From the course: BIM: Sustainable Design and Green Buildings

What is sustainability? - Revit Tutorial

From the course: BIM: Sustainable Design and Green Buildings

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What is sustainability?

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- [Instructor] Sustainability is among the most popular terms in the construction industry. It has almost become a buzzword. Environmental conservation is one thing that comes to mind when sustainability is mentioned, but what exactly is sustainability? We'll discussed that in this video and how it applies to the building industry. The concept of sustainability is not new. It was popularized in 1987 by the Bruntdtland Report, probably by the United Nations' recognition of Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Norwegian prime minister who was also the chair of the World Commission on Environment and Development, WCED. The report defines sustainable development as any development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of generations to meet their needs. Sustainability is based on the crucial balance between the environmental, social, and economic factors within the product, projects, or service. And this is properly referred to us in the triple bottom line. The building industry has enormous economic, social, and environmental impacts globally. Environmentally, the industry generates trillions of dollars in revenue worldwide every year. Socially, humans spend up to 90% of their lives in buildings. And the industry accounts for millions of jobs worldwide. And environmentally, the industry consumes about 40% of the world's energy, emits about 40% of the world's greenhouse gases, GHG, contributes about 30% of the world's waste outputs, and consumes about 15% of the global drinkable or portable water. Now, I'll illustrate you some examples. An energy-efficient building that saves the owners money, but makes the occupants sick is not sustainable. Nor is the material that has a small carbon footprint, but has a high embodied energy due to the way it was produced. Nor is an echo result that displaces threatened species or local people. Now, considering that more than half of the buildings that will exist across the globe in 2050 are yet to be built, the importance of sustainability in the building industry cannot be overemphasized.

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