandated, the pro-conservation attitudes that they reflect are gaining popularity throughout the U.S.
Russ Weber, a building official for SAFEbuilt says that being educated in green building is also gaining popularity as a marketing tool for construction providers as well as for building departments of cities and municipalities. “SAFEbuilt’s growing expertise can serve as a resource for jurisdictions that want to participate in the green movement. But it will still be a long-term and evolving process before the entire industry becomes standardized.”
In 2007, the National Association of Homebuilders and the International Code Council teamed up to formalize flexible, region-specific green building standards for individuals and companies who want to build “above-code.” According to the McGraw-Hill Construction Education Green Building SmartMarket Report (January 2007), green buildings represent an estimated two percent of new non-residential construction. However, in only two years, that number is expected to grow to between five and ten percent.
This increase could be thanks, in part, to incentives aimed at builders and homeowners for “being green.” Cities and municipalities are surging ahead of state and federal government to offer citizens tax incentives, rebates, grants and loans for upgrading to green practices.
Parkland, Florida, for example, offers residents a $150 rebate for installing low-flow toilets and showerheads.
San Francisco offers $5,000 to homeowners who use a local contractor to install solar panels. And Scottsdale pays households $1,500 to replace their grass lawns with a lower consumption alternative. Combined with the incentives that the government does offer, homeowners are starting to see an immediate, tangible benefit from participating in the wide variety of ways to promote green building.
Examples of Energy Efficiency (EE) Incentives Offered by Individual States
| State | Green Building Programs |
Tax Incentives | Rebates | Grants | Loans |
| AL | 2 | - | 10 | - | 11 |
| AZ | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | 1 |
| CO | 3 | - | 17 | 1 | 2 |
| FL | 3 | - | 14 | 3 | 4 |
| GA | 4 | 2 | 15 | - | 10 |
| ID | - | 1 | 17 | - | 3 |
| LA | 1 | - | 2 | - | 1 |
| MT | - | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| NM | - | 2 | 3 | - | - |
| OR | 1 | 2 | 40 | 2 | 14 |
| SC | 2 | 1 | - | - | 8 |
| TX | 5 | 1 | 34 | - | 6 |
| UT | - | - | 10 | - | 2 |
| WA | 3 | - | 64 | 4 | 9 |
| WY | - | - | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Source: http://dsireusa.org/summarytables/FinEE_printable.cfm | |||||
Green Incentives in Your State
Want to know what is available in your state? Visit www.pathnet.org.
