Construction is the major contributor to socioeconomic development in most of the countries and marks for the majority of the energy consumption. Building & construction accounts for substantial greenhouse gas emissions and thus push for more sustainable building methods. Due to this, sustainable building materials have gained importance in the global construction industry.
Sustainable building materials are also called green building materials that are energy efficient and durable. Sustainable building materials helps in providing comfortable, healthy environmental conditions throughout the building life cycle. The major objective of sustainable building materials is to achieve efficient use of energy, water, raw material and minimum impact on the environment of buildings. However, due to the complexity of implementation of sustainability and fragmented industry, the implementation level of sustainable building materials is still at the budding stage.
Rising demand for sustainable cities and infrastructure due to the evolution of the construction sector is anticipated to boost the sustainable building materials market. Large construction companies aim to deliver certified sustainable buildings at a reduced financial and environmental cost. In the US, The Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) has introduced a new way for building materials and products that expand their role in the certification process from point-of manufacture to end-of-life of building. Due to the advent of digitalization and automation in most the industries, the construction industry can transform by integrating digital technology and advanced automation into building and infrastructure. With 30-40% of solid waste generated from the built environment, sustainable building materials provide a significant opportunity to the construction industry to reduce cost, conserve resources, and protect the environment.
The major materials used as sustainable building materials include green thermal insulation, recycled metal, reclaimed wood, bamboo, insulated foam concrete, recycled glass, etc. These are ecofriendly materials and has low environmental impact during production, implementation and maintenance. Mostly they are recyclable and locally sourced materials. Companies are pursuing zero-carbon buildings and optimizing the performance of the building cycle by using these sustainable building materials. Continuously greener materials are introduced in the market, which significantly reduces the energy cost in residential and commercial construction.
North America and Europe are major users of green or sustainable building materials. More than half of the construction companies have implemented green building in their projects. However, developing countries like India lacks incentives for sustainable buildings. Slowly and steadily, consumers are moving towards green homes helping promoting sustainable building materials. In India, Green Building Code has laid codes and standards in the State by-laws and norms set by the ratings programmes, such as (LEED-India), the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), TERI-GRIHA and other such certifications. It is important that the implementation of these policies is effective and commercial builders get tax benefits and quick permits in the form of incentives.
Impact of construction lasts for decades and affects current as well as future generation; hence, it is the need of the hour to adopt sustainable building materials that have a positive impact on the environment during the construction and after the life cycle of the building.