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Having a green building requires more than just placing a couple of recycling bins around the office. The Green Building Initiative, the certifying body for environmentally responsible buildings, lists many more aspects of building construction and maintenance that are required to make a commercial building eco-friendly. Doing so is not only smart for the environment but also your purse, as it can help to lower property insurance costs for your building. If you are a business owner looking into constructing a green building for your organization, keep reading. This post will present the most vital characteristics to ensure your space is environmentally friendly.
Building Location
This first green building standard may be surprising to some. Building location is actually an important consideration when constructing an eco-friendly structure. What type of land do you plan to build your structure on? Will you displace wildlife or expose future building tenants to possible natural disasters? If you want to construct a green building for your organization, make sure you consider environmental factors from the very onset when you are just beginning to scout locations.
Emissions
The Green Building Initiative judges building sustainability using emissions figures. If you would like to make sure that your building is sustainable and environmentally friendly, you need to be certain that your emissions do not exceed recommended levels. This will come into play in your building’s heating systems and similar. Even if you are only buying office space that is already constructed, this is an important aspect to consider if your organization values environmental sustainability. In order to construct an environmentally conscious building, be sure to consider Ozone-depleting potential and Global Warming potential impact.
Water
Of course, when attempting to practice environmentally responsible construction, water plays a huge part. You want to be sure that your building conserves water whenever and wherever possible. You will also want to make sure that your structure keeps water clean both in the building and in the surrounding area. Keep this in mind when you are deciding on cooling towers, boilers, water heaters, water Intensive Applications, treatment and irrigation. This is a crucial portion of ensuring building sustainability.
Energy
Energy use is a huge portion of environmentally responsible construction planning for any class A office space. Keeping energy consumption low is key. The best way to do this is to install green lighting, such as LEDs. In addition, installing occupancy sensors or motion sensors on all lighting fixtures will not only preserve a ton of energy, it will also save you a ton of money in the long run. Making sure to incorporate these energy efficient lighting fixtures can help you achieve the crucial goal of lowering energy consumption for commercial buildings.
Constructing an environmentally responsible building for commercial use has never been easier. However, there are still many areas that require special attention in order to build a green building. The first step is to ensure that when picking a location for commercial building construction, environmental sustainability is a top priority. Then, make sure to use the eco-friendly tips regarding emissions, water and energy consumption in order to build a sustainable, environmentally friendly, green building.
Photo from http://www.uniteforclimate.org/6-things-that-make-major-difference-in-green-building/
