United States. As part of its Living Standard initiative, the Green Building Council (USGBC) released a new research report titled Standard Issue that aims to better assess how the public feels about issues in green building: Sustainability, Green Buildings, and the Environment.
The report takes a closer look at Americans' views on environmental issues and how the green building industry can best position itself as a global solution. As part of the report, USGBC commissioned ClearPath Strategies, a global public opinion research company, to conduct qualitative and quantitative research in five regions of the U.S.
"For more than a quarter of a century, the USGBC community has worked to demonstrate that buildings are living entities that, if created with foresight and compassion, can mitigate climate-related risks," said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of USGBC. "But we need to do more. We know that green buildings are only part of the solution to extend and improve the life of every person on the planet. That's why the heart of the green building community's efforts must go beyond construction or efficiency. Instead, our focus should be on what matters most within our buildings: people. This research challenges our conventional wisdom and expertise and helps inform our strategy for the future."
The USGBC is working to elevate the role of green buildings beyond the environment and the economy and focus on personal health and the wellness benefits they provide. The report found that while three-quarters of respondents said environmental issues are very important to them, they do very little to address the issues in their own lives, as they consider it too difficult a task.
Research also shows that people want to live in a healthy environment, but that they don't usually associate green buildings with being part of the solution. When asked which terms relate most to the environment and being green, only 11 percent said green buildings.
When considering the connection between green buildings and personal health, nearly a third (32 percent) indicated that they have direct and personal experience with poor health associated with poor environments or living situations. In addition, when you rank how healthy your local environment is on a scale of 1 to 10, 65 percent gave you fewer than eight.
Research suggests that there is a gap between the enormity of the problem and the way people try to approach it in their daily lives, and that the green building community can mobilize and inspire change by connecting messages with healthy outcomes for humans.
"When people think of emissions, they think of cars, power plants and industries. They rarely think about buildings, leaving the green building community with a mountain of messages to climb," Ramanujam continued. We are not reaching the general population effectively enough to change their behavior or decisions on the scale needed to combat climate-related risks."
Through these research findings, the USGBC has identified key areas to talk about how green buildings can help, who they help, and why they are needed:
Promote healthy outcomes: Sustainable cities improve people's lives and better-designed spaces help people live longer, healthier and happier lives. Toxin-free materials, good air ventilation, and air purifying plants, all put together in a home or workplace, can improve physical health and comfort by reducing symptoms of allergies and respiratory diseases such as asthma.
Future generations: At the rate at which the planet is warming, catastrophe is almost certain. If we continue to do nothing, our children will ask, "How could they do this to us?" And they will be right. Our future generations deserve to live in a healthy and prosperous environment where they live, learn, work and play. The time to act is now.
Planetary stakes: With more natural disasters, droughts, fires, and famine, our global environment is getting worse every day. Now, United Nations climate scientists report that if we don't make dramatic changes to the way we live and the fuel we consume, we will have an environmental catastrophe by 2030.
This is the first of several public research reports to be published through the Living Standard campaign, which was launched at the 2018 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Chicago and focuses on the belief that storytelling can lead to a more sustainable world. The campaign aims to highlight stories, large and small, that capture how the USGBC, the LEED green building rating system and other sustainability programs are improving the quality of life for people around the world.
The Living Standard study included both qualitative and quantitative research conducted in the fall of 2018. The study included focus groups with millennials, community opinion formers, young parents, commercial and residential developers, and a survey of the general public.
Source: USGBC.
