What Is Sustainable Construction?
Sustainable construction, also known as green construction, is concerned with the economic, social, and environmental impact of creating a usable structure. In other words, it requires designers and contractors to use building practices that will not cause long-term damage to the environment. Overall, sustainable construction is based upon the triple bottom line (TBL) tenets of "profits, people and planet."
Economic sustainability often includes energy efficiency, which saves money in the long term, as well as the use of materials that are economically feasible to install, maintain, replace, and repair. For example, using local stone in a building can make it cheaper and eliminates the expense of transporting stone from distant locations.
Social sustainability focuses on the people using the building. Their current and future needs influence the design, which strives to create a highly-flexible plan that allows the building to be easily re-purposed as needs change. This sustainable design can apply to a single-family home, as well as a multistory office building. A flexible design means the structure can be used longer, preventing the negative impact involved in tearing down an old building and rebuilding a new one.
Measures to address environmental sustainability can include increasing energy efficiency, reducing the amount of energy a structure needs in the long term, installing water-reduction measures, and using sustainable building materials. These building supplies may be recycled, renewable and non-toxic. These strategies lessen the strain on the local environment.
Sustainable construction is carried out through both the design and building stages. This is often overseen by a specialized firm that is familiar with the complexities of this type of work. In the United States (US), firms that meet certain criteria may earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Some nations actively promote sustainable construction with rebates and other incentives to companies that practice it. It is also promoted through trade organizations that provide certifications to sustainable buildings which meet their standards. These organizations inspect buildings to determine whether or not they were built sustainably, and sometimes their certifications qualify buildings and companies which use sustainable construction for awards, tax breaks, and other incentives.
Written by S.E. Smith
