The advantages of choosing a ‘green’ design are many.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
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Choosing a green building design is a demonstration of an organisation’s commitment
to the environment and therefore the community. Potential customers and employees
are increasingly choosing to associate with organisations who do demonstrate this
commitment.
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Higher quality / healthier environment for occupants
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Green buildings use natural light, provide fresh air and access to views. Occupant
comfort and productivity is correspondingly higher. Cross ventilation and good quality
air supply reduce cross contamination of illnesses amongst workers, reducing sick
leave.
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Reduced Liability and Risk
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Green star rated buildings minimise the use of hazardous materials, which can cause
occupational health issues.
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More attractive to prospective building tenants
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Green buildings are increasingly more popular to prospective tenants, as the population
in general become more aware of the advantages and positive image of green buildings.
Tenants are examining the green credentials of a building in order to fulfil their
own environmental policies.
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Higher marketability
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The positive image presented by green buildings is seen as a marketable factor that
companies can utilise to raise their own image in the community. Create an additional
differentiator in the marketing of your building.
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Lower energy costs
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Efficient use of water and power in green buildings means overall consumption is
lower. Tenants are given a buffer against future cost increases for and availability
of, energy services.
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Minimise Use of Materials in Construction
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Reusing an existing building structure, or parts of a structure, will reduce the
waste produced by your development and reduce the quantity of new materials needed.
BG&E can help you to identify the most efficient and practical way of redeveloping
your structure. This could even lead to overall project savings.
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The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) developed the Australian, national ‘Green Star’ rating system, for use on a voluntary basis in Australia, as a method of assessing and promoting the environmental Design and Construction of buildings.
The GBCA evaluates the performance of a building under 9 categories. These are:
- Energy
- Emissions
- Indoor Environment Quality
- Innovation
- Land Use and Ecology
- Management
- Materials
- Transport
- Water
BG&E can assist you to understand all these categories but we are particularly skilled in the area of Innovation, Materials and Water.
For each category, ‘Green Points’ are earned.
For example, changing the mix design of your concrete can add between one and 3 Green Points to your project. Greener concrete might contain a lower percentage of cement and/ or recycled aggregate. Instead, substitutes such as waste materials, including slag, can be added to the mix.
| Number of Green Stars | General guidelines to achieve this rating |
| 4 | Good practice only is required. |
| 5 | Special consideration required by your engineers. |
| 6 | Innovation is required throughout the project. BG&E can assist in this area. |
There are a number of rating systems from around the world, used to assess sustainability. These include the LEED system in the USA, the BREAM system (for buildings) in the UK and the CEEQUAL (civil infrastructure) system in the UK.
To improve the sustainability rating for any project, a number of techniques are enlisted. These include:-
- Reduction in energy use
- Reduction of materials used
- User of recycled materials
- Smart, integrated and coordinated design
- Re-use of buildings, or parts of buildings
- Use of renewable resources
- Siting the structure efficiently to leverage from locational advantages
- Use of passive solar
- Sufficient insulation
- Stack and cross-ventilation
- Substitution of less toxic materials than traditional materials can offer
It is often possible to improve the sustainability of existing buildings, by retrofitting the structure. Building Information Modelling (BIM) can greatly assist in increasing the efficiency of a design, as it will provide a rich set of data regarding the building.
For further information about BIM, click here.
Reduction of materials is key to achieving or contributing to the environmentally sustainable qualities of a structure.
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