Green buildings help create better neighborhoods, thriving local economies, and a better quality of life. How do they do this? In a holistic way, a variety of green building programs address everything from where the buildings are located to specifics about how they are built, and in some cases even how they should be checked post-construction to make sure they are as energy-efficient as they were designed to be.
Green buildings help lower greenhouse gas emissions, conserve energy and water, reduce stormwater impacts, minimize waste, improve air quality, preserve natural resources, and enhance human health.
West Ottawa High School green building features are expected to enhance student health and learning, and provide a learning laboratory with strategies like automated lighting systems, metering of water usage, and rain gardens, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Courtesy of: City of Grand Rapids.
- Green building programs address a diverse set of sustainability goals.
- Local governments just beginning a green building program sometimes face the challenge of overcoming misperceptions about cost.
Report to California’s Sustainable Building Task Force
An Assessment of Current Activity in the United States. The report outlines recent green building r...
Green features included in 2% of new homes built in the United States in 2006, created a $7.4 billion market for green homes.
(McGraw Hill Construction, 2006)
