Sustainable built environment
Green Building
Definition
A green building is one that, in its design, construction, or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts and can create positive impacts on our climate and natural environment, as defined by the World Green Building Council. Green buildings preserve natural resources and improve quality of life through features such as efficient use of energy, water and materials, use of renewable energy, pollution and waste reduction, good indoor environmental quality, and design adapted to a changing environment.
References
WGBC definition and criteria
Overview
What it means
The definition is outcome-based: "green" is demonstrated across a building's life cycle, not by a single feature. Certification systems — LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, and others — translate the concept into auditable criteria spanning site, energy, water, materials, and indoor quality, while regulation increasingly sets whole-life-carbon expectations.
How it is used
Developers and owners certify buildings to access markets, finance (green mortgages and bonds), and regulation; policymakers use green building codes and nearly-zero-energy standards to drive sector decarbonisation.
Why it matters
Buildings account for a large share of global energy use and emissions; green building is the delivery mechanism for most built-environment climate solutions.