Harvard Study: Green Buildings Save $6.7 Billion in Combined Health and Climate Benefits

Posted by: YijunW

Buildings consume nearly 40% of primary energy production in the world. Green buildings significantly and substantially reduce energy consumption. However, the co-benefits to health through energy reductions in air pollution are not well-studied. A Harvard study examined Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification rates over a 16-year period across six countries — the United States, China, India, Brazil, Germany, and Turkey— and then approximate yearly energy savings in each country.  Known as HEALTHfx, the study found roughly $6 billion in combined health and climate benefits. LEED-certified buildings averted 33MT of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere, have saved 51.81 billion kWh of electricity, 29.63 billion kWh (98.04 billion SCF) of natural gas, 2.03 billion kWh (50.00 million gallons) of fuel oil, and 5.03 billion kWh of district heat, altogether worth of $6.7B in energy savings. Do you know what 33 MT of CO2 means? Thirty-three million tons of CO2 is equal to: $4.4 billion in estimated public health benefits from fewer: * Deaths * Hospital visits * Asthma attacks * Respiratory symptoms * Lost days of work * Lost days of school Resulting from: $1.4 billion in estimated climate benefits from reductions in: * Carbon dioxide (CO2) * Methane (CH4) * Nitrous oxide (N2O) Now, take a step back and think about it. The HEALTHfx study only included LEED buildings, which are approximately one-third of the green buildings worldwide. This means that our total savings and gains from green buildings would be even considerably larger. To view more, please visit: http://naturalleader.com/resource/healthfx-health-co-benefits-green-buildings/