Green buildings will help reduce energy consumption

by L.S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

The present energy consumption and carbon dioxide generation could be significantly cut down by adopting sustainable building principles, said chairman, Green Building Council of Sri Lanka - (GBCSL) Prof. Priyantha Mendis.

The professor said that studies have shown that the building sector accounts for over 40 percent of the world's energy requirements.

The building sector is a major contributor to the global problem of protecting the environment.

The building sector could play an important role by providing some of the most cost effective and expedient ways and means to tackle the problem, he said.

The GBCSL has development the "Green Environmental Rating System" as a home-grown model for Sri Lanka. It will be launched at the Green Build Sri Lanka 2010 symposium on December 21 at Cinamon Lakeside under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he said.

Prof. Mendis said that the Green Rating Tools use various methods to assess the potential or performance of a building in relation to specific sustainability criteria including energy use. A building with a high green rating consumes a significantly lower volume of energy than an "average building", he said.