Indoor Air Quality, 3rd Edition

20

Green Buildings

The U.S. Green Building Council (2015) claims that green buildings reduce energy consumption by 25 percent and that retrofitted existing buildings reduce operating costs by 9 percent over one year and 13 percent over five years.

In 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that New York City will become the first city to mandate that over 14,500 existing buildings that are above 25,000 square feet must drastically curb their energy consumption in terms of carbon emissions. These buildings include municipal offices, private businesses, hospitals, and apartments. Those who fail to comply are to face hefty penalties amounting to as much as $2 million a year for a 1 million square foot building. According to The New York Times, the ...