International Roundup, Vol 18, No 3

Rating Sustainability - How Green is your building

Reprinted with permission from Hanscomb Means Report, International Construction Intelligence, Vol. 17, No. 4, July / August 2005

Introduction

Oil prices topping USD 60 per barrel amid supply uncertainty and increasing demand tends to raise public awareness of energy conservation issues. Will the widespread economic pain of higher energy prices produce real long-term changes?

Rising energy prices propelled the energy conservation movement of the 1970s. Building energy efficiency increased during the last quarter of the twentieth century. However, who was more motivated to act; governments or consumers? Most observers would probably agree that government policies, regulations and incentives produced the greatest change.

Energy conservation is only one aspect of the bigger picture— sustainability or green building. Green building is a broad term integrating many interests and viewpoints. Its essence is reducing environmental impacts through a holistic approach to land use, building design and construction strategies. However, the economic affects of the broader environmental issues are not as directly noticeable to the building consumer as energy use.

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