Sustainability in construction

Precise definitions of sustainable construction vary from place to place, and are constantly evolving to encompass varying approaches and priorities. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines sustainable construction as "the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction." The Netherlands defines sustainable construction as "a way of building which aims at reducing (negative) health and environmental impacts caused by the construction process or by buildings or by the built-up environment." More comprehensively, sustainability can be considered from three dimension of planet, people and profit across the entire construction supply chain. Key concepts include the protection of the natural environment, choice of non-toxic materials, reduction and reuse of resources, waste minimization, and the use of life-cycle cost analysis. The definition of "Sustainable Construction" is the introduction of healthy living and workplace environments, the use of materials that are sustainable, durable and by extension environmentally friendly. In the 1970s, awareness of sustainability emerged, amidst oil crises. At that time, people began to realize the necessity and urgency of energy conservation, which is to utilize energy in an efficient way and find alternatives to contemporary sources of energy. Additionally, shortages of other natural resources at that time, such as water, also raised public attention to the importance of sustainability and conservation. In the late 1960s, the construction industry began to explore ecological approaches to construction, aiming to seek harmony with nature. The concept of sustainable construction was born out of sustainable development discourse. The term sustainable development was first coined in the Brundtland report of 1987, defined as the ability to meet the needs of all people in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.