An appraisal of co-benefits of green building; challenges in creating crisisadaptive built environment

Abstract

As the world moves achieving sustainable built environment, the concept of green building has emerged as one of the most important trends in the construction sector around the world. Buildings that are sustainable, use less energy and less water, save money while preserving natural resources. As a result of growing interest in the topic on a global scale, the development of sustainable buildings has recently appeared as an emerging trend in Sri Lanka. According to the findings of several studies, the initial expenditure required for the construction of sustainable buildings is considerably more than that of conventional buildings. Adopting a green concept for the construction of buildings, in a state of crisis like Sri Lanka needs to understand the advantages and difficulties that may arise in the process. In the face of the current crisis in Sri Lanka. This study is conducted to examine the co-benefits that can be obtained from the concept of green buildings and the methods used in creating such buildings that are adaptive to prevailing crisis. A questionnaire survey is deployed to accumulate primary data, and the statistical approach of the relative importance index was utilized in the analysis of data. According to the findings, green buildings offer numerous environmental co-benefits, economic co-benefits, and social co-benefits, creating energy efficient, and crisis-adaptive built environment. Further the study reveals the relative significance level of each building element within the context of sustainable built- environment, and barriers in the construction industry in its achievement.