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| Dr. Ir. Sunarto, M.T. (Photo: Special). |
A green building concept, or environmentally friendly building, is the entire construction process, from planning, implementing and using environmentally friendly construction products. These buildings meet technical standards for buildings and demonstrate significantly measured performance, including water and energy savings, among other resources.
Concerning this, Dr. Ir. Sunarto, M.T., a lecturer in Civil Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, Muhammadiyah University of Malang (UMM), explained that green buildings have very positive impacts on the environment and must be realized. He explained that the main benefit of green buildings is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to Climate Watch data, in 2020, Indonesia produced approximately 1.48 billion tons/gigatons of equivalent carbon dioxide emissions (Gt CO2e). This figure is equivalent to 3.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, totalling 47.5 Gt CO2e.
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“This percentage comes from several sectors, such as electricity, transportation, buildings, and others,” he explained.
There are six aspects applied in green buildings. These include sustainable land planning and use, energy resource savings and diversification, and water resource conservation to ensure sustainable, clean water provision. In addition, the selection of environmentally friendly life cycle materials, improving health and comfort in healthy and comfortable spaces, and building systems that support environmental sustainability are also important considerations.
“Unfortunately, the implementation of green building in Indonesia is still not adequately addressed. Until 2022, only 60 buildings in Indonesia have received green building certificates or met the greenship criteria from the Green Building Council Indonesia (GBCI). These buildings include low-rise, medium-rise, and high-rise structures,” he added.
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Concerned about this issue, UMM is one of the institutions applying the green building concept. In addition to the Lecture Building (GKB 4) which has already implemented this concept, the GKB 5 UMM project, which is currently under construction, is also designed using this concept. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save energy.
“One of the obstacles to implementing this concept is the cost because it requires a higher budget than conventional buildings. However, it can help alleviate sustainable expenses. For example, by reducing the use of air conditioning (AC) which can minimize daily electricity usage,” he emphasized.
In conclusion, Sunarto hopes that all parties can support government policies and global initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment. “If all parties support it, then hopefully the negative impacts on the environment can be reduced,” he concluded. (dit/wil/fajr)
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