The heightened awareness of green living has amassed people that will do the same. While more than half of the population are still trying to embrace the new lifestyle, the fact that many people are aware of the impact they have on the environment is already a positive change. One of the many alternatives and methods employed by the world today is green construction. This is also another term for sustainable construction, in which it uses the resources in a more efficient manner. At the same time it also creates more energy efficient and healthier homes. There is no magic to this kind of concept. Success through this method is done in such ways that will leave a lighter footprint into the environment. This is done through the resources’ conservation. This is balanced with low-maintenance, cost-effective and energy efficient products for the needs of construction. Rephrasing this means that green construction is all about finding the right balance between a sustainable environment and homebuilding.
But this involves green design and green design is not only focused on the utilization of the energy-efficient materials. It also involves the making of systems and products that should leave lighter footprints to the environment in its full life cycle. This starts with production extends all the way to transportation and installation of these materials. It should be renewable, too. In a sense, green design is not only a goal but thought of as a process. This will allow a wider evaluation of the impact of the products in aterms of economical, environmental and the societal in single units and also part of their own environment.
When concerned about the issues revolving around the life cycle of construction, some of its parts are focused on the evaluation of products manufactured by man in waste disposal. Instead of looking at it that way, the influences and factors of the impact of the product on society should be contrasted and evaluated to the performance of the product. The system’s approach will allow the determination of impact in the environment with the product in terms with energy consumption. This is done through seeing each sate of the life cycle of the product. This is seen through the start of the extracting of raw materials coming from the planet and then proceed to processing, fabrication, manufacturing, end-use and then its disposal. The products and materials’ transportation to each of these processes should also be accounted for.
Various construction systems have employed the use of green design. And in support of this approach, various groups have given a general draft on the guidelines regarding such matters. First, each green construction system should include energy efficiency and environmental considerations as part of the purchasing and building design criteria. Both should be balanced well with the other major criteria, which includes performance, availability, price and product safety. Both of the major criteria should be evaluated through the use of system approach, mainly focusing on how each of the components interact with the identifying options and building system. Any of the process in establishing sustainable product or building criteria should based on science, transparent and be open to every stakeholders.