“Green” building does not always require costly or complicated measures. How to build premises which require less power and following which criterias? Emma Ozsen, Build-Green consultant
“Green building and “durable development” – What is the impact of these notions in Mauritius and elsewhere and how to tackle them?
E.O: My training gave me the opportunity to be directly involved in sustainable development and to propose to professionals in the construction industry measures which contribute to sustainable construction. Green building first of all requires first of all a minimum decrease of power and water consumption, and the willingness to favour ventilation methods and passive heating/cooling. It is preferable and less costly that the analysis is done at the conception stage during which different options may be compared and the more effective, chosen. However, the new principles and innovative ideas are not always favourably welcomed. This requires much perseverance and persuasion in order to change mindsets and to evacuate misconceptions such as: “Green buildings built to promote sustainable development cannot include modern life commodities.” It is important to realise that buildings are the principal environment’s enemies. By taking into account the use of natural resources during their construction, the air they generate during and after their construction, and energy they consume during their life cycle, the buildings produce more carbon dioxide than the transport industry.
The demand in the construction industry is constant, thus, the resources costs increase and natural resources decrease. Green buildings’ constructions, which consume less energy, encountered a worldwide increase since the previous years.
How to ensure that a ‘green’ building is really contributing to sustainable development?
E.O: Evaluation systems have been implemented in many areas of the world in order to approve “green” buildings and to reward innovative initiatives in the sustainable development industry. The oldest of those systems is BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method), which was created in England in 1990. Many other countries followed the path by introducing similar evaluation systems. Hence, the US Green Building Council created the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in 1998 after which, Australia created the Green-Star system in 2003. Those two were principally based on the BREEAM system, with the necessary modifications to be applied in the respective countries. Those evaluation systems include a certain number of criteria in several categories (Management, Energy, Water, Transport, Pollution and Occupant Health and Wellbeing). Those evaluation tools aim to consider the global efficiency of the entire building. The building is evaluated following this criteria and the certification is granted if the required criteria has been satisfied. A green building’s certification is not only gratifying for the promoter but studies have proved that a green building’s cost has an inferior operation cost than a typical building of the same calibre and that the certification places the building on an internationally recognized level.
Mauritius, through the 2010 Budget, wants to go towards the protection of the environment with the “Maurice Ile Durable Concept”. How can the country benefit from those evaluation systems?
E.O: The worldwide ecological sensitization pushed the systems’ designers to make them applicable in several parts of the world. BREEAM may be applied in several parts of the world, including Mauritius. Furthermore, the current proposed initiatives are in favour of sustainable development and green constructions. For example, the Commercial Bank proposes a “green loan” and a “cash back” of 12% to clients who want to invest in green construction. As a “BREEAM International Assessor”, I am able to collaborate with the BRE (UK) for high environmental quality buildings’ certification in Mauritius. However, obtaining a BREEAM or LEED certification for a building is not a simple thing! Those systems ensure that the evaluation criteria go beyond the typical environmental norms and that the building has a high environmental quality. It is essential that efficient practices regarding power consumption are incorporated since the beginning and not at the construction stage. Whichever is the project’s prominence, in order for it to be completed and the required goals meet, collaboration between the different involved professionals (developers, engineers, architects, etc.) is very important.
Emma Ozsen
After completing a B. Eng. Degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Mauritius and having a particular interest in the environment industry, namely the ‘Built Environment’, she decided to pursue further studies. In 2005, she went to London to pursue a Masters Degree (MSc) in Built Environment: Environmental Design and Engineering at the University College London (UCL). After four years spend in London including three years as Environmental Consultant, she decided to come back to Mauritius to share her experience in the sustainable development and ‘green’ constructions industry.
Contact: Build-Green Consulting; Tel: 4653889
Source: Week-End dated Sunday 29 November 2009
