Green Building vs Sustainable Building: Difference and Comparison

Key Takeaways

1. Green building is an architectural approach that focuses on minimizing the environmental impacts of buildings while providing a healthy space.
2. Sustainable building represents an approach that prioritizes the long-term well-being of the environment, society and the economy.
3. Green building primarily emphasizes environmental aspects, such as energy efficiency, reduced water usage and use of eco-friendly materials. In contrast, sustainable building takes a broader approach, considering environmental, social and economic aspects.

What is a Green Building?

Green building is an architectural approach that focuses on minimizing the environmental impacts of buildings while providing a healthy and efficient living or working space. The primary goal of green building is to reduce resource consumption, energy use, and waste composition throughout a building’s life cycle.

One key aspect of green building is energy efficiency. This involves using energy-efficient materials, designs, and technologies to reduce the building’s energy consumption. This can include using high-performance insulation, energy-efficient windows and advanced heating, cooling, and lighting systems.

Water conservation is another vital aspect of green building. This involves using water-saving fixtures and technologies, such as low-flow toilets and rainwater harvesting systems. By reducing water consumption, green buildings help preserve this precious resource.

What is Sustainable Building?

Sustainable building represents an approach to construction and architecture that prioritizes the long-term well-being of the environment, society and the economy. The core principle of sustainable building is to create structures that meet current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

One fundamental aspect of sustainable building is environmental responsibility. These buildings aim to reduce their ecological footprint using energy-efficient technologies, renewable energy sources, and sustainable materials. This approach helps mitigate climate change, minimize resource depletion, and protect natural ecosystems.

Energy efficiency plays a pivotal role in sustainable building. This involves designing and constructing buildings that use energy as efficiently as possible, ultimately reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainable buildings prioritize social and economic sustainability. They aim to create healthy and comfortable indoor environments for occupants while considering affordability and accessibility.

Difference Between Green Building and Sustainable Building

1. Green building primarily emphasizes environmental aspects, such as energy efficiency, reduced water usage and use of eco-friendly materials. In contrast, sustainable building takes a broader approach, considering environmental, social and economic aspects.
2. Green building focuses on reducing a building’s environmental footprint, particularly in energy and resource consumption. In contrast, sustainable building goes beyond reducing environmental aspects as it promotes practices like renewable energy generation and regenerative design.
3. Green building tends to concentrate on short to medium benefits such as immediate energy savings. In contrast, sustainable energy strongly emphasizes long-term resilience, ensuring that structures remain viable and adaptive regarding environmental and societal challenges.
4. Green building practices are well-established and may only sometimes incorporate cutting-edge research or innovative approaches. In contrast, sustainable building encourages innovation and the integration of new technologies and research to improve sustainability outcomes continuously.
5. Green building emphasizes technical aspects of sustainability, whereas sustainable building includes- education components, promoting awareness and engagement with sustainability principles.

Comparison Between Green Building and Sustainable Building

Parameters	Green Building	Sustainable Building
Focus and Scope	Emphasizes environmental aspects	Considers environmental, social and economic aspects
Environmental Impact	Reducing environmental footprint in terms of energy and resource consumption	It goes beyond reducing the environmental aspect as it promotes renewable energy resources.
Resilience	Short-medium benefits	Long-term
Innovation and Research	Not always incorporate cutting-edge research or innovative approaches	Encourages innovation and integration of new technologies and research
Education and Awareness	Emphasizes technical aspects of sustainability	Often includes- education components, promoting awareness and engagement with sustainability principles.

References

1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/sd.492
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032117313643

Last Updated : 23 January, 2024