Green building is the practice of:

1. increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use and harvest energy, water, and materials, and
2. reducing building impacts on human health and the environment,
3. through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle. [1]

Green building is an essential component of the related concepts of sustainable design, sustainable development and sustainability.

Environmental impacts of buildings

Buildings of the world consume:

• 40% of the world's energy & materials
• 25% of the wood harvested
• 17% of our water

In the US, buildings account for:

• 39% of total energy consumption
• 68% of total electricity use
• 38% of carbon dioxide emissions
• 136 million tons of construction and demolition waste in the U.S.
• 12% of water use

[2]

Clearly, our buildings, and how we use them, have a profound impact on the Earth's resources.

They also influence our own health: Most of us spend at least 90% of our time indoors, where the air is often twice -- and sometimes as much as a hundred times -- more polluted than outside air. [3]

U.S. Green Building Council

The [U.S. Green Building Council] has been particularly successful at defining the field in recent years through its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or [LEED] green building rating system.

External links

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Green Building Website
• International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment
• U.S. Green Building Council
• Building Green.com