What does it take to call a building "green"?

Question

Can you market your building as "green" if it has just a few green features, or does it have to meet certain minimum guidelines? I am thinking about this in the way that the word "organic" is regulated on food labels.

Also - do you think it's redundant to call something "green" and "sustainable" in the same sentence? I am putting together a sign for my company's real estate development, and I'm wondering if it is pointless to call the project "a green, sustainable development" or if both words really mean the same thing.

Answer 1

I don't think there is a green certification, however, there are some things to consider.

Energy star certification.

Green building/ construction methods (hay bale, cob, cordwood, papercreate, adobe, earth shelters... )

Minimizing the use of concrete (pier or rubble trench foundations )

Passive solar design

Solar hotwater

Separate grey water systems

Sustainable certified lumbar

The list goes on and on

The term green is probably the best way to go. You are opening a big can of worms if you use the term sustainable. Sustainable has a real definition. A friend of mine sells "sustainable" clothing, woven with thread from banana leaves. That is not sustainable in and of itself. Scientists have predicted that bananas (the type we eat) will soon face a blight that we can not protect them from, ending its presence in our super markets. Although the thread may be a commendable effort at maximizing a resource that otherwise may have been left unused, bananas in general are not a sustainable resource. Every material in the house would have to be made from a sustainable resource (like wood and hay) and would exculde non sustainable materials like (metal, plastics....). Then again, there is no MARKET definition for sustainable.

If you are interested in charging more money for a "green development" and using expensive things like bamboo flooring, or salvaged lumbar from the bottoms of lakes and rivers, or anything ridiculously expensive and unpractical, then forget everything I said. Just put whatever you want on the sign, spit in thier face, and ask them for $400,000

Answer 2

Call a builder and ask them.

Answer 3

It means it supports the fight to save the enviornment by being "green" or enviornmentally friendly by saving energy, less pollution, ect.

Answer 4

i'm not sure if there are any certain requirements..

but i say you're well on your way!

green and sustainable don't mean the same thing, but will still sound redundant.

like calling something violet purple.

Answer 5

paint