Green Buildings:
What Would Green Building Mean to the District?

Baseball Stadium

Green buildings mean much more than just energy efficiency. Green buildings embody a range of strategies that combined reduce the overall impact of the building on the environment by making better use of transit, preserving habitat, using recycled and rapidly renewable materials, being more energy efficient, and saving water.

In an urban area like the District, green buildings can play an especially important role in two key areas: water quality and energy consumption. Because we are bounded by two rivers, and the DistrictÕs storm-water system is overburdened, storm-water runoff can be a huge problem, even with a very light rainfall. By incorporating strategies such as green roofs, bioretention swales, no-water landscaping using native plants, and water conservation measures such as low-flow toilet fixtures, green buildings could significantly mitigate the DistrictÕs combined sewer overflow problem by keeping water out of the storm and sanitary sewers.

Green roofs are also appealing for other reasons: they provide excellent insulation and reduce the heat island effect, which in turn reduces demand for energy-intensive air conditioning in the summer.

Green buildings are not only environmentally responsible; they are fiscally and socially responsible, too. Because they typically have healthy indoor environments with good air quality, ample daylighting and efficient thermal control, green buildings provide an environment in which employees are actually healthier and more productive.

Buildings annually consume some 30 percent of the countryÕs total energy and 60 percent of its electricity, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. Green buildings can save 30 percent and more in energy costs. And in public buildings, that means taxpayers must foot less of their governmentÕs electric bill.