The "Green Building" industry has grown significantly over the past decade, as environmentally friendly building practices have become more of the standard than the exception. The built environment has a profound impact on our natural environment, economy, health, and productivity and accounts for significant amount of energy consumption and land use.
In the United States, buildings account for:
- 36% of total energy use/65% of electricity consumption
- 30% of greenhouse gas emissions
- 30% of raw materials use
- 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually)
- 12% of potable water consumption
Green building practices provide environmental benefits by:
- Improving air and water quality
- Reducing solid waste
- Minimizing sprawl
- Decreasingconsumption of natural resources, like water, energy and construction materials
- Enhancing and protecting ecosystems and biodiversity
CEC supports the strengthening of green building policies and practices at the state and local level. Executive Director Elise Jones serves on Denver's Greenprint Denver Council, which made recommendations to Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in the summer of 2007 on how the city could meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals. These recommendations included a call for providing incentives to residents and businesses to retrofit existing buildings to be more energy efficient. For more information on Greenprint Denver, visit www.greenprintdenver.com.
At the state legislature, CEC advocated for the passage of legislation in 2007 to promote green building. House Bill 1146, sponsored by Rep. Claire Levy and Sen. Ken Gordon, requires all cities and counties with building codes to adopt and enforce an energy efficient building code.
