What is a Green Building?
Green Buildings, the global hospitality industry is in a unique environmental position. Tourism operators often rely extensively on locating near unique environments to attract tourists and generate income.
Thus, hotel operators find themselves in the role of damaging the resource that sustains their business.
A “green” building can be defined as any building that is sited, designed, constructed, operated, and maintained for the health and well-being of the occupants, while minimizing impact on the environment.
“Green building” refers to those practices that promote occupant health and comfort while minimizing negative impacts on the environment.
There are different degrees of “greenness.” Often, it is necessary to strike a balance between many different, sometimes conflicting, green options based on the particular conditions of a given project.
For example, proper strategy for a sustainable retrofit project may differ from that of new construction design.
Green buildings promote resource conservation by including design features which encourage energy efficiency, use of renewable energy, and encourage water conservation.
By promoting resource conservation, green building design creates healthy and comfortable environments, reduces operation and maintenance costs, considers environmental impacts of building construction and retrofit, and concentrates on waste minimization.
The entire life cycle of the building and its components is considered, as well as the building’s economic and environmental impact and performance.
A “green” building can be defined as a building that is sited, designed, constructed, and operated to maximize present and future beneficial impacts on the environment.
Green Buildings are resource efficient buildings and are very energy efficient, utilize construction materials wisely including recycled, renewable, and reused resources to the maximum extent practical designed, constructed and commissioned to ensure that they are healthy for their occupants.
Typically more comfortable and easier to live with due to lower operating and owning costs, and are good for the planet.
The overall environmental impact of new building and community development and the choices made when we either reuse or demolish existing structures is very important.
Buildings have a tremendous impact on the environment–both during construction and through their operation. ‘Green building’ is a loosely defined collection of land-use, building design, and construction strategies that reduces these environmental impacts.
Benefits of building green include:
– reduced energy consumption,
– protection of ecosystems, and – occupant health.