As the in-house LEED Green Associate, I am beginning monthly sessions with our design department to keep our designers up to speed on sustainability issues. The first subject in this series is green building basics. Below you will find a short outline of facts making the case for why green building, or sustainable design, matters.

We spend an average of 90% of our time in buildings, and the air quality inside is two to five times worse than outside air.

There is a common perspective that industries are the major part of greenhouse gas emissions. Interestingly, the figure below shows that buildings are the major contributors towards greenhouse gas emissions. (source: Green Building Academy)

The impacts from commercial construction in the United States include:

• 72% of electricity consumption

• 39% of energy use

• 38% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions

• 40% of raw materials use

• 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually)

• 14% of potable water consumption

(source: GBES.com)

As designers, architects, engineers, etc. we have a bigger role than just making our design aesthetically pleasing. Our decisions can impact future generations and the more conscious we are now the more beneficial they will be later- environmentally, economically and socially.