Sustainable building Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Sustainable building - Assignment Example Center of discussion in this paper is sustainable building as the one that has higher energy efficiency, does not or less produces or less contribute in producing the green house gases emissions and the building that makes no burden to the ecology and environment. The construction of such a building is practically possible by making smaller changes to the way we live and construct our houses. Sustainable building utilized the sustainable materials that are renewable. Moreover a structure that utilizes less resources and utilizes the sustainable resources like solar, wind, geothermal, etc to provide the energy demand and provides an environmental security, is a sustainable building. However, other features like producing less waste, building life time, utilizes and produces non- toxic or less toxic materials, durability towards the harsh atmospheric affects, utilization of the natural resources, use of recyclable materials, use of renewable materials, use of durable materials and util ization of the technology makes the construction a green construction. For example, the utilization of the natural ventilation and geothermal cooling can be utilized in the building to make the building be in a desirable temperature, which certainly reduces the cooling cost and energy. Similarly, the utilization of the bigger glass windows makes the building enlighten in the daytime, which reduces the requirement of the artificial lightening in the building and reduces the carbon footprints of the building. In the same way, the utilization of the passive solar construction makes the building cooler in summer and warmer in the winter. The utilization of the onsite water treatment plants reduces the water footprints of the building. Some simple methods like making the faucets and showers heads to mix the air with the water, reduces the flow of water but the pressure remains the same thus reducing the water foot prints. The utilization of the most modern techniques like utilizing the s olar photovoltaic panels and utilizing the wind turbine to fulfill or reduce the energy requirement of the building can make the building more environments friendly and contribute much in reducing the carbon footprints. In the similar way solar water heating can be utilized to attain the warm water and also make the building warm during the winter season. Some other methods like growing plants on the rooftops of the building also reduce the cooling and heating energy requirement of the building. The vegetation on the rooftops blocks the direct sunlight and maintains the temperature of the building. This technique is utilized by several structures like the ‘California Academy of Science’, which is designed by ‘Renzo Piano’. If some or all of the sustainable method are utilized in a construction, the structure will be a sustainable building. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) LEED is a certification that certifies a building to be a green or sustainable building or not. LEED certification verifies the green methods utilized in the building like the carbon emission of the building, quality of the resign, production of the waster, energy efficiency, energy dependency, energy management, waste management and social and environmental aspects of the building (USGBC 2011). LEED certification has different rating LEED System LEED rating makes the LEED system. A building is rated on the basis of points that the building gets after evaluating that which methods are employed in the construction of the building, how is the energy managed and utilized in the building and if the building presents a sustainable architecture or not. Points are given from a total of 100 points. If the building gets 40 to 49 points, the building is LEED certified. If it remains in-between 50 to 59, it gets the silver status. If the building is rated in between 59 to 80, it gets a gold status and it the building rates more than 80; it gets the platinum status (USGBC 2010).

Globalization Effects upon Power and Responsibility of Firms Essay

Globalization Effects upon Power and Responsibility of Firms - Essay Example Globalization has drawn manifest impacts upon different aspect of businesses and many philosophies and phenomenon exists within the business world got new directions in the era of globalization. The emergence of globalization has also evolved the debate about the power and responsibilities of the companies in the globalized era. This debate is often concluded with the explanation of the phenomenon of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) .The notion of Corporate Social Responsibility has also changed significantly due to the emergence of globalization. (Collins, 2003, p143) The following essay aims to discuss the impact of globalization upon the power and responsibilities of the companies and businesses. The essay discusses the emergence of CSR in the context of globalization and discusses some important managerial and environmental issues that drastically need to be addressed through the CSR plans of the companies (Hutton and Giddens, 2001, p312). Globalization effects upon Power an d responsibilities of the firms Globalization has altered the traditional patterns of conducting businesses and the firms of the modern era have become significantly different from the firms of the past. In the wake of globalization the firms are provided with wide variety of opportunities for the development and expansion of their businesses however, at the same time their powers and responsibilities are also affected in the changing business scenario. The effects of globalization upon the power and responsibilities of the firms have appeared to be very important point of discourse for the social scientists, experts and theorists and there have been many approaches divulged by the researchers to identify the core benefits and setbacks of globalization in terms of determining the new dimensions of power and responsibilities of the firms in the era of globalization (Collins, 200, p395). The analysis of the emerging business scenario altered by globalization unfolds some important asp ects regarding the effects of globalization upon the powers of the firms. It appears that globalization has main added to the power of the firms by providing them opportunities to easily manage their operations all over the world. The business scenario has also changed a lot in the emergence of globalization that also strongly affects the power and responsibilities of the firms in the modern era. International trade is going through revolutionary changes in the modern world as the technological advancement has changes the traditional ways of doing trade and now the countries are adopting modern ways to conduct their trade operations. The advancement in technology has revolutionized the international trading activities as well. Computers and internet have drawn strong impacts on the trading, investment and other business related activities. For example the advancement in transportation has enabled the traders to transfer goods and services in short time of period to a far distant pla ce and the communication technology allows the traders of different countries to keep in instant contact with each other with the help of mobile phone and internet (Rodrik, 1997, p68). The firms operating at different scales are now able to easily get involved in the international trade operations because it has also become simple, less expensive and secure with the advancement in technology. The traditional trading system involves a multitude of complicated steps and documents but E-commerce has simplified the process of the international trade and offered a unique ability to reduce the complexities of the system. Now the