Often people say to me, “I want to understand sustainability better, but I don’t really understand how I can make a difference.” A great place to begin is in understanding where many of our resources go, and then when we know that, we can understand the importance in lessening that impact. Our buildings have a huge impact on the amount of natural resources we consume.
The United Stated Green Building Council states in their Green Core Concepts Guide the following statistics:
- 14 % of potable water is consumption
- 30% of Waste Out put
- 40 % of Raw materials used
- 38% OF Carbon Dioxide Emissions
- 24-50 % of energy use
- 72% of electricity used
When we know this, we realize, our built environment is a great place to start. This knowledge is what drove the Green building movement to create new ways of building to enhance efficiencies. LEED, Leadership through energy Design was created by the United States Green Building Council and is a standard used across the world.
This group’s mission:
To transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.
For more information check out the site www.usgbc.org.
