Green Buildings: Laws And Practices

In the past, concerns with buildings have generally revolved around the health risk that the building's materials might cause to its occupants. Rules and regulations were imposed, and laws were enacted, to deal with asbestos and lead paint related health risks, for example. Recently, however, there has been a new focus on enacting rules and regulations aimed at making buildings more "green" and environmentally friendly. The driving force behind many of these new green laws is an effort to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from these buildings.

These new laws result in an extremely heavy monetary burden on landlords, as many own buildings that were built many years ago and are therefore not up to the "environmentally friendly" standards that modern climate activists are calling for. Aside from the monetary burden of needing to install and implement new equipment and programs, if a landlord is not in compliance with these new laws, there can be monetary fines