Green building
Green building is a holistic concept that commences with the comprehension that the built environment may have profound effects, both adverse and positive, on the natural environment, as well as the occupants of the buildings (Heerwagen, 2000). Green building is a structure constructed to amplify the positive effects and mitigate the negative ones throughout the entire cycle of constructing this building. While there are several definitions of green building, Zuo & Zhao (2014) claim that green building is generally accepted as the planning, designing, construction, and operating many central considerations: water use, energy use, spatial quality, material section, and so forth and the building’s effects on its site. There are several features that make a building green. The first feature is energy efficiency and renewable energy. Green buildings are constructed in such a way that they minimize and improve the energy efficiency of homes, offices, and various building appliances and components. The second feature is water efficiency. Green buildings possess water recycling facilities to ensure that water is not wasted. Pollution and waste reduction measures are other features considered in green building. Green building construction ensures that wastes are recycled and reused to avoid pollution of the environment. Other features include toxics reduction, indoor air quality, and acoustics issues.
Green buildings are controlled by two international agencies that regulate the construction of these buildings as well as ensure that they are up to the standards. The first agency is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which gives the green building rating system across the world (Johansson, 2012). It provides a framework for high efficient, healthy, and cost-saving green buildings. It also rewards the best green building construction practices and innovation as well as recognizes exemplary building projects that have different LEED certification levels. The World Green Building Council (World GBC) is the second international agency established to implement various green building provisions in real estate internationally. Established in 1993, the World GBC comprises of extensive programs and information on green building issues (Love et al., 2012). Some of the issues considered in the World GBC include definitions of the standards of real estate green building features, such as waste reduction, smart growth and sustainable development of green buildings, toxic reductions, water efficiency, and environmentally preferable building specifications and materials (Council & Council, 2016).