PROCESS AND IMPACTS OF GREEN CONSTRUCTION AND ITS CLIMATE-MITIGATION POTENTIAL IN LAHORE

Abstract

Rapid urban growth has increased environmental strains in Lahore such as high smog, increased cooling loads, and urban heat island (UHI). Green construction is a lifecycle approach which minimizes the environmental impact of the built environment and improves wellbeing of occupants. This paper is a critical study of the green construction process and assesses the environmental, economic, and social effects of the process in the context of Lahore. Based on the recent changes in policy including the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC-2023) in Pakistan and/or the current research (202025), the paper helps to prove that green construction can lead to a significant impact on lowering operational energy consumption, enhancing indoor environment quality, and assist in the mitigation of climate-change-related challenges. The case study of a building at Lahore depicts how sustainable building strategies are practically and financially feasible. The paper concludes that with the strong technical potential, regulatory implementation, market awareness, and cost perception are the major obstacles to widespread implementations.