The “Green Building” Trend – And How You Can Keep Up

 February 12, 2018  11:07 AM
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On September 25th, 2015, the UN set forth its 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which included multiple provisions on the environment and climate change. On December 12th of that same year, the Paris Climate Accord was signed, which “aims to respond to the global climate change threat by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees celsius.”

In our current state of political pessimism, the overall response to these global initiatives has been encouraging, creating what could be called a global “green building trend.”

>> If you’re interested in saving energy and money with sub-metering, take 60 seconds to fill this out <<

According to a study by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and Dodge Data Analytics, global green buildings are expected to double this year and every 3 years after that.

Other key findings included:

  • Brazil expects six-fold growth.
  • China expects five-fold growth.
  • Building owners who choose to “go green” will see a 7% increase in the value of their buildings.
  • Advancements in green building mean lower operating costs for builders.
  • Nearly half of all survey respondents (46%) expect to take part in a green commercial building in the next three years.
  • Reducing energy consumption continues to be the top environmental reason for building green.

What is the main motivation behind green construction?

As greenhouse gases and carbon emissions are the #1 contributor to man-made climate change, it serves as the main global motivation behind green construction.

But, that’s not the only factor that falls under the umbrella of green construction:

  • It includes all construction that doesn’t disturb the land, water, resources and energy in and around the building.
  • Green building lets you preserve most of the natural environment around the site of the building.
  • It helps you build a sustainable and high-performance building.

>> If you’re interested in saving energy and money with sub-metering, take 60 seconds to fill this out <<

How can electricians and engineers keep up with green building trends?

With a rapidly evolving green future, it can seem like a new product, trend, or idea is cropping up every few hours. So how, as busy professionals, do we keep up? What are the methods that are best utilized to stay on top of this ever-changing world? 

1) Reading our blog

We would be amiss if we didn’t take this opportunity to encourage you to keep up with our blog updates. We plan to publish between 1 to 2 articles a month based entirely on green building, green building trends, environmentally-forward ideas, and more.

For example, our next blog will cover, in more detail: “How to be Eco-Friendly When it Comes to Utility Resources in 2018.”

You can Subscribe to it here if these topics are of interest to you!

2) Reading other online articles / publications

Creating a stream of daily articles on green energy is one way of staying up-to-date. We fielded the question to local Alberta electrical engineers and contractors. Here’s where they directed us:

Using google alerts to be notified when articles with relevant search terms are published.

3) Staying on top of LEED requirements or your regional green building rating system

If you haven’t already, sign up to monthly updates from the United States Green Building Council’s monthly LEED update.

4) Engaging in discussions, both offline and online

There is no better way to learn, grow, and stay-up-to-date than engaging in discussion with coworkers, fellow engineers, and cross-industry leaders.

We’d recommend attending a conference to further your offline discussion. Here’s a few:

Or joining an online group to further your online discussion. Here’s a few:  

Facebook Groups:

Online Forums

LinkedIn Groups

5) Incorporating new green building technologies into your builds

While what green building technologies you will want to incorporate into your next project will vary based on the inherent qualities of the build, we’ll recommend one we fully stand behind and believe in as a leading opportunity to save and preserve resources:  

Submetering:

Here’s a quick rundown of what you could achieve by using our submetering:

  • Improve your building’s overall energy efficiency.
  • Attract energy conscious organization, tenants, builders, and awards.
  • Reduce total building energy consumption by up to 34%.
  • Lower the energy bill of 70% of the building’s tenants (30% of tenants may see an increase, but those are the energy-intensive tenants).
  • Increase overall tenant satisfaction.

 

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