Why Green ????

The impact of built environment on our planet is enormous as per study and statistics. “The following gives a brief idea about the environmental impact of the building design, construction and operation industry.

Buildings consume more than 30 % of the Annual energy produced.

Buildings consumes more than 60% of the Electricity produced.

For Dubai alone the residential and commercial buildings power consumption is estimated as 73.44% of the electricity as per 2007 Statistics.

Each day Billion Gallons of Potable Water is used solely to flush toilets.

A typical commercial construction projects generates up to 2.5 pounds of Solit Waste Per Square Foot of completed Floor Space.

Majority of this waste can be recycled. For example, recycling one ton of paper prevents the process of 17 Trees and saves 3 Cubic Yards of landfill Space . Recycled aluminum requires only 5 % of the energy required to produce virgin aluminum from bauxite ,its raw material .

Developments shifts land usage away from natural, biologically-diverse habitats to hardscape that is impervious and devoid of bio diversity .The above far reaching influence of the built environment necessitates action to reduce its impact.

Building account for large portion of our natural resources consumption including 40% raw stone, gravel and sand and 25% Virgin Wood .

Energy production is a significant contributor to air pollution. Air pollutants released from energy production includes sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide. These are primary contributor to acid rain, smog and global warming.

Conventional fossil –based generation of electricity releases carbon dioxide, which contributes to global climate change . Coal fired electric utilities emit almost one –third of the countries anthrapogenic nitrogen oxide , the key element in smog , and two –thirds the sulfur dioxide , a key element in acid rain .

Natural gas , nuclear fission and hydro electric generators all have adverse environmental impacts as well . Natural gas is a major source of Nitrogen oxide and greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power increases the potential for catastrophic accidents and raises significant waste transportation and disposal issues . Hydroelectric generating plants disrupts natural water flows, resulting in disturbance of habitat and depletion of fish populations.

Securing the future of energy is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind today, but overshadowing even this is the spectre of serious and irreversible climate change . Therefore energy security, climate change, sustainable human developments are the most pressing issues of today.Growing scientific evidence has identified that climate change has caused by green gas emissions –mainly those derived from fossil fuel combustion –as a serious threat to sustainable human development, with adverse impact on human health, food security, the environment and the economy.

Green buildings address these issues in two primary ways : by reducing the amount of energy required and by using more benign forms .The better the energy performance , the lower the operating cost .

Green building practices can substantially reduce or eliminate negative environmental impacts .As an added benefit, green building design measures reduce operating costs, enhance building marketability, and increase worker productivity.