Growth and development have made a large negative impact on our natural environment. The buildings we create use up a lot of these natural resources in their construction and operation. And this is why the concept of green buildings was created.

To be more specific, sustainable green buildings are constructed and maintained in such a way as to depend minimally on the surrounding environment. They are meant to reduce man’s negative impacts on the earth’s precious resources, natural environment and climate. They incorporate environment-friendly and resource-efficient processes during the stages of site selection, designing, construction, operation and even through to demolition. Their main aim is to preserve natural resources, reduce the impact on the environment while improving the quality of life.

Any building can be constructed or converted into being a green building; it can be a villa home, an apartment complex, a hospital, a school or an office. However, it’s worth noting that not all green buildings need to be the same. This is because different countries have different types of climates, cultures, building styles, environments and social and economic priorities. This would change their approach to green buildings.

Here is a list of features that are required to qualify a building as being a ‘green building’.

• Efficient use of water, energy and other natural resources.
• Use of natural renewable energy sources – such as solar energy.
• Use of building materials that are sustainable, ethical and non-toxic to the environment.
• Giving importance to the environment during the designing, construction and maintenance of the building.
• Giving consideration to the quality of life of the occupants during the designing, construction and operation.
• Maintaining good air quality in the indoor environment.
• Reduction of pollution and waste while encouraging recycling and re-use.
• Using designs that enable adaptation to a changing environment.

Interestingly, the movement for green buildings started in the 1970s and got a further boost in the early 1990s in the US. There are many national and international level bodies existing to regulate the construction of green buildings. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an example of an international body while India has its own local body – the IGBC (Indian Green Building Council). The green building concept concentrates mainly on two features:

• Improving the efficient use of water, energy and materials by buildings.
• Reducing the impact of buildings on humans and their environment through improved site selection, designing, construction and maintenance.

The benefits of going for green buildings are manifold as you not only save the environment but also get buildings that are cheaper to construct and maintain.