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Chapter Two
Water conservation
Waste minimization
Incorporation of natural light, appropriate ventilation, and human scales
Design and construction techniques that evaluate and minimize environmental
impacts
Site development practices that minimize and mitigate impacts
More than 80 percent of all buildings in the United States were built since 1960, and
the impacts of development and urbanization are well understood. As the serious
environmental effects associated with greenhouse gas emissions have become known,
the parts played by buildings and development have been more closely scrutinized.
The Department of Energy (Battels and Burns, 2000) reports that 82 percent of the
human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are energy-related carbon emissions, and of
that 48 percent of the increase in emissions since 1990 is attributable to increasing emissions from the building sector. In fact, buildings (residential and commercial) are
responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than either the industrial or transportation sectors.
Energy efficiency is a central concern of green development, and 50 percent of U.S.
electricity is generated by burning coal, the least efficient and dirtiest of the major fuel
sources. (Energy efficiency is measured as the amount of energy expended for each unit
of gross domestic product.) Since the 1970s, the energy efficiency of U.S. buildings has
remained flat, but the number of buildings has grown exponentially. Since the early
1990s, the European Union (EU) has sought to increase energy efficiency across the
board, and in 2002 the EU passed rules requiring efficiency in commercial and government buildings. The contemporary office building in the EU is four times more energy
efficient than its counterpart in the United States (Fig. 2.3). In addition to these environmental advantages, the EU building is 75 percent less expensive to operate.
Energy efficiency in buildings can be improved through the use of natural light,
building orientation, and material selection. Green buildings are healthier and more
productive spaces than traditional construction. The increased natural light is among
the commonly appreciated features found in green buildings. Careful selection of materials such as floor and wall coverings and the design of a building to passively move air
can contribute to cleaner indoor air. As global energy supplies tighten due to increased
demand and pressure mounts to respond to global climate change, institutions and
business can take a positive step through green building. The costs of green buildings
are typically no different or only nominally higher than traditional construction, and
the life cycle savings and operation costs are significant. Lower energy costs and reduced
water use and waste generation are the most common areas of savings. Green buildings
are healthier and constitute a more desirable working and learning space.

Measuring Performance
Some buildings are considered high performing because of energy efficiencies, but
these buildings are generally not green in a strict sense. Green buildings exist on a
continuum ranging from fairly straightforward attempts to reduce the environmental
footprint of a building to very sophisticated structures. Several guidelines have
emerged to guide and measure the process of designing, building, and operating a
green building.