Sustainable Development and Green Building


Not only will GEOVADA be a showcase for production of a variety of forms of renewable energy and the integration of the same with real estate development, our project will also feature the latest sustainable, green building technologies and practices.

Why is this important? Globally speaking, real estate developments are the largest consumers of energy and the single most liable sector for Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Consider, for example, that in the U.S. buildings alone are responsible for 35% of overall energy consumption and GHG emissions whereas the entire transportation fuel usage in the Country accounts for only 28% of overall domestic energy consumption and GHG emissions.

Compounding the problem is that it is much easier, for example, to reduce vehicular energy use and emissions than that associated with buildings. For example, few of today’s automobiles will still be on the road in 20 years whereas most buildings that will be operating in 2030 have already been built. The life time of a building is typically 50 – 75 years.

Buildings also have a healthy appetite for resources. It is estimated that 40 – 50% of the world’s raw materials flowing in the global economy are used in the manufacturing of building products and components. Taking into account both land and materials, the global building sector easily accounts for the largest share of natural resource consumption and utilization worldwide.

A host of parties, including investors, architects, property developers, construction companies, management firms and tenants, all have a role to play in the complex challenge of increasing the efficiency of and use of renewable energy by buildings while employing sustainable technology and practices in new construction and building renovations. Additionally, the entire life cycle of a building, from manufacture of materials through construction, operation and demolition, must be analyzed in order to properly assess how efficiency and sustainability goals can be met.

In the U.S. there are tools to assess building efficiency, type of energy use, sustainability, resource utilization, and related considerations. These tools include product labeling (e.g. Energy Star), building certification (e.g. LEED criteria) and resource accountability (e.g LID development standards). Using these tools as a guide, GEOVADA has an unprecedented opportunity to build from the ground up a state of the art sustainable, green commercial and residential community maximizing renewable energy and minimizing natural resource consumption.