Overview

This article is about green building. For the building on the MIT campus, see Green Building (MIT). For the building in Louisville, see The Green Building (Louisville, Kentucky).

US EPA Kansas City Science & Technology Center This facility features the following green attributes:
*LEED 2.0 Gold certified
*Green Power
*Native Landscaping

Sustainable energy
Energy conservation
Cogeneration Energy efficiency Heat pump Green building Microgeneration Passive solar
Renewable energy
Anaerobic digestion Biomass Geothermal Hydroelectricity Solar Tidal Wind
Sustainable transport
Carbon neutral fuel Electric vehicle Green vehicle Plug-in hybrid
Sustainable development portal Renewable energy portal Environment portal
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Green building (also known as green construction or sustainable building) refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the design team, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages.^[1] The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.^[2]
Although new technologies are constantly being developed to complement current practices in creating greener structures, the common objective is that green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by:

• Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
• Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity
• Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation^[2]

A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally.^[3] Other related topics include sustainable design and green architecture. Sustainability may be defined as meeting the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.^[4] Although some green building programs don't address the issue of the retrofitting existing homes, others do. Green construction principles can easily be applied to retrofit work as well as new construction.
A 2009 report by the U.S. General Services Administration found 12 sustainably designed buildings cost less to operate and have excellent energy performance. In addition, occupants were more satisfied with the overall building than those in typical commercial buildings.