Abstract :
As a result of the oil crisis of the 1970s, energy saving in the construction and operation of buildings has been a strategic issue in the building industry. Energy consumption has a significant impact on the environment in terms of the resulting emissions and by-products. However, energy consumption is not the only building item that impacts on the environment. Other items such as site planning, waste management, selection of materials and design for flexibility, together with energy planning form the agenda for sustainable building practices and are a critical factor in addressing the environmental crisis.
As strategic as energy saving has been since the oil crisis, environment-friendly building practices today provide competitive advantage for the firms that embrace them. Based on a case study drawn from Botswana, this paper discusses some environment-friendly building practices and the importance of considering the sustainability of the building at the design stage because decisions made here influence all downstream processes. The paper concludes by emphasizing that, although much progress on environmental improvement has been made as a result of legislation and regulations, these efforts need to be complemented with the contribution of the business sector that is compelled by financial gains in adopting environment-friendly practices.
