Free Essay Example: Future Development or Implementation of Green Buildings

Ecological imbalance and climate change lead to a more susceptible position of our planet to various adverse environmental impacts. People are now more concerned about the Earth's capacity in dealing with adverse effects caused by global warming, natural resources exploitation, greenhouse gas emission, waste production, energy use, pollution, and land use. Conferring to United Nation Environment Programme, the construction and building industry in major cities such as Los Angeles, Paris, and London is liable for forty percent of global energy use, 12% of water use, 30% of greenhouse gas emission, and around 40% waste (Dwaikat and Ali, 2016, p. 398). Additionally, the construction sector is also a primary area contributing to about 4-15% of the GDP of a nation, regardless of developed or developing countries (Chan, Darko, and Ameyaw 2017, p. 969).

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Consequently, the such a substantial contribution of the construction sector is calling for more efforts in making the built environment more friendly and sustainable, thus implying that the existing global cities or in future/ new/ emerging cities will likely accelerate and promote the investment of the green building (Matisoff, Noonan, and Flowers 2016, p. 336). Moreover, considering the significant social, environmental, and economic impacts linked with the building and development industry, the construction sector in cities has considerable potential in delivering significant cuts of environmental effects if the proper measures are introduced.

Developing affordable and eco-friendly homes in both developed and developing countries is part of a much larger effort to ensure that as the cities across the globe expand, they are built sustainably (Allen et al.2015, p. 254). At the current pace of urbanization and growth of the global urban population in cities, it is projected that over 400 million homes will be by the year 2020-most of them in developing economies (Olubunmi, Xia, and Skitmore 2016, p. 1618). Most scientists agree that Green Buildings are necessary to protect the environment in the cities from further harm (Olubunmi, Xia, and Skitmore 2016, p. 1613).

According to Chan, Darko, and Ameyaw (2017, p. 969), the growing concerns about the adverse and profound impacts of the construction industry on the human health and natural environment have increased the implementation of green building worldwide. More and more developers and cities are realizing how much is to be gained with implementation of green buildings. The movement of green building is growing. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), created and released in 2000, by the United States Green Building Council, was one of the earliest programs of green building certification in the nation (Koebel et al. 2015, p. 179). Over 38,600 commercial projects in more than 167 territories and countries are LEED certified. The US alone, has more than 24,000 certified projects with 653 in India and 738 in China. Moreover, a Greenbiz report depicted that LEED certified projects contributes to the decline of 0.35% of the United States carbon emission in2011 and are likely to reduce around 15 times than amount (4.92%) by 2030 (Olubunmi, Xia, and Skitmore 2016, p. 1618).

In the United States, the percentage of commercial office space certified by Energy Star or LEED has risen to 38% in 2017 from less than in 5% in 2005. Also, in developing nations, the number of green buildings is increasing rapidly. Mosly (2015, p. 104) states that in Saudi Arabia, the rate at which the GBs are spreading is very slow compared to other developing nations, such a Turkey, United Arab Emirates, India, and Brazil. There are 638 LEED-certified projects of green building in Brazil, 808 in UAE, 194 in Turkey, and 405 in India. In Saudi Arabia, the number of certified GBs are not easily available online since there are not national entities which certify GBs in the country. However, Mosly (2015, p. 104) explains that slow implementation of the green buildings in Saudi Arabia can be attributed to financial, cultural, governmental, and technical barriers. Also, in China and developed countries such as Canada, the high initial cost of green building technologies is perceived as the top implementation barrier (Balaban and de Oliveira 2017, p. S72).

References

Allen, J.G., MacNaughton, P., Laurent, J.G.C., Flanigan, S.S., Eitland, E.S. and Spengler, J.D., 2015. Green buildings and health. Current Environmental Health Reports, 2(3), pp.250-258.

Balaban, O. and de Oliveira, J.A.P., 2017. Sustainable buildings for healthier cities: assessing the co-benefits of green buildings in Japan. Journal of cleaner production, 163, pp.S68-S78.

Chan, A.P.C., Darko, A. and Ameyaw, E.E., 2017. Strategies for promoting green building technologies adoption in the construction industry-An international study. Sustainability, 9(6), p.969.

Darko, A., Chan, A.P.C., Ameyaw, E.E., He, B.J. and Olanipekun, A.O., 2017. Examining issues influencing green building technologies adoption: The United States green building experts' perspectives. Energy and Buildings, 144, pp.320-332.

Darko, A., Zhang, C. and Chan, A.P., 2017. Drivers for green building: A review of empirical studies. Habitat international, 60, pp.34-49.

Dwaikat, L.N. and Ali, K.N., 2016. Green buildings cost premium: A review of empirical evidence. Energy and Buildings, 110, pp.396-403.

Koebel, C.T., McCoy, A.P., Sanderford, A.R., Franck, C.T. and Keefe, M.J., 2015. Diffusion of green building technologies in new housing construction. Energy and Buildings, 97, pp.175-185.

Matisoff, D.C., Noonan, D.S. and Flowers, M.E., 2016. Policy monitor-Green buildings: economics and policies. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 10(2), pp.329-346.

Mosly, I., 2015. Barriers to the diffusion and adoption of green buildings in Saudi Arabia. J. Mgmt. & Sustainability, 5, p.104.

Olubunmi, O.A., Xia, P.B. and Skitmore, M., 2016. Green building incentives: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 59, pp.1611-1621.