The benefits of green buildings
JOBURG – Climate change is no longer a speculation, but a reality in our lives.
According to Larry Feinberg, executive director of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors, the construction and operation of modern buildings are responsible for the consumption of many of the country’s natural resources.
“In the Unites States, to which South Africa’s major cities can draw a parallel, buildings account for 39 per cent of total energy use, 68 per cent of total electricity consumption, 30 per cent of landfill waste, 38 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions and 12 per cent of total water consumption,” said Feinberg.
He added that as populations grew larger and urbanisation grew within cities at an unprecedented rate, with local authorities building upwards and not outwards, this concentration of people and the conveniences of life impacted on the natural environment, aggravating climate change even further.
Feinberg spoke about the benefits of green building:
- Environmental benefits
Going green has a number of environmental benefits. Humans must pursue the knowledge and practices which will lead to more environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible decisions and lifestyles, which will help protect the environment and sustain the country’s natural resources for current and future generations.
- Economic benefits
There are a number of economic benefits to add to the equation. With a little savvy, one can achieve a reduction in building operating costs, e.g. wastewater reuse in air conditioning systems and solar power, or energy from waste, an improvement in occupational productivity, the enhancement of asset values and in profits due to lower operating costs, and the optimisation of economic life-cycle performance.
- Social benefits
The social benefits of going green include the improvement of the population’s health through greatly improved indoor and outdoor air quality, lighting and temperature control, improved landscape aesthetics in minimising local utility infrastructure, and a general improvement in one’s overall quality of life as the natural environment will be less impacted.
According to Feinberg, professionally qualified and experienced surveyors will provide building owners with an accurate projection of the costs involved in a green building construction project or the conversion of a traditional building into a green building.
Read: Raising awareness on climate change
