Ever since the threat of environmental degradation has hit the high spots of our consciousness, mainstream academics and popular media have gone critically hard on industrial wastes and vehicular emissions. Whether it is a discussion of immediate health effects or of long-term climate change, harmful products have been the main target of environmental criticism. In the context of sustainable development and green living, however, this crackdown on hazardous wastes and toxic emanations seems a bit lacking in proportion. Advocates of green living are now better appreciating the role of green building in ameliorating the environment, on a local as well as global scale. We now know that the influence of building processes on global climate, through the greenhouse effect, exceeds that of vehicular emissions and waste products.

Green building refers to the sum of processes involved in creating and maintaining environmental-friendly infrastructure. While actually coming into construction practices in the early 1990s, the impetus for green building came from the academic research published in the 1980s. The findings of these studies highlighted problems related to health, environment, and expenditure in small communities and low-income populations. The updated definition of green building, therefore, comprises four key qualities:

o    Green building makes minimal use of resources.
o    It has minimal hazardous impact on the environment.
o    It is health-friendly to people.
o    It is economically affordable for low-income residents.

The numerous benefits of green building have attracted a great deal of interest from the general population, academicians, and construction firms all over the world. Not only does it promise the conservation of natural resources and energy-efficient practices but also carries a greater margin for economic prosperity. In fact, the cost-effective nature of green building has already helped it become a global movement. This is true for all the inhabited continents of the world and particularly for Asia where green building by construction firms is expected to increase from 36% to 73% in the coming five years. Green building means ‘just the right thing’ for eco-conscious and environmental-friendly communities. At the moment, certain challenges need to be met in order make green building a panacea for environmental stress. Developers of green communities have made some progress on this front and the future of green building appears quite cheerful

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