Following are some of the facts that make sense to address sustainability in building design and construction on an urgent basis as it is linked with the current global environmental problem.

• This sector is a single largest contributor to human-created emissions, responsible for 60 percent of the world’s electricity consumption resulting in about 30-40% of global energy end-use greenhouse gas emissions. In India building consumes more than 20% of electricity use.
  
• A one-year study found that the use of plastic building and construction materials saved 467.2 trillion Btu of energy over alternative construction materials, which is equivalent to meet the average annual energy needs of 4.6 million U.S. households, or the households in 11 US states.
  
• Building and construction activities worldwide consume 3 billion tons of raw materials each year or 40-50 % of total global use and 25% of the wood harvest.
  
• According to surveys conducted in 2002, 107.3 million acres of the 1.983 billion acres of total land area in the U.S. is developed, which represents an increase of 24 % over the past 10 years. The situation in other countries across the world is no different.
  
• In 2009, in India close to 200 million m2 of built office space was created, which is expected to be 890 million m2, grow by over 70% by the year 2030.
  
• The construction industry in India has been growing at an astounding rate of 10% per annum over the last ten years.
  
• In terms of energy, buildings accounted for 39.4 percent of total U.S. energy consumption and 67.9 percent of total U.S. electricity consumption in 2002.