Green Buildings: An Assessment of Life Cycle Cost

Modern building practices show little regard for energy efficiency, environmental or social impact of the built environment over their entire life cycle. Resources such as ground cover, forests, water and energy are depleted to give way to buildings. On an average, worldwide building construction consumes approximately 17% fresh water, 25% wood stock and 40% material and energy produce. This indiscriminate use of natural resources puts pressure on the ecosystem. During building construction, vast quantities of waste material is created, and during building operations, large amount of energy is consumed, contributing extensively to environmental pollution. This paper presents the various aspects and benefits of green buildings along with building environment assessment tools and rating systems followed worldwide. Life cycle cost analysis is performed to prove the economics of green buildings vis-a-vis ordinary buildings.