How to Adopt Sustainable And Greener Building Practices
Cities around the world have made commitments to decarbonise their building practices. Learn how you can practice more sustainable property development.
A growing number of cities have given different levels of commitment to using sustainable and greener building practices.
In the Asia Pacific region, there’s a 43% adoption of green building practices, with new buildings having an average of 63% adoption rate. Highly urbanised places like Singapore and Hong Kong have impressive green building adoption rates as well. But the two most impressive areas leading the movement for sustainable and greener building practices are Australia and Japan.
Australian cities of Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, and Sydney, in particular, rank among the highest. These cities are known for increasing their use of renewable energy that’s beneficial to the environment.
With the global buildings construction market projected to grow by 7.4% from 2023 to 2030, it’s expected that more construction projects will be underway. And it will give rise to energy-efficient buildings and the use of sustainable construction practices and building materials.
This is proof that more people in the construction industry are making serious efforts to adopt sustainable and greener building practices.
In this article, you’ll learn why this is necessary and the best ways you can adopt a more environmentally-friendly building practice.
Benefits of Sustainable Building Strategies
What do sustainable building practices mean?
As a developer, you need to ensure that everyone on the team can meet the safety and performance standards in the construction industry. At the same time, you’ll implement energy-efficient ways in the building process and use materials that’ll leave a minimal impact on the environment.
It comes with a lot of benefits that we can categorise into two:
Benefit #1. Financial Benefits
Adopting sustainable and greener building practices allows you to enjoy huge savings.
For instance, if you use sustainable building materials like engineered CLT (cross-laminated timber), it’ll require a smaller foundation compared to steel and concrete. This lowers the time spent on-site, which then lowers both the construction period and building costs – including labour costs.
Not only that, properties that use sustainable materials or have an energy-efficient design have a higher value in the market. This will increase sales for sustainable and greener properties because a lot of homeowners and tenants are attracted to the lower energy and operating costs.
Also, a study revealed that 9 out of 10 consumers prefer to support companies that have a positive environmental impact. This proves that most consumers care about the environmental impact of their properties and will pay to support sustainable buildings.
Benefit #2. Ecological Benefits
Apart from the financial benefits, there are also impressive ecological benefits if you adopt sustainable and greener building practices.
According to reports, the construction sector has the potential to be the carbon sink of the world. It’s because buildings can be capable of absorbing and storing carbon emissions from other industries, instead of being released into the atmosphere. In Australia alone, the building sector can contribute up to 28% of the country’s 2030 reduction target for carbon emissions.
Based on the studies done by the GBCA (Green Building Council of Australia), a certified green star building produces fewer carbon emissions compared to other buildings by up to 62%. These buildings are also able to reduce both water and electrical consumption.
That’s a huge contribution to the environment.
Different Ways of Adopting Greener Practices
Environment-friendly building practices can be implemented in various ways in development projects, including the construction of new structures, renovations, and demolitions.
You can also implement sustainability principles during planning, site development, architecture and design, waste management, etc. It’s because some tools can give you relevant information about these aspects on potential development sites.
Archistar, in particular, has a property analytics engine that allows you to assess designs to see if they adhere to sunlight, cross-ventilation and overshadowing requirements.
Among the greener practices that you can incorporate into your design includes the following:
- Green roofing. This helps insulate a home, so less heat is lost through the roof. It can also provide more space for plants and reduce the effects of stormwater runoff.
- Energy-efficient windows. This can also insulate a home to keep heat from being lost through the windows.
- Solar power. This uses energy from the sun to help regulate the temperature inside a property. It’s a great way to reduce carbon footprint.
- Landscaping. When done properly, the landscape around a property can absorb the heat and cool the air. Trees and shrubs that are strategically positioned can provide shade and serve as windbreakers.
Have More Environment-Friendly Developments With the Help of Archistar
If you haven’t adopted sustainable and greener practices yet, it’s the right time to start doing it. Fortunately, there are many ways for you to apply these practices in different stages of the building process.
For instance, when designing a property, you can opt for ecologically friendly materials and know the right amount of material to use. In doing so, you can eliminate waste and save money in the process.
This is exactly what Archistar can help with. With Archistar, you can get hold of a lot of data that will help you calculate the environmental effects of your building project. Use it to find out how resources like natural lighting can be leveraged in your property development.
Get started for free: [https://www.archistar.ai/]
