Green Buildings

Summary:

In today’s commercial and residential real estate industries, green building certification programs are increasingly being applied to new and existing buildings as a means of verifying that a building meets a set of “green” criteria. Such criteria may include energy efficiency, sustainable materials selection, site location, and indoor environmental quality. Certified green buildings purport to deliver a series of benefits to property owners, managers, and occupants. For example, energy efficiency, a central tenet of many green building certification programs, can decrease operational expenses and reduce the carbon emissions associated with a particular building – a growing concern in many regions around the world. Sustainable materials selection can improve the quality of the indoor environment by eliminating materials with toxic substances. Moreover, certified green buildings can sometimes command higher property values and rents, and green building certification can distinguish certain properties in highly competitive real estate markets. A nation’s growth starts from its educational institutions, where the ecology is thought of as a prime factor of development associated with the environment. A clean and healthy environment aids effective learning and provides a conducive learning environment. Educational institutions now a day are becoming more sensitive to environmental factors and more concepts are being introduced to make them eco-friendly. To preserve the environment within the campus, various viewpoints are applied by the several educational institutes to solve their environmental problems such as promotion of energy savings, recycling of waste, water reduction, water harvesting etc. The activities pursued by colleges can also create a variety of adverse environmental impacts. Environmental auditing is a process whereby an organisation’s environmental performance is tested against its environmental policies and objectives. The green audit is defined as an official examination of the effects a college has on the environment. As a part of such practice, an internal environmental audit (Green Audit) is conducted to evaluate the actual scenario at the campus. The green audit can be a useful tool for a college to determine how and where they are using the most energy or water or resources; the college can then consider how to implement changes and make savings. It can also be used to determine the type and volume of waste, which can be used for a recycling project or to improve the waste minimization plan. Green auditing and the implementation of mitigation measures is a win-win situation for all the college, the learners and the planet. It can also create health consciousness and promote environmental awareness, values and ethics. It provides staff and students a better understanding of Green’s impact on campus. Although awareness of green building has risen dramatically in the last 25 years.

 WHAT IS GREEN AUDIT?

     Green Audit can be defined as the systematic identification, quantification, recording, reporting and analysis of components of environmental diversity. The ‘Green Audit’ aims to analyze environmental practices within and outside the college campus, which will have an impact on the eco-friendly ambience. It was initiated with the motive of inspecting the work conducted within the organizations whose exercises can cause risk to the health of inhabitants and the environment. Through Green Audit, one gets a direction as to how to improve the condition of the environment and there are various factors that have determined the growth of carrying out Green Audit. The green audit is assigned to criteria 7 of NAAC, National Assessment and Accreditation Council which is a self-governing organization in India which declares the institutions as Grade according to the scores assigned during the accreditation. The audit’s main findings show that, in general, all the departments and students are aware of the need for environmental protection at a general level. It was also observed that a number of best practices such as maintaining potted plants, introducing plastic-free zone etc. are followed on the campus.   However, on a detailed review, it was observed that, as the college is implementing Green Policy for the first time, many of the practices followed in the institution are not in compliance with the Green Policy of the institution, and the applicable standards. In addition, certain processes could benefit from further review in order to improve their efficiency, fairness and consistency.

The ICC defines Environmental Auditing as A management tool comprising a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of how well environmental organisation, management and equipment are performing with the aim of safeguarding the environment and natural resources in its operations/projects. A building which can function using an optimum amount of energy, consume less water, conserve natural resources, generate less waste and create spaces for healthy and comfortable living, as compared to conventional buildings, is a green building. Green building (also known as a sustainable building) refers to a structure and uses a process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. A building which can function using an optimum amount of energy, consume less water, conserve natural resources, generate less waste and create spaces for healthy and comfortable living, as compared to conventional buildings, is a green building. An energy-efficient building is a structure designed for minimal to optimum use of energy. In a broad sense, it also involves consideration of environmental impact, minimization of required inputs of energy, water and food, and waste output of heat, air pollution and water pollution.