Environmental consciousness is playing an ever-growing role in all professional fields. As public support increases, public policies encouraging the implementation of green initiatives to lower global carbon emissions have begun to be implemented worldwide. This is especially true in the building and construction industry, which is responsible for 39% of all global carbon emissions (1). As this sector attempts to reinvent itself to reduce its carbon footprint, lowering the number of new construction projects by adapting and reusing older buildings has become an effective way to lowering emissions while continuing to keep up with societal demands.

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In the widely-used Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building accreditation system (LEED), emphasis is placed on the adaptive reuse of existing structures, especially of abandoned, blighted or historic buildings. The use of one of these structures in a development project counts aids a building into becoming certified as being environmentally friendly, a practice which is becoming increasingly sought after by building developers (2). Additionally, regional advocacy groups are pushing more and more for legislation to be put in place to protect historical buildings, making the need for building reuse more relevant than ever if these structures are to be preserved.

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Through a series of studies conducted by Preservation Green Lab on the impacts of building retrofit, renovation and reuse versus new construction, the benefits of building reuse from a carbon emission standpoint are clear. The report points out that “building reuse can avoid unnecessary carbon outlays and help communities achieve their near-term carbon-reduction goals.” Additionally, immediate carbon savings are associated with reuse, even when compared to new buildings designed to be energy efficient. As bluntly stated in the report:

“It takes 10 to 80 years for a new building that is 30 percent more efficient than an average-performing existing building to overcome, through efficient operations, the negative climate change impacts related to the construction process.” (3)

Similar reports and case studies paint a similar picture, demonstrating the necessity of building reuse if carbon emissions are to be reduced.