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to the Green Building Initiative
Making Green Building Practices Mainstream
Introduction
The short-term goal of the Green Building Initiative is to increase
adoption of green building construction, operation, and deconstruction
practices throughout the state and the region. The term green building,
synonymous with sustainable building, appears throughout this section
because it is widely used to represent these practices and the buildings
that result. We have adapted the U.S. Green Building Council’s definition
of green design to describe green building (see box to the right).
The 30-year goal of this initiative is for “green building” to
be a mainstream and usual practice throughout the state. We have
identified an increased focus on green building a key means to significantly
reduce wastes, mitigate climate change, and reduce the use of toxic
substances in our state.
We selected this initiative as one of the keys to Beyond Waste
for four main reasons:
- Construction and demolition waste makes up roughly one-third
of the solid waste generated in Washington. This represents
inefficient use of valuable resources and business capital,
and creates waste management challenges. Reducing the amounts
and negative effects of construction and demolition wastes will
result in significant progress toward Beyond Waste.
- Strong partnerships across the state already work to promote
green building practices. Companies and governments across the
country and in many parts of the world are embracing green building.
Continuing to focus on partnerships has potential to accelerate
success.
- Political support is strong. Green building is identified
in the Governor's Sustainability Executive Order, required of
all public buildings (Chapter 39.35D RCW), identified as a key
component of climate change mitigation, and viewed as an important
method of reducing toxics in the environment.
- Green building practices address multiple problems and yield
multiple benefits. The transition to building "green" will bring
many benefits to public and individual health, the economy and
the environment. It also will ease the strain on natural resources
and Washington's waste management system.
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