The Need for Quality Metrics in Green Construction Companies

I chose this program as my research because it is related to my major, and I can use this knowledge to further my mastery of environmental engineering. Nowadays, many people have a responsibility to take care of the Mother Earth, and “green” activities must take action from now onwards because actions speak louder than words.

According to a “go green” blog named 2B Green World Website-LEED Consultants, “buildings represent over 50% of US wealth; $800 billion is the amount of renovation and new construction in the United States, buildings account for 1/6 of the worlds freshwater withdrawals, ¼ of its wood harvest and 2/5 of its material and energy flow” (Go Green Facts 1).These figures represent the disadvantages of a world without green building. Throughout this report the focus is on LEED certification and accreditation, and the impact LEED has on several different service firms. The report begins with background information about the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED, and LEED

Every group had its own suggestions for green infrastructure. The most popular method among the projects was the implementation of green roofs. As every group stated, green roofs can help regulate temperatures inside buildings, saving costs on heating and cooling. They are handy in capturing storm water runoff, which can then be used for food production. Group A did a good job showing these benefits, but neglected to consider the possible detrimental

The Annapolis city government has aimed to reduce emissions by 75% by the year 2025 as well as achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2050 (Savidge 2010). In order to achieve these goals, the city government has committed to reducing energy usage by 10% in public facilities by 2017 and 15% by 2020 (Savidge 2010). The city government also plans to achieve 25% of their energy from renewable sources as well as providing greener and more energy efficient upgrades to public facilities and city transportation (Savidge 2010). The Annapolis community has aimed to reduce emissions by 50% by the year 2025 as well as achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2050 (Savidge 2010). The community has been and will continue to actively encourage locals to purchase green and renewable energy, use alternative forms of transportation, increase recycling and reduce trash production, and to preform energy efficiency upgrades (Savidge 2010). Such efficiency upgrades could take place in the form of financing home energy improvements, energy efficient mortgages, energy smart schools, or zero interest loans for energy conservation and “green energy projects (Roseland 2012).” Mark Roseland published a paper on sustainability “solutions for citizens and their governments” that outlines the benefits that simple energy efficient upgrades can achieve (Roseland 2012). He states examples where residents can save over $1000 each year on oil, gas, and electric bills while reducing their emissions through local

In Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why we need a Green Revolution—and how it can renew

The best way to spend the taxpayers’ money is to buy the most energy efficient and best model and not replace it as often. As the age old saying, “you get what you pay for.” The same goes for other materials when doing an addition or fixing an existing structure, the administrators need to take the time to research and see what the best materials are for longevity and spend money wisely (Lucas, R., 2009, November/December). As Robert Lucas (2009) said, “Money spent well at the beginning of a project may save the facility from spending more in the future.”

Finally, if you’re building green it calls for green cleaning. This means that the products used in cleaning these green buildings are also very environmentally safe. For example

Green buildings could become one of the main factors to preserve our rapidly decaying environment. There is no easy way to define a green building, but a green building is essentially a structure that amplifies the positives and mitigates the negatives throughout the entire life cycle of the building (Kriss, 2014). There are many definitions for a green building, but all of them include the planning, designing, constructing, and operating of the building while taking into huge considerations of the energy use, water use, indoor air environment, materials used and the effect it has on the site the green building is being built on. The first green buildings dates back to as far as the 1970’s, when solar panels went from experiments to reality. Green buildings were not as popular as they are today due to their extremely high pricing. With technology rapidly growing, solar panels are becoming cheaper and cheaper, making the transition to creating green buildings more affordable. This is the primary reason for the increased growth of green buildings today. A modern company that is paving the way to the growth of green buildings named LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, focuses primarily on new and effective ideas for environmentally friendly buildings projects. With more than 60,000 commercial projects worldwide and 1.7 million square feet being certified every day, LEED is one of the leading groups for promoting green buildings. LEED has popularized the entire

As energy and environmental awareness continues to grow, consumers are recognizing residential energy efficiency as an easy, low cost way to optimize energy use, financial resources, and occupancy comfort while reducing their environmental impacts. The Shelton Group’s Energy Pulse 2013 Report found 81% of consumers surveyed stated that energy efficiency would impact their home purchasing decision . Echoing these findings, a recent 2014 report by McGraw Hill Construction surveyed builders and found 73% of single family home builders and 68% of multifamily builders agree that customers are willing to pay more for a green home. In addition to this willingness to pay, 47% of single family builders and 59% of multifamily builders found green homes to be more marketable. This number significantly increases to 65% for firms that construct more than 30% green projects (McGraw Hill Construction, 2014) . Building certification programs, like the ENERGY STAR® Certified New Homes Program, have been created in response to the consumer demand for more comfortable and efficient buildings.

Construction projects use a significant amount of materials and supplies. When these materials are used in a socially and environmentally responsible way, it improves your personal relationship with the environment and reduces your impact on the earth.

To receive an L.E.E.D certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. L.E.E.D was by the U.S Green Building Council (USGBC). Since its inception in 1998, L.E.E.D has grown to encompass more than 14,000 projects in the U.S. L.E.E.D was created because USGBC had a vision that buildings and communities will regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation, USGBC’s mission was to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built, and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. There are four certification levels for L.E.E.D construction- certified, silver, gold, and platinum that correspond to the number of credits accrued in five green design categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmentally quality. L.E.E.D is a reward system that comes with certification, such as access to expert technical support; wide-ranging marketing benefits, the unbiased, transparent assurance that the project team cut no corners in the marking or updating of a Class A green

In a decade from now, the building industry will have changed in certain ways; however, it will remain the same in other categories. The building industry mainly involves residential and nonresidential. In the future, nonresidential buildings will continue to increase. Residential buildings, however, may remain the same, if not increase minorly. The building industry has had numerous positive outcomes in previous years, which will continue.

This booklet offers simple suggestions to help select greener options for a wide array of common materials, and provides references to resources for more detailed information. For materials not included in this document, the checklist in the appendix and the sidebars of pages 2-3 can help you to organize your analysis. The evaluation of materials is based upon three questions: • Is the material renewable and resource efficient in its manufacture, installation, use, and disposal? • Does the material support the health and well being of occupants, construction personnel, the public, and the environment? The most critical

Green building encompasses everything from the choice of building materials to where a building is located. At the moment Gallagher’s are finding that converting roofs so that solar energy panels can be installed requires operatives with skill and experience levels that are above the average, they are dealing with this by advertising for people with those particular skill sets.

In this part, government attitude and policies are focused on, as well as advanced technologies are considered. Finally, this paper also turn to highlight the relevant field in China and what availability would suit for China, especially focus on what recommendations be suggested to local authorities in order to guide the whole society to aware the importance of green building and accelerate the development of this industry.