CalRecycle (2023)'s
Green Building Materials website, introduces the concept of sustainable
buildings. With 3 billion tonnes of raw materials used in construction
(CalRecycle, 2023), sustainable buildings help conserve dwindling non-renewable
resources. In addition, sustainable buildings offer many benefits for residents
and the environment. That's why it's so important to produce more green
buildings for sustainable living. The objective of green building is to resolve
the conflict between limited natural resources and numerous resource
consumption requirements. The green building life cycle includes building
planning, calculation, construction, operation, and maintenance (CalRecycle, 2023).
At the same time, eco-friendly buildings use high-tech materials and apply the
concept of sustainability to the selection and use of materials that can reduce
pollution (CalRecycle, 2023). As shown on the website Weforum (2022), a
twenty percent increase in green roofs and walls can meaningfully reduce air
pollution. In addition, green buildings can improve occupant comfort and
improve their quality of life (CalRecycle, 2023). For example, as stated in a
website by Eco - Business (2018) it was mentioned that green buildings have
been designed to produce conducive environments for healthy by providing more
opportunities for exercise and physical activity. Challenges regarding sustainability arises due to traditional buildings emitting plenty of waste and greenhouse gases that contributes to climate change. Hence, it is imperative to promote the production of
environmentally friendly buildings to resolve these sustainability issues. In my opinion, despite having untested green building materials, the production of
green buildings is a solution to Earth's sustainability challenges, as they produce less
waste and emit less greenhouse gas emissions which reduces the impact of climate change.
One key advantage is that green buildings produce less
waste. Green buildings have less effects on the environment than traditional
buildings. Buildings with Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
certifications produces 34% less carbon and 80 million fewer tons of landfill
waste (JRM Construction Management, 2022). At the same time, managers of
sustainably design structures reported using 25% less energy and 11% less
water (JRM Construction Management, 2022). Building green also embraces
recycling and repurposing materials, which leads to minimizing of waste. Hence,
this shows how important a green building is. They impact the environment less
than traditional buildings, uses less energy and produces less waste. It is
believed that with greening more buildings, those buildings can reduce more
waste. Additionally, LEED buildings cost 20% less to maintain than traditional
buildings (JRM Construction Management, 2022). Also, in just one year, retrofitting
traditional building with greener equipment lowers operation costs by almost
10 percent (JRM Construction Management, 2022). This allows us to tackle the
sustainability issues on Earth. This shows how important a green building is to
the environment. Not only does it produce less waste, but it is also cheaper to
maintain than traditional buildings. This allows owners to tackle the
sustainability issues.
Another key advantage is that high-performing green
structures, especially those that are LEED certified, produces less greenhouse
gas emissions. 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings (Huynh,
2021). When adding in other construction processes such as transportation, the
percentage will increase. By building green, it can reduce the impact the
building has on contributing to climate change. It was mentioned
that by "building to Leadership In Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
standards, buildings contributed 50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) than
conventionally constructed buildings due to water consumption, 48% fewer GHGs
due to solid waste and 5% less GHGs due to transportation" (Huynh, 2021).
These evidence shows that by building green buildings and adopting a
sustainable approach, the buildings can produce less waste. By implementing
these techniques, the carbon footprints of buildings will be greatly reduced. (Huynh,
2021). Therefore, by building green, it can reduce the impact our buildings
have on contributing to climate change.
One issue with green buildings is that they use untested materials
and construction techniques. Historically, the construction industry has relied
on tried-and-true building materials and techniques. (Lombard, 2009). Additionally,
new items have a higher likelihood of falling short of their advertised
performance levels than those traditional materials that have been tested and
confirmed to work. (Lombard, 2009). For instance, building material
designers are embracing the trend and overrating their materials to increase
revenues because the market for green building materials is in high demand
(Lombard, 2009). But in fact, these green construction materials have not yet
been field-tested over time. Instead, designers must weigh the risks of these
new materials against those of more trust materials first, rather than
immediately selling out to the trend (Lombard, 2009). Moreover, some green
building techniques, are not as sustainable as it seems. For example,
vegetative roofs are riskier than conventional roofs. They are more expensive,
difficult to maintain, and put greater strain on the roof. (Lombard,
2009). These disadvantages go against the concept of sustainability whereby it
is supposed to be cheap, easy to maintain and does not affect the structural
integrity of the building. Therefore, using untested materials and construction
techniques is a drawback for green buildings.
In conclusion, these reasons proves that green buildings
play a huge role in tackling Earth's sustainability issues. They produce less waste
and emit less greenhouse gas. Hence with these reasonings, the production of
more green buildings and the adoption of sustainable building processes, plays
an important role in keeping our planet a sustainable place to live.
Sources
List
Benefits of green building. (n.d.). USGBC U.S.
Green Building Council. https://www.usgbc.org/articles/benefits-green-building
Green building materials. (2023). CalRecycle. https://calrecycle.ca.gov/greenbuilding/materials/
Huynh C. (n.d.). How green
buildings can help fight climate change. USGBC U.S. Green Building
Council. https://www.usgbc.org/articles/how-green-buildings-can-help-fight-climate-change
Jrmcm. (2022, February 21). The benefits
& advantages of building green. JRM construction. JRMCM. https://www.jrmcm.com/jrm-news/benefits-of-building-green/
Lombard D. (n.d.). The hidden risks of green buildings: Why building problems are likely. WPL Publishing - Construction Pronet. https://constructionclaims.com/Content_Free/102909part1.aspx
Rahman S. (2022, February 17). Green buildings can reduce city temperatures by up to 2°C, study shows. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/02/green-buildings-can-boost-productivity-well-being-and-health-of-workers
