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Although environmentally friendly buildings made their debut in the mid-1970s, it was not until 1985 that the term "green building" was first used when the Environmental Defense Fund in New York City unveiled its new office building. The renovated building used natural and non-toxic construction materials, low-emitting furnishings and natural lighting. Since then, businesses have adopted "green" building concepts as they began to realize that saving energy meant saving money.[1] By and large, companies have been a slower to realize the full economic value associated with more sunlight and better indoor air quality (IAQ) on employee health and productivity.
This section of the Aerias AQS IAQ Resource Center examines the Green Building movement, including:
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LEED Certification - provides an overview of the US Green Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) Green Building Rating System
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LEED - CI Overview - introduces USGBC new LEED for Commercial Interiors rating system
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Building Green Workplaces - offers suggestions on how to build green workplaces
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Building Green Homes - offers suggestions on how to build green homes
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Economics of IAQ - summarizes how providing good IAQ positively impacts the bottom line in terms of higher productivitiy, fewer absences and higher employee morale - the full article with compelling supportive data may be accessed from the Premium Content section of the Aerias AQS IAQ Resource Center site.
For more information about LEED and the USGBC, visit the USGBC website at www.usgbc.org.
Reference
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Bonda, P. LEED program for commercial interiors. Selected Papers From the Aerias Third Annual National Symposium: Protecting Indoor Environments and Building Occupants. Atlanta, Georgia. October 22 - 24, 2003. Aerias, LLC. Marietta, Georgia. 2003. |
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