Review of sustainability in buildings

At present, it is estimated that the building sector contributes up to 45% of annual greenhouse gas emissions primarily through the use of fossil fuels during their operational phase and consumes up to 40% of all energy in UK. Given the massive growth in new construction in economies in transition, and the inefficiencies of existing building stock, if nothing is done, greenhouse gas emissions from buildings will be more than double in the next 20 years. This is a review paper describe the extent and nature of sustainable buildings in UK, either within new or refurbishing old ones, in order to move away from traditional methods of construction and to look at multi-disciplinary and integrated approaches, as well as end-user perspectives.