Real-estate developers and investors are now adopting more environmental-friendly practices. Buildings are redesigned; investors and developers would incorporate the goal of achieving greener buildings and properties when doing renovations. The market of clients looking for greener buildings and houses are also increasing. This is just a reflection that people are starting to become more aware of the earth’s environmental concerns.

Aside from the increasing environmental consciousness of those who are house hunting, the government are also implementing regulations making the industry greener. Developers and investors are building and looking for houses that would be able to meet the government environmental standards. International organizations and institutions are also playing major roles in pushing both the private and public sectors in rethinking their environmental actions.

In fact, construction companies which are indispensable to real-estate developers, are working hard to be “green certified.” According to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), 5% of commercial construction companies were able to secure LEED certification in the previous year. Aside from that, major companies like IBM, JP Morgan Chase, etc. are moving into green buildings.

According to the McGraw-Hill report, there are developers that would buy houses and properties which they would convert into green buildings and homes. The McGraw-Hill survey reported that green buildings tend to bring 3% and 7.5% higher revenues.
The National Association of Home Builders stated that the market is experiencing increase in demands for eco-friendly homes. As a matter of fact, the American Institute of Architects in their 2006 survey stated that 90% of people are willing to pay $5,000 more just to have a house that uses less energy and earth-friendly.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, more homes are becoming environmental-friendly due to its numerous benefits. What are these benefits?

• Greener homes use less energy which means less money on bills. The price of fuel is constantly increasing over the past years. Reducing your energy bills would allow you to allocate your budget for other important things needed in the household. According to Energy Star, a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, about 15 to 20% of house energy is lost because of poor construction.

• Better and healthier air quality. Indoor air is two to five times more polluted compared with outdoor air, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Indoor air can aggravate allergies and asthma. Using home materials and machines that produce better air quality are those materials (paints, stains, glues) that have low content of toxic chemicals. They could cost more, it would be better for the homeowners’ health, in the long run.

• Opting for greener homes and buildings means that you are helping save the earth. Homeowners and real-estate developers are reducing waste-production because they are working with materials that would last longer and recycled items. Also, less consumption of energy means you are consuming less fossil fuel, and less carbon footprint.

When thinking about making your real-estate property eco-friendly, you could always coordinate with a local or regional green building organization. They have network of architects and builders who would be able to help you improve your home. There are also guideline when building green houses, so make sure that you are properly informed. Before proceeding with any green real-estate developer or builder, make sure to check their previous works or generate as much information from former clients.

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A raise in population is boosting the real estate sector to meet the growing needs. It is obvious that a construction project will cause certain degree of pollution. As there is a surge in the number of construction projects undertaken, it is essential to consider the environmental impact of these projects. If the analysis is made at the initial stage of planning the project, the impact can be reduced by taking enough regulatory measures.

Impact of the construction projects over environment can be categorized by considering the various activities performed. They include the pollutants released in to the air, water pollution, extent of the disturbance caused to the earth’s crust by digging to lay foundation for the building, soil pollution, and amount of waste generated.

A simple explanation of one category like the facts about air pollution include, a great amount of co2 which will be liberated by the equipment used at the site of construction, gases liberated by the vehicles used for transporting construction material, dust released from the digging process and many more. As can be seen, some of the impacts are unavoidable like digging the earth’s crust. But effects like the amount of waste generated can be reduced by making a judicious use of the material, extent of co2 liberation from transportation vehicles can be reduced by using bio fuels.

Another approach that can be used is making certain modifications in the construction style. For example, the energy costs can be saved by making the buildings air tight. This would especially come in handy for commercial buildings. In addition to cost savings, this approach will reduce the amount of co2 liberation, the major factor that is responsible for global warming. One of the study reports about Europe says that about one-fifth of the energy consumption and forty-five million tons of co2 can be saved by making minor alterations to the new and existing buildings.

The above benefits can be obtained by making use of certain technologies like thermal insulation of the building, solar shading, efficient lighting through ventilation and use of electronic appliances. This requires developing awareness among people by educating them of the impacts on the environment and encouraging them to use smart design, and construction style.

In addition to educating the public, the government should lay standards regarding the use of building material like the use of recyclable material, extent of ventilation provided to the building, restrictions on energy costs. All this would reduce the use of energy that ultimately reduces the global warming. It is the job of the architects, construction companies to properly understand and implement the laws to save the environment. Construction companies have to understand that by dumping the construction wastes in landfills will mess up the underground water and should avoid it by recycling the waste material. This will not only help environment but also reduces construction costs. It is a part of law in some places to not use landfills to dump construction wastes.

The impact of real estate sector on environment is observed more in developing countries compared to developed countries. In developed countries the problem can solved to some extent by making modification to the existing buildings.

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