Green Building Benefits
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MEMORANDUM
Harry Chapman (CEO, Vandelay Industries)
FROM:
Dave Wildman (Enviromental Business Inc.)
DATE:
November 17, 2006
SUBJECT:
Green Building Benefits
INTRODUCTION
There is a problem with the buildings created today because they are not environmentally-friendly. The solution to this problem is green buildings. Green building is the term used to describe the selection of environmentally-friendly building materials, as well as an environmentally-conscious building design. There are many kinds of available building materials on the market today that are less-toxic, create less waste and take less energy to create. Many green building techniques and products are also beneficial for improving a buildings energy performance, thereby decreasing energy bills. Indoor pollution can also be reduced drastically.
This report will take an in-depth look into the benefits of green buildings:
Environmental Benefits
Monetary Benefits
Health Benefits
These benefits will answer the question, why should we look for green as a solution?
Environmental Benefits
Monetary Benefits
The development of “sustainable” or “green” buildings has proven itself to be a solid investment economically. Unlike other buildings green buildings use key resources such as water, material and land much more efficiently then other buildings. These buildings are cost effective saving tax payers money by reducing operations and maintenance. Development of green buildings has many monetary benefits such as lower energy, waste disposal, water costs, and lower environmental and emission costs (Kats, 2003).
The benefits of these buildings are spread out over the life span of the buildings and should be looked at in the long run and not in upfront costs. Although these buildings are cost effective they may incur a cost that is exclusive to green buildings known as the “green premium”. The upfront costs of a green building can be up to 2% greater than conventional buildings. Many green buildings built today or showcased so they include unnecessary and sometimes costly extras.
The development of green buildings is currently on the rise and becoming more and more popular. Over time the initial costs should drop and the benefits should rise as construction of green buildings is perfected.
One city that has seen a large amount of green building development is California. It is using these buildings as a way to address several problems such as the high cost of electric power, water shortage and waste disposal issues, concern on cost of global warming, and the growing expense of maintaining a building over time. One study done on a green building in California showed a 15% lifecycle savings (Kats, 2003).
Green buildings can also save businesses large amounts of money in employment costs. By improving the quality of the work environment employees will take less sick days and cost the company less money because of this. “A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study found that U.S. businesses could save as much as $58 billion in lost sick time and an additional $200 billion in worker performance if improvements were made to indoor air quality” (Kats,2003).
Building the sustainable buildings instead of conventional buildings has proven itself cost effective and not to mention better for the environment. These buildings allow companies to save money on reduced energy, water, and lower operations and maintenance costs. Although in some situations the up-front cost of a green building may exceed that of a conventional building it is overall cheaper in the long run.
Health Benefits
Green buildings are increasing the efficiency by which we harvest energy, water, and materials involved in the design, while also reducing impacts on the environment and human health. Studies reveal that resource-efficient buildings have extremely significant health benefits. For instance, they reduce the rate of respiratory disease, allergy, asthma, and they also enhance general worker performance. The greatest difference between green buildings and buildings designed without such great health efficiency is the improved air quality. Choosing construction materials and interior products with low emissions can greatly enhance the quality of indoor air.
Many basic building materials emit toxic gases, i.e. volatile organic compounds (VOC). VOCs are organic chemical compounds that have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere. Many VOCs found around the house, such as paint strippers and wood preservatives contribute to sick building syndrome because of their vapor pressure. During certain activities indoor levels of VOCs may reach one thousand times that of the outside air and is very crucial to the health effects of employees. The Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) refers to the quality of the air and environment inside buildings, based on pollutant concentrations and conditions that can affect the health and comfort of its occupants. A cheap and simple solution to eliminate VOCs in the air is to invest in an air cleaner. Ion generators and ozone generators are types of air cleaners that can be useful