What is Green Building?
Green Building is a whole systems approach to design, construction, and operation of buildings with three converging fundamental objectives:increase energy efficiency, improve indoor air quality and conserve natural resources. Organizations such as the United States Building Green Council (USGBC), Earth Advantage, and the Green Building Initiative (GBI), have developed methodologies for measuring levels of green and for certifying houses and buildings. The methods are similar to an academic letter grading system in which if you score a designated number of points you are awarded an “A” or a “B.” Certification requirements and points awarded for each green building choice are straightforward. Being green is a holistic process that takes into account life cycle of the structure, and also the building materials. For instance, energy conservation alone is insufficient, if is offset by extravagant use of material.
