Economic benefits

Economic

Why do we need Sustainability, why is this issue gaining an importance with all built environmentstakeholders? : Users, owners, designers, constructors, and maintainers from all sectors are actively seeking techniques to create a built environment which will:

  • Efficiently use all resources (energy, water, material, land) and minimise waste
  • Conserve the natural environment (the source of all resources), and
  • Create a healthy built environment for existing and future generations.

The Architecture/Engineering/Construction (A/E/C) Industry is beginning to adopt new methods and adapt current practices to better incorporate the concept of sustainability into the built environment. Given this sustainability emphasis, we can no longer use only the traditional issues of time, cost, and quality to measure performance of building projects. Now and in the future, performance will need to be embedded in a larger economic, social, and environmental context.

“Implementing Sustainability Knowledge into Built Environment”

Victoria C.P. Chen
School of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Atlanta, USA

“When fully integrated into the design effort, sustainable design can lead to a variety of economic benefits. Thes include the economic benefit of energy, water, and materials savings, as well as reduced maintenance and other operational costs”

The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design

A study “confirms that minimal increases in upfront costs of about 2% to support green design would, on average, result in life cycle savings of 20% of total construction costs - more than ten times the initial investment”

Greg Katz - 2003.

tabela 1-01
Source: Greg Katz
A Report to the California Sustainable Task Force. 2003
tabela 2-01
Source: McGraw Hill
Green BuildingTrends 2008 Report

The green building industry grows at 30% per annum
“And this is in a recession”

David Gottfried, Founder of the USGC Band World GBC.
Source: USGBC Annual Report 2008