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April 24, 2013
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Headquarters of Dow Corning Corp. in Bay County's Williams Township. GREEN BUILDINGS: Dow Corning Leading Worldwide Trend Toward Sustainability
April 24, 2013
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There's a whole bright new green world out there!
And Bay County-based Dow Corning Corp. is way out front in this environmental trend.
The company's leadership is resulting in thousands of jobs, including a big employment boost locally, with more to come from the synergy soon to flow from the firm's new marketing center at Uptown at RiversEdge on the Saginaw River in downtown Bay City.
"Green building incorporates environmental considerations into "every stage of the building construction and focuses on the design, construction, operation and maintenance phases," observes Salman Zafar on the green website EcoMena.
Green construction is expected to reach $122 billion by 2015 as developers use low-cost options to make buildings environmentally friendly and earn big tax breaks, according to Thomas Frank of USA Today.
The biggest niche in this new market is perhaps the Middle East region and China. From the top of the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, to the subway system in China, the Dow Corning technology presence is there.
The business manager of Dow Corning high performance architecture solutions in China, said "I witness the fast development and achievement of huge subway network in China. Silicone materials play a key role in the city transportation, infrastructure and architecture engineering projects through reducing carbon emission, energy-consuming and improving building structure and durability, which create a healthier and safer living and working environment for people."
In China, Dow Corning products have been adopted by many famous projects, including the Theme Pavilion, China Pavilion and Culture Center of 2012 Shanghai World Expo. In the top 20 of the highest buildings in the world, Dow Corning structure sealant solution also plays a very important role in the Burj Khalifa Tower, TAIPEI 101, Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers and more ultrahigh buildings.
Buildings in the Middle East consume more energy than those in other parts of the world mainly on account of extremely hot weather and extensive use of glass on building exteriors, Zafar wrote.
The key process difference between green and conventional buildings is the concept of integration, whereby a multi-disciplinary team of building professionals work together from the pre-design phase through post-occupancy to optimize the building for environmental sustainability, performance, and cost saving, writes Zafar.
Europe is also a focal point. At their European Headquarters in Seneffe, Dow Corning's new $13 million Solar Energy Exploration and Development Center (SEED) has been constructed. That center will help the firm expand its ability to innovate with a broad range of European customers and accelerate advance applied and fundamental research in solar cell development and novel silicon-based materials.
New York City has a Green Codes Task force applying green technologies in that metropolis.
New York experts say energy used in buildings account for almost 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and most of our water use and our waste stream. They also impact our landscape because building lots comprise half of our land area, and our health because we spend most of our time indoors.
The Big Apple's green advocates note that buildings use energy and water more efficiently, contain fewer toxic materials, and contribute to an improved outdoor environment by increasing vegetation, combating urban overheating, and managing storm water.
Green buildings offer widespread benefits to a number of building industry stakeholders, including building occupants and society as a whole, other experts say.
Green buildings typically incorporate superior air quality, abundant natural light, access to views and noise control which benefits building occupants, making these building better places to work or live. The major considerations taken into account are the lot design and development efficiency, energy and water efficiency, resource efficiency, indoor environmental quality and the building's overall impact on the environment.
An integral characteristic of a green building is its stress on protecting existing ecologies, and improving ecologies that may have been damaged in the past. Green buildings are usually constructed on environmentally sensitive lands or previously developed property, with measures taken to restore plant life.
Green buildings also utilize fewer materials, through efficient design and elimination of unnecessary finish materials. In addition, green building operations promote material as well as water recycling in their operation.
Energy efficiency is one of the most important factors in almost all green building programs, notes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Careful window selection, building envelope air sealing, duct sealing, proper placement of air and vapour barriers, use of clean energy-powered heating/cooling systems contribute towards an energy efficient building. Use of renewable energy, such as solar, wind or biomass energy, to meet energy requirements can significantly reduce carbon footprints of such buildings.
Green homes stress on water conservation through more efficient water delivery and recycling. Minimization of water use is another feature of a green building which helps in reducing the detrimental effects of water use and its effects on local ecologies, such as aquatic life.
An increase in respiratory ailments and allergies and the use of chemicals that can give off gas from materials have greatly contributed to sensitive awareness of the air we breathe inside our homes, according to health authorities.
The green building also focuses on reducing respiratory ailments and allergies by improving the quality of in-house air by controlling the contamination source, diluting the source, and capturing the source through filtration.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) and Green Globes are popular green building assessment and rating systems used around the world.
Zafar notes in EcoMena that sustainability is now a top priority in MENA (middle east) region and countries like Qatar, UAE and Lebanon have come up with their own green building rating system to incorporate socio-economic, environmental and cultural aspects in modern architecture. Qatar's Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) is billed as the world's most comprehensive green building rating system while Abu Dhabi's Peral Rating System (PRS) has carved a niche of its own in global green buildings sector.
Countries in the region are increasingly promoting energy efficiency as a means to ensure energy security which has become a boon for the green buildings industry. The number of LEED-registered buildings has increased rapidly across the region, especially in GCC, in the past few years. Some of the notable examples of green buildings in the Middle East are Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, KAUST in Saudi Arabia and Msheireb Downtown Doha in Qatar.
Green buildings not only contribute towards a sustainable construction and environment but it also brings lots of benefits and advantages to building owners and users. Lower development costs, lower operating costs, increased comforts, healthier indoor environment quality, and enhanced durability and less maintenance costs are hallmarks of a typical green building.
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