"Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition."
Buildings designed to use sustainable materials, reduce energy consumption, and minimize waste.
Sustainable design principles: Principles that guide green building design and construction practices to minimize harm to the environment and maximize the benefits of sustainable development.
Energy efficiency: The optimization of building energy systems through design, installation, and operation of energy-efficient equipment, systems, and processes.
Passive designs: Design strategies that reduce energy use by incorporating energy efficiency into new and existing buildings in a non-mechanical way.
Water conservation: Strategies that focus on reducing water usage through design, operation, and management of water-efficient systems and processes.
Indoor air quality: The quality of the air inside a building, which can significantly affect people's health and wellness.
Materials and resources: Strategies that focus on reducing the environmental impact of materials used for construction and building operations.
Landscaping and site design: Strategies that focus on reducing the environmental impact of site and landscape design, including water management, biodiversity, and ecosystem services.
Sustainable technology: New technologies and innovations that enhance the sustainability of building materials, systems, and processes.
Lifecycle analysis: An evaluation of the environmental, economic, and social impacts of a building's entire lifecycle, including design, construction, operation, and decommissioning.
Building certification: Third-party certification of a building that has been constructed or renovated to meet green building standards and sustainability criteria.
Green financing and incentives: Financing and incentives that support green building construction practices, including loans, grants, tax benefits, and other financial incentives.
Building codes and regulations: Guidelines and regulations related to green building construction practices, including energy efficiency, water conservation, and material selection.
Stakeholder engagement and education: Engaging stakeholders and promoting education around green building practices and sustainability principles.
Passive House: A Passive House aims to achieve maximum energy efficiency by creating a well-insulated and airtight envelope around the building. It uses natural sources of heat and light to minimize energy use.
Zero Energy Building: A Zero Energy Building (ZEB) generates the same amount of energy that it consumes over a year. This is achieved by using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to meet the building's energy requirements.
LEED Certified Building: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating system that assesses the sustainability of a building based on different criteria such as water efficiency, energy efficiency, sustainable site design, and material selection.
Biophilic Design Building: A biophilic design building connects humans with nature by incorporating natural elements such as plants and water features into the built environment. This type of building aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people by reducing stress and promoting a sense of calm.
Living Building: A Living Building is a fully sustainable building that generates its own energy, collects its own water, and processes its own waste on-site. It aims to achieve net-zero energy, water, and waste.
Eco-Friendly Building: An eco-friendly building uses sustainable materials, reduces waste, and minimizes energy consumption by using energy-efficient appliances, lighting, and HVAC systems.
Green Roof Building: A green roof building has vegetation planted on the roof, which helps to reduce the urban heat island effect, improve air quality, and provide natural insulation.
Net Zero Energy Building: Net Zero Energy Buildings generate all their energy from renewable sources, such as solar or wind power, to counterbalance the energy used by the building.
Cradle to Cradle Building: A Cradle to Cradle building is one that is designed with the end in mind, so that all materials can be reused, recycled or biodegraded, to ensure no waste is generated throughout its life cycle.
Sustainable Community Building: It is a building which forms part of a larger community, often intentionally designed with sustainable features, and promoting more sustainable lifestyles through shared resources and community living.
"This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages."
"The common objective of green buildings is to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment."
"Green building also refers to saving resources to the maximum extent, including energy saving, land saving, water saving, material saving, etc., during the whole life cycle of the building."
"Other certificate systems that confirm the sustainability of buildings are the British BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) for buildings and large-scale developments or the DGNB System (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen e.V.) which benchmarks the sustainability performance of buildings, indoor environments and districts."
"The World Green Building Council is conducting research on the effects of green buildings on the health and productivity of their users."
"The World Green Building Council is working with the World Bank to promote Green Buildings in Emerging Markets through EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) Market Transformation Program and certification."
"There are also other tools such as Green Star in Australia, Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) used in the Middle East and the Green Building Index (GBI) predominantly used in Malaysia."
"Building information modeling (BIM) is a process involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places."
"Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity"
"Natural building is a similar concept, usually on a smaller scale and focusing on the use of locally available natural materials."
"Sustainability may be defined as meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."
"Although some green building programs don't address the issue of retrofitting existing homes, others do, especially through public schemes for energy efficient refurbishment."
"A 2009 report by the U.S. General Services Administration found 12 sustainably-designed buildings that cost less to operate and have excellent energy performance."
"Occupants were overall more satisfied with the building than those in typical commercial buildings."
"Reducing waste, pollution, and environmental degradation."
"Green building technology focuses on low consumption, high efficiency, economy, environmental protection, integration, and optimization."
"The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort."
"Green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition."
"Providing people with healthy, comfortable, and efficient use of space, and being in harmony with nature Buildings that live in harmony."