No recession for green building

Verona. 2008-12-22 Crisis for the building industry in America? The recession may be hitting many companies but not those implementing the Leed system (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a series of criteria for building homes, schools and workplaces ensuring sustainability from economic, environmental and health points of view. This system, named by the World Green Building Council for the sustainable building industry, emphasises the use of natural materials, such as stone - always supported by VeronaFiere which in turn is a member, through Marmomacc, of Green Building Italy, the non-profit sustainable building industry association promoted by the Trentino Technological District that is developing the Leed system in Italy. The system is based on specific criteria involving not only the use of natural materials but also the identification of sustainable sites, the presence availability of rainwater collection system and the production of energy from sustainable and local sources. The total number of credits achieved in each of these categories is used to obtain a specific level of certification that testifies the performance results achieved by the building in terms of the sustainable environment: ¡°basic¡±; ¡°silver¡±; ¡°gold¡±; ¡°platinum¡±. This philosophy developed by the Green Building Council has always been supported by VeronaFiere and Marmomacc to promote the spread of natural stone as a ¡°green¡± material not only in Europe but also overseas. Last March, American professors held in the USA a course dealing with the sustainability of marble as a Green element on the basis of some of its essential characteristics - such as durability. The course attracted many professionals interested in developing their awareness in the field on the basis of a precise, shared philosophy: stone as a sustainable material and design philosophy that helps safeguard the environment where it is installed. In 2009, VeronaFiere has scheduled the organisation of several training initiatives covering the use of natural stone in a number of American universities.