Benefits of Green Building: The Importance of Building a Greener Future
If you’re involved in the modern construction and building materials world, you’ve heard the term “green building”. Our society is focused on preserving the earth, using sustainable materials, and mental health and wellbeing—that’s where green building comes into play.
There are countless benefits to going green from environmental to social that will allow you to increase customer satisfaction, builder interest, and even your company’s success.
What is Green Building?
Green building is a staple in the booming Boston market to:
- Reduce use of resources and materials;
- Reduce waste and carbon footprint;
- Increase building occupant productivity; and
- Reduce life cycle cost.
To accomplish these goals, green buildings use natural materials, land, energy, and even water to help improve wellbeing for both occupants and the environment.
Benefits of Green Building
When it comes to green building, there are countless benefits—not only does green building create sustainable communities, but it also brings tremendous economic growth as well. The benefits of green building cover three important categories: social, economic, and of course, environmental.
1. Environmental
The most important benefit that green building offers is positive environmental impact. Green buildings do so by using less water, energy, and natural resources by creating their own energy and increasing biodiversity.
Compared to other industries, the building industry has the biggest potential for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, studies show that LEED certified buildings in the United States use 25% less energy and 11% less water than traditional buildings.
2. Social
Aside from the obvious environmental benefits that green building brings, they also have positive impacts on physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Here are a few ways building green can benefit our personal health and wellbeing:
- People who work in green buildings that are well-ventilated increase their brain function by 101%.
- Employees with windows in their office sleep 46 minutes more each night than those without windows.
- High ventilation, low CO2 concentration, and better indoor air quality can improve employee performance by up to 8%.
In recent years, there has been enormous focus on mental health and wellbeing in both work environments and day to day life—green building is a great start to tackling this issue.
3. Economic
We know green building comes with environmental and social benefits, but let’s be realistic—what financial benefits come with green buildings, if any?
As lumber prices prepare to surge again, we can use green buildings to save money in other areas for builders, developers, buyers, and even tenants. Economic benefits of green buildings include:
- Reduced utility bills;
- Reduced construction and building costs;
- Increased occupancy; and
- Increased job creation.
Did you know that green building currently provides 3.3 million jobs? And did you know that green buildings automatically have a 7% asset increase compared to traditional buildings? We have a lot to learn about green buildings and the benefits that it can bring to all involved parties—why wait?
Go Green with New England Building Supply
At New England Building Supply, we value our customers and our customers’ customers—anyone who steps foot in a project we take part in should feel satisfied and valued.
Between our array of eco-friendly drywall, sustainable decking choices, and energy-efficient window solutions, we always find ways to evolve and innovate to best serve our customers and contribute to a greener future. To learn more about our sustainable building practices and materials, give us a call and speak with one of our team members.
