The Future of Sustainablility

Sustainability is defined as the ability to endure, to last.  This class has reminded me that this initiative is not for the select few, but for all of us.  It has shown me that there are many differing degrees in which a family, organization, or even building may choose to be "green", but the paradigm shift is for all of us.  The practice of recycling may range from recycling plastic bottles to recycling and reusing material from the demolition of a building.  The conservation of water may be as simple as turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth to a installing a complex irrigation system using reclaimed run-off water.  Energy savings may be changing your light bulbs to compact fluorescent or installing a state of the art HVAC system.  Each of these choices will have a positive impact on the sustainability of our planet. 

The US Green Building Council LEED certification process has created one way to help make corporations aware and accountable of the choices they make in the running of their businesses.  They have challenged the building industry to adopt building practices with a broader perspective in mind and have found a way to reward those efforts through the certification process.  While there are other certification processes, LEED offers a consistent and credible way to evaluate building construction and maintenance and has been selected as the primary standard.  As the USGBC continues to grow and fine tune their accreditation process, I believe we will see an increase in specialized businesses that address the issues covered in the LEED commissioning process.