Green Building Design and Construction for a Sustainable Future

According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), buildings and construction together account for 30% of global final energy consumption and 27% of total energy sector emissions. The building sector has been making efforts to reduce carbon emissions for many years. However, there is still a long way to go to meet the Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario. Given the large amount of new construction every year, it is necessary to significantly increase the proportion of green buildings, including new buildings with green design and construction and the green retrofitting of existing buildings. The green building concept has been around for decades, aiming to reduce the environmental impacts of buildings over their life cycle. Different green building assessment tools have been developed, such as LEED, BREEAM, BEAM Plus, etc., and many buildings have been labelled as green buildings worldwide. However, the number of green buildings is still a small percentage of the existing building stocks. Therefore, it has become necessary to further promote the green concept in future building design and construction by involving different stakeholders. Moreover, the green retrofitting of existing buildings will provide important contributions to achieve net-zero emission goals. New technologies and materials will also bring disruptions for the future development of green buildings.