The increasing number of buildings being built in big cities has caused several groups to question these buildings’ environmental and social impacts. The truth is that conventional buildings use a lot of energy, produce much waste, and emit greenhouse gases that negatively impact public health and the sustainability of the environment. Considering the negative impact of these buildings, beginning in the 1990s with the founding of the US Green Building Council in 1993, the rising trend within the international community is to turn to green construction. In essence, green construction is a building construction model that aims to eliminate or reduce the negative impact buildings have on the environment in the design phase, during construction, and when the building is fully operational.
Green construction involves using materials that do not damage the environment, construction processes that use leftover building materials, and construction methods that do not result in waste or emissions above the tolerance level threshold. In addition to employing design and building construction processes focusing on efficiency and mitigating the environmental impact, the purpose of green construction is to create green buildings that are cost-effective to operate. Several technologies used in green buildings include solar panels and wind energy sources, under floor radiant cooling systems to reduce air conditioning consumption and passive ventilation systems that supply air to and remove air from the building without using a mechanical system. These technologies make it possible to significantly reduce building operational and maintenance costs in the long term.
Based on a SmartMarket report in 2016, the number of green buildings worldwide continues to double every three years, and their popularity continues to increase. Thus, it has become clear green building not only reduces a building’s negative impact on the environment but also is more profitable. In the future, construction sector companies using the green construction concept to build green buildings will reap a double benefit by contributing to environmental sustainability and generating greater profits.