Benefits of Green : What is Green Building?
In the broadest sense, green building means applying forward thinking to the way we build, remodel, renovate and develop our residences and communities. It requires an understanding of the relationships between building site, building design, mechanical systems and other factors. Finally, it mandates a mindset that enables healthy, mutually beneficial relationships between human, technical and natural systems. Green building goes beyond reducing energy use or improving indoor air quality (though that's a good place to start). It's about addressing the whole system - not just the pieces.
Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use and harvest energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better sitting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle.