An Introduction to Green Building

This guide provides an introduction to selecting environmentally sensitive building materials, emphasizing the reduction of embodied energy, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and the impact of industrial manufacturing on global ecosystems.

• The manufacturing of cement is a significant contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 8% of human CO2 emissions. For every ton of cement produced, 1.25 tons of CO2 are released into the atmosphere.
• To improve the environmental profile of concrete, up to 70% of cement can be replaced with fly ash, a power plant waste product. This substitution reduces energy consumption and solid waste while increasing the strength of the concrete.
• Material selection should consider 'embodied energy'—the energy required for production. Some materials have significantly higher embodied energy than others; for example, virgin aluminum (191.0 MJ/kg) and expanded polystyrene plastic (117.0 MJ/kg) are much higher than baled straw (0.2 MJ/kg) or kiln-dried hardwood (2.0 MJ/kg).
• Steel-framed exterior walls face energy-efficiency challenges due to 'thermal bridging,' where steel studs act as conductors. Steel is 400 times more conductive than wood, which can halve the overall R-value of a wall with cavity insulation.
• Indoor air quality can be improved by specifying materials that do not release large quantities of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as using low-VOC paints, adhesives, and millwork, and avoiding formaldehyde-based glues in fiberboards.

APA

Karolides, A. (2003). An Introduction to Green Building. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D03-16_EnviroSenstv.pdf

Chicago

Karolides, Alexis. An Introduction to Green Building. RMI, 2003. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D03-16_EnviroSenstv.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Karolides |first1=Alexis |title=An Introduction to Green Building |publisher=RMI |date=March 2003 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D03-16_EnviroSenstv.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{karolides2003introduction, author = {Karolides, Alexis}, title = {{An Introduction to Green Building}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2003}, month = mar, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_D03-16_EnviroSenstv.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }