Green Buildings: Construction Design Firms' Implementation of Sustainable Design Standards

Abstract

This paper is written to show the importance of green buildings and therefore the need for sustainable design. The paper describes why a construction design firm must take the steps necessary to properly integrate these sustainable design standards in order to stay competitive in the construction design industry.

The paper starts by describing the parts of the current industry standard green building rating system, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and explaining whom uses LEED and how it was developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Both benefits and criticisms of LEED are given and the need for such green building systems becoming more widely used in the construction industry is established. After determining the importance of sustainable design and LEED the paper goes on to show why construction design firms must have the ability to design sustainable projects to stay relevant in the future market.

After establishing the need for sustainable design standards the paper then gives a step by step outline on how to implement such design standards into a construction design firm. The last chapter of the paper gives suggestions where further research could be focused to aid construction design firms in the green building area of the market.